NEW DELHI: An Indian was detained for nearly 18 hours by Chinese immigration authorities at Shanghai’s Pudong International Airport on Nov 21, after officials allegedly refused to recognise her Indian passport because her birthplace was listed as Arunachal Pradesh.Pema Wang Thongdok, who was travelling from London to Japan with a transit stop in Shanghai, stated that immigration officers declared her passport “invalid”, insisting that Arunachal Pradesh was “part of China” and therefore could not appear as a birthplace on an Indian document.In a series of posts on X, Thongdok said officials seized her passport, blocked her from boarding her onward flight despite holding a valid Japanese visa, denied her access to food and other basic facilities, and repeatedly mocked her, telling her she should apply for a Chinese passport. She alleged China Eastern Airlines staff also forced her to buy a fresh ticket before returning her passport. Thongdok said she contacted the Indian consulate in Shanghai through a friend in the UK, and consular intervention eventually allowed her to exit the airport late that night and continue her journey.Calling the incident a direct affront to India’s sovereignty, she urged that protections be put in place for citizens from Arunachal. India lodged a strong protest with China both here and in Beijing, saying that at a time when both sides were working on restoring normalcy in ties, such actions introduced unnecessary obstructions to the process.The Indian consulate in Shanghai also took up the matter locally. “It was stressed that the passenger had been detained on ludicrous grounds. Arunachal Pradesh is indisputably Indian territory and its residents are perfectly entitled to hold and travel with Indian passports,” said a source.Govt sources also said that the actions of the Chinese authorities were in contravention of the Chicago and Montreal Conventions relating to civil aviation that establish basic rules for international air travel.In a social media post, Congress wrote: “This kind of treatment cannot be tolerated with any Indian. The Modi govt should lodge a strong objection with China on this matter. Modi ji, this is the right time to show China your ‘red eyes’ and respond.”Earlier this year, China released a list of names for 27 places in Arunachal. MEA had stated in May that such exercises were “vain and preposterous” and “creative na-ming will not alter the undeniable reality that Arunachal Pradesh was, is, and will always remain an integral and inalienable part of India.”
