E-Paper
Arunachal woman's message for trolls after Shanghai airport ordeal: ‘We are one nation’
Prema Wangjom Thongdok, who lives in the United Kingdom, thanked everyone for the support she received regarding the diplomatic issue.
The Indian woman who was detained at the Shanghai airport in China allegedly on account of being from Arunachal Pradesh took to social media platform X to post a message of unity on Wednesday.
In the post, Prema Wangjom Thongdok, who lives in the United Kingdom, thanked everyone for the support she received regarding the diplomatic issue. She further highlighted her limited social media presence, saying, “…While I’m new here & not active on X it’s because I have a very high profile Full time position working in the financial services and don’t have idle time to answer trollers! The right people get it.”
In a separate post on the platform, Thongdok, originally from Rupa in Arunachal Pradesh’s West Kameng district, dismissed online trolls downplaying her experience, saying she would not “engage with (them) anyway."
“I don’t even live in India so any action that Indian govt takes will be for the benefit & pride of my fellow Indians and Arunachalis living here, not mine. We are one nation we stand for one another,” she added.
What was the incident? How did it lead to a diplomatic standoff between India and China?
Thongdok was travelling from London to Japan, with a three-hour layover in Shanghai on November 21. During the security check at the airport, she was singled out and was taken to the immigration officials, who she said mocked her.
"When I tried to question them and ask them what the issue was, they said, ‘Arunachal is not part of India’ and started mocking and laughing and saying things like ‘you should apply for the Chinese passport, you’re Chinese, you’re not Indian,’” Thongdok told ANI news agency.
She further claimed that he passport was confiscated and he was not allowed to board her onward China Eastern Airlines flight to Japan despite a valid Japanese visa. Thongdok said that she managed to contact the Shanghai and Beijing Indian embassies.
“…Within an hour, the Indian officials came to the airport, got me some food and spoke through the issues with them and helped me get out of the country. A very long ordeal, 18 hours, but glad that I’m out of there,” she said.
Following the incident, India issued a strong demarche to the China, with the Indian consulate in Shanghai also taking up the matter locally. However, China on Tuesday said the woman was not subjected to any harassment, while also reiterating its claim over the Indian territory of Arunachal Pradesh.
Hitting back at the response, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that Arunachal Pradesh is an “integral and inalienable part of India.” “No amount of denial by the Chinese side is going to change this indisputable reality,” Jaiswal said.
