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CM Pema Khandu hits out at China over ‘racial mockery’ of Arunachal woman
Chief minister Pema Khandu said Arunachal Pradesh is, and will always be, an integral part of India, and any insinuation otherwise is baseless and offensive.
Arunachal Pradesh chief minister Pema Khandu on Tuesday expressed deep shock at the treatment meted out to a woman from the north-eastern state at Shanghai airport on November 21, saying that the racial mockery she was subjected to by the Chinese authorities was appalling.
The woman, who identified herself as Prema Wangjom Thongdok, on Monday said the Chinese authorities had declared her Indian passport invalid, claiming Arunachal was part of Chinese territory. She said she was held by immigration officials at the Shanghai airport for more than 18 hours and added that they had made fun of her and even asked her to apply for a Chinese passport.
“I am deeply shocked by the unacceptable treatment of Ms. Prema Wangjom Thongdok, a proud Indian citizen from Arunachal Pradesh, by Chinese immigration authorities at Shanghai Pudong Airport. Subjecting her despite a valid Indian passport to humiliation and racial mockery is appalling,” Khandu said in a statement posted on X.
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Arunachal Pradesh is, and will always be an integral part of India, and any insinuation otherwise is baseless and offensive, Khandu said.
“Such conduct violates international norms and is an affront to the dignity of our citizens. I am confident that the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India will take up this matter urgently so that such incidents are not repeated,” he added.
The external affairs ministry had made a strong demarche with the Chinese side, in Beijing and in Delhi, on the same day the incident took place, and the Indian consulate in Shanghai also took up the matter locally and extended the fullest assistance to the stranded passenger, as previously reported by HT.
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Thongdok, who lives in the United Kingdom, was on her way to Japan for a vacation with a three-hour layover in Shanghai. She held a valid Japanese visa but wasn’t allowed to board the onward China Eastern Airlines flight. Her ordeal ended only after Indian officials intervened.
India has consistently rejected Chinese claims over Arunachal Pradesh, saying the north-eastern state is an integral and inalienable part of the country. In recent years, China has resorted to steps such as renaming dozens of towns and geographical features in Arunachal Pradesh as part of its efforts to lay claim to the region.
