New Delhi: A woman from Arunachal Pradesh, who was harassed by Chinese officials at Shanghai airport, has responded strongly to online trolls. She stressed that any action taken by the Indian government is aimed at protecting the dignity of all Indians, not just her own.
Pema Wang Thongdok previously stated that on November 21, while traveling from London to Japan, Chinese immigration officials detained her for 18 hours. This was a short three-hour stopover.
She said the officials refused to accept her Indian passport and stated that her birthplace, Arunachal Pradesh, is “part of China.”
Thongdok posted a note thanking those who supported her and also responding to those who attempted to troll her over the incident.
She wrote on X, “I want to thank everyone who spoke out in support of this diplomatic issue, and although I’m new here and haven’t been active on X, that’s because I have a very high-profile full-time position in financial services and don’t have the free time to respond to trolls.”
She further stated that her views were correctly understood by the right people, while those who didn’t were not the people she wanted to speak to.
Stressing unity, she said, “I don’t even live in India, so whatever action the Indian government takes will be for the benefit and pride of my fellow Indians and Arunachalis living here, not me. We are one country, we stand for each other.”
India on Tuesday strongly objected to the “arbitrary detention” of an Indian citizen in Arunachal Pradesh, calling the incident a violation of international norms and bilateral agreements.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the issue has been strongly raised with Beijing.
Jaiswal said, “The Chinese authorities have not yet provided any credible reason for their actions, which violate established international air travel rules and their own visa-free transit policy.” He reiterated India’s long-standing position that Arunachal Pradesh is an integral and inalienable part of India.
He further said, “This is a fact that is not in dispute. No amount of denial or false statements by China can change this truth.”
