Pema Wang Thongdok, an Arunachal Pradesh native who was allegedly harassed by Chinese immigration officials at Shanghai International Airport, hit back at the online trolls she has been facing since the incident, and called for unity among all Indians.
"I would like to thank everyone speaking in support of this diplomatic issue, and while I'm new here and not active on X, it's because I have a very high-profile full-time position working in financial services and don't have idle time to answer trollers," she wrote on X.
I would like to thank everyone speaking in support of this diplomatic issue and 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
— Pem Wang Thongdok (@wang_pem) November 25, 2025
Thongdok was allegedly detained at Shanghai airport for 18 hours after Chinese authorities refused to recognise her Indian passport. She told the media that her ordeal came to an end with the help of officials from India's missions in Shanghai and Beijing.
#WATCH | Prema Wangjom Thongdok from Arunachal Pradesh claims that Chinese immigration officials at Shanghai Pudong Airport declared her Indian passport invalid and delayed her travel to Japan.
— ANI (@ANI) November 24, 2025
She says, "... When I tried to question them and ask them what the issue was, they… pic.twitter.com/onL9v1Oe0j
In the fresh post on Tuesday, Thongdok said her remarks had been understood correctly by the right people, and she didn't want to engage with those who chose not to understand her words.
Striking a chord of unity, Thongdok stressed that any action taken by the Indian government was meant to protect the dignity of all Indians, not her alone.
"I don't even live in India, so any action that the Indian government takes will be for the benefit and pride of my fellow Indians and Arunachalis living here, not mine. We are one nation, we stand for one another," she said.
And the ones who don’t get it are clearly not people I would engage with 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
— Pem Wang Thongdok (@wang_pem) November 25, 2025
Meanwhile, India has condemned the incident, terming it a violation of international norms and bilateral understanding.
“Chinese authorities have yet to provide any credible justification for their actions, which contravene established international air travel conventions and their own visa-free transit policy,” Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in a statement.
Jaiswal also dismissed the Chinese foreign ministry’s remarks on Arunachal Pradesh, saying the northeast state remains an integral 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," he said.
