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New Delhi: The Ministry of External Affairs lodged a strong protest with Cgina, after a woman from Arunachal Pradesh was detained at Shanghai airport. The woman was detained on November 21, saying that her Indian passport was invalid.
The woman Prema Wangjom Thongdok, she was held by immigration officials at the airport for over 18 hours. The officials made fun of her and even suggested her to apply for a Chinese passport.
“I was held at Shanghai airport for over 18 hrs on 21st Nov, 2025 on claims by China immigration & @chinaeasternair They called my Indian passport invalid as my birthplace is Arunachal Pradesh which they claimed is Chinese territory,” Thongdok wrote on X.
Thongdok, who lives in the United Kingdom and was going to Japan for a vacation. In between, she was having a three-hour layover in Shanghai. She was holding a valid Japanese visa. However , she was not allowed to leave China. Her ordeal ended after India’s intervention.
Speaking to news agency ANI,she said, ““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,”
She added, “It was a very humiliating, questionable behaviour from the immigration staff as well as the airline staff...I called up the Shanghai and Beijing Indian embassies and 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.
India lodged a complaint with Beijing shortly after her detention. India’s consulate in Shanghai also took the matter to authorities. It also extended assistance to Thongdok, those aware of the matter informed on Monday. In its complaint, the MEA said that actions of the Chinese authorities are against Chicago and Montreal Conventions relating to civil aviation.
