'China's Response Confirms Why I Was Detained': Arunachal Woman Held in Shanghai

Pema Thongdok told The Quint that she was denied meals and water bottles during her 18-hour detention in Shanghai.

Prema Wang Thongdok claimed that Chinese officials had detained her for more than 18 hours, harassed her, and denied transit procedures despite having accurate travel documents. 

(Photo: Vibhushita Singh/The Quint) 

"It's funny how they lie. My statement is not an allegation, it's a fact," Pema Wang Thongdok, an Indian citizen currently living in the UK, told The Quint after China refuted her claims that she faced harassment and racism at Shanghai's Pudong International Airport on 21 November.

Thongdok, a financial advisor in the UK, had claimed that Chinese officials detained her for more than 18 hours, harassed her, and denied transit procedures despite her having accurate travel documents. She also said that officials had called her Indian passport "invalid" as she hails from Arunachal Pradesh—which the Chinese claim is part of their own territory.

Taking cognisance of Thongdok's statements, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said that it had taken the matter up with Chinese officials "strongly", reiterating that Arunachal Pradesh is an "inalienable" part of India.

“Arunachal Pradesh is an integral and inalienable part of India, and this is a self-evident fact. No amount of denial by the Chinese side is going to change this indisputable reality," said MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal while speaking to the press on Tuesday, 25 November.

He further said that China still hasn't been able to explain their actions, which "were in violation of several conventions governing international air travel".

Responding to Thongdok's allegations earlier, China's Foreign Ministry had said that its border checks had been conducted in accordance with "laws and regulations".

"No compulsory measures were taken on her (Thongdok), and there was no so-called ‘detaining’ or ‘harassing’," ministry spokesperson Mao Ning told news agency PTI, adding that she was even provided meals and resting facilities.

Ning, however, asserted that "Zangnan" (China's name for Arunachal Pradesh) was a part of its territory. "China does not recognise the so-called Arunachal Pradesh illegally established by India," she said.

'China Is Lying. I Was Denied Food, Water': Thongdok

Speaking to The Quint, Thongdok slammed China's response to her claims, stating that it was nothing but a "fabrication".

"They (Chinese officials) never provided me any meals. I was nauseous and hungry the entire time. They just gave me a packet of dry biscuits which I shared with an elderly passenger who was also held," she said.

Thongdok further added that she wasn't even offered a bottle of water. When she asked for one, authorities told her to drink water from the dispenser near the washroom.

"They lie all the time. I experienced the incident first-hand. There wasn't even a proper waiting room or rest room," she asserted.

Thongdok further added that China's reiteration of its claims on Arunachal Pradesh in their statement confirms the reason behind her detention.

"The Chinese statement validates and confirms their malicious behaviour," Thongdok tells The Quint. "They are openly saying that Arunachal Pradesh is a part of China, thus confirming my point and affirming the reasons for my detention."

Thongdok, who hails from Arunachal Pradesh's West Kameng district, was travelling from London to Japan on 21 November with a three-hour layover in Shanghai when she faced the harrowing ordeal.

She was finally allowed to book a flight to India via Thailand after making contact with the Indian Consulate in Shanghai—a tall order in itself given China's ban of prominent apps like WhatsApp and even platforms like Google.

Interestingly, the incident took place just days after the China Eastern Airlines restarted its Shanghai-New Delhi service on 9 November after representatives of the two countries met in August on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation’s summit in Tianjin to review air connectivity between the two countries after a gap of five years.