UK resident from Arunachal alleges China detained her

An Indian-origin UK resident from Arunachal Pradesh has alleged that she was detained and harassed for more than 18 hours at Shanghai Pudong Airport after Chinese immigration authorities refused to recognise her Indian passport during a transit stop.

- Vidhi Santosh Mehta

Pem Wang Thongdok, who shared her ordeal on X, said she was travelling from London to Japan on November 21 with a scheduled three-hour layover in Shanghai. She alleged that Chinese immigration officials detained her for over 18 hours after declaring her Indian passport “invalid” because it listed Arunachal Pradesh as her birthplace. According to her, the officials insisted that “Arunachal Pradesh is part of China’ and repeatedly refused to acknowledge her Indian nationality.

She said several officers and staff of China Eastern Airlines mocked her, laughed at her, and even suggested she “apply for a Chinese passport”. Her posts tagged Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu, Union Minister Kiren Rijiju and others, asking, “Is Arunachal Pradesh part of China?”