Prema Wangjom Thongdok revealed how she was harassed by Chinese officials at Shanghai's Pudong airport after they found out that she is a resident of Arunachal Pradesh.
After what she described as "humiliating and questionable behaviour" from the staff of China Easter Airlines, she was detained by the immigration officials.
Who is Prema Wangjom Thongdok?
Prema Wangjom Thongdok is an Indian citizen who has been residing in the UK for the past 14 years. She was travelling from London to Japan, when she had a layover in Shanghai. She had a valid visa and Indian passport during her trip.
#WATCH | Prema Wangjom Thongdok says, "... We are part of India... We speak 'shuddh Hindi', we don't understand C of Chinese, we are all Indian... I want to raise this awareness that residents of the northeast of India should not face such harassment in terms of being called and… https://t.co/ULShFrvvRU pic.twitter.com/GZhC07oKsp
— ANI (@ANI) November 24, 2025
Detailing her ordeal, she said that one of the female immigration officials "singled her out of the queue." The woman told her, "Arunachal - not India, China... your visa is not acceptable. Your passport is invalid."
She asked them what the issue was and they replied, "Arunachal is not part of India." They then mocked her saying she should get a Chinese passport, reports ANI.
The Indian woman claimed that she was detained at the transit area and was denied access to proper food, or basic facilities. Her passport was confiscated and was prevented from boarding the connecting flight to Japan.
Since her travel to Japan was delayed, Thongdok said she called up her UK-based friend to contact India's Shanghai consulate. Within an hour, Indian officials arrived at the airport and got her on a late-night flight to Japan. "[They] 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 told ANI in a video.
After the ordeal, Thongdok wrote to PM Narendra Modi and other top officials, saying the incident was a "direct insult to India's sovereignty and the people of Arunachal Pradesh".
