China denies allegation of harassment of Arunachal woman at Shanghai airport

Thongdok, who reportedly passed through the same airport without any issues earlier in October, said that “one of [the officials] even said that I should get a Chinese passport, because I am Chinese. They were mocking me.”

She said the officials kept her passport, blocked her from boarding her flight to Japan despite a valid visa, and made her wait without access to food or reliable information. “They insisted that I have to either fly back to the UK or fly to India,” she said.

She somehow managed to connect to the Indian consulate in Shanghai through a UK-based friend. Officials from the consulate helped her board a late-night flight from the Chinese city, it was learnt.

Thongdok, who is in her 30s and has been living in the United Kingdom for 14 years, is originally from Rupa in Arunachal Pradesh’s West Kameng district, where her family still lives.

Following the incident, Thongdok told The Indian Express she wrote a letter to the Ministry of External Affairs detailing the experience, adding that it was a “direct challenge to India’s sovereignty and deeply distressing to any Indian citizen”.

“A bilateral or geopolitical matter was misdirected at a private Indian citizen, which should never occur in any international transit setting,” she added, insisting that the incident be taken up “strongly” with the Chinese government and that compensation be secured for “harassment, distress, and physical and mental suffering” as well as “financial losses.”

Sources in the Ministry of External Affairs said the Indian side told the Chinese side that the passenger had been detained on “ludicrous grounds” and highlighted that the actions are in contravention of the Chicago and Montreal Conventions relating to civil aviation.

Arunachal Pradesh is indisputably Indian territory, and its residents are perfectly entitled to hold Indian passports, the source said.

“Despite being in the UK for so many years, I have not given up my Indian passport because I love my country and don’t want to be a foreigner in my own land, though I probably would not have had an experience like this if I had a British passport,” she said.

Chinese Foreign Ministry’s response

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning claimed that Thongdok was not subjected to any compulsory measures, adding that the airline provided her a place to rest, drink and food.

Reiterating China’s claims over Arunachal Pradesh, which it calls Zangnan or South Tibet, she said, “China never acknowledges the so-called Arunachal Pradesh, illegally set up by India.”

“We learnt that China’s border inspection authorities have gone through the whole process according to the laws and regulations and fully protected the lawful rights and interests of the person concerned,” Mao said.

What did Arunachal CM Pema Khandu say?

Responding to the incident, Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu on Tuesday said he was “deeply shocked” by the incident and called it a “violation of international norms and an affront to the dignity of Indian citizens.”

“Subjecting [Thongdok] despite a valid Indian passport to humiliation and racial mockery is appalling. Arunachal Pradesh is, and will always be an integral part of India. Any insinuation otherwise is baseless and offensive,” he wrote on X.