Bangkok [Thailand], November 24 (ANI): Prema Wangjom Thongdok, who hails from Arunachal Pradesh, has stated that she confronted harassment from Chinese immigration officers at Shanghai Pudong Airport, who ‘mocked and raised questions’ over her Indian citizenship and famous that her 18-hour ordeal got here to an finish with the assistance of officers from India’s missions in Shanghai and Beijing.
She additionally alleged ‘humiliating, questionable behaviour’ from the workers of China Eastern Airlines.
Prema Thongdok claimed that Chinese immigration officers at Shanghai Pudong Airport declared her Indian passport invalid and delayed her journey to Japan.
‘When I attempted to query them and ask them what the problem was, they stated, ‘Arunachal is just not a part of India’ and began mocking and laughing and saying issues like ‘you must apply for the Chinese passport, you are Chinese, you are not Indian,’ Thongdok informed ANI
Thongdok stated she is an Indian citizen residing within the United Kingdom for about 14 years and was travelling from London to Japan by way of a transit in Shanghai.
‘One of the officers from the Chinese immigration came to visit and singled me out of the queue. I requested her what was occurring, and he or she went on to say, ‘Arunachal- not India, China-China, your visa is just not acceptable. Your passport is invalid’… When I attempted to query them and ask them what the problem was, they stated, ‘Arunachal is just not a part of India’ and began mocking and laughing and saying issues like ‘you must apply for the Chinese passport, you are Chinese, you are not Indian’… I’ve transited by Shanghai prior to now with no points in any respect,’ she added.
Thongdok stated she could not get in contact along with her household for a really very long time.
‘The airline workers of China Eastern and about two different immigration officers have been talking of their language and saying and declaring and saying Arunachal and laughing and calling it China, not India. That was a really humiliating, questionable behaviour from the immigration workers in addition to the airline workers,’ she alleged
‘I referred to as up the Shanghai and Beijing Indian embassies and inside an hour, the Indian officers got here to the airport, acquired me some meals and spoke by the problems with them and helped me get overseas. A really lengthy ordeal, 18 hours, however glad that I’m out of there. I had my Indian passport which is a sound doc…,’ she added.
The incident has come amid what’s being seen as an upturn in ties between India and China following interactions amongst senior leaders of two international locations.
India has firmly rejected China’s claims over Arunachal Pradesh, saying that the northeastern state is and can at all times stay an integral and inalienable a part of India.
Responding to media queries in May this yr on China renaming locations in Arunachal Pradesh, Ministry of External Affaris spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal had stated that India categorically rejects such makes an attempt.
‘We have seen that China has continued with its useless and preposterous makes an attempt to call locations within the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. Consistent with our principled place, we reject such makes an attempt categorically,’ he stated.
‘Creative naming is not going to alter the simple actuality that Arunachal Pradesh was, is, and can at all times stay an integral and inalienable a part of India,’ he added. (ANI)