[ Bengia Ajum ]
ITANAGAR, 24 Nov: An Arunachali citizen hailing from Rupa in West Kameng was detained at Shanghai airport by Chinese immigration authorities for around 19 hours.
Pema Wangjom Thongdok, who currently resides in London in the United Kingdom, was on her way to Japan with a connecting flight through Shanghai.
She was stopped by Chinese immigration officials because her passport mentioned her place of birth as Arunachal Pradesh. A family member informed that,with the intervention of Indian officials, Thongdok was later allowed to leave the country.
“She works in the UK and was on her way to Japan on a vacation. She was detained and questioned by Chinese immigration officials. But thankfully, she has been allowed to leave,” said a family member.
The Chinese officials reportedly told her that Arunachal Pradesh is part of China and therefore her passport was not a valid Indian passport.
Thongdok, who was educated in the USA, has been living in London for a long time. Her father, LD Thongdok, who was an SE in the PWD, was a prominent technocrat who lost his life during the Covid pandemic.
China usually issues stapled visas to Arunachali citizens who apply for Chinese visas, as they illegally claim Arunachal as part of South China. Indian immigration officials do not accept stapled visas, due to which sportspersons and academicians from Arunachal often do not get the chance to travel to China.
