Devious China denies misconduct with Indian woman

Indian woman from Arunachal Pradesh detained at Shanghai airport for 18 hours

Indian woman Pema Wangthongdok and China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning

Beijing (China) – China has denied all allegations of misconduct against Indian woman Pema Wang Thongdok, born in Arunachal Pradesh, despite her being detained and mistreated for 18 hours at Shanghai airport. Mao Ning, spokesperson for China’s Foreign Ministry, claimed that “no one forced the Indian woman to do anything, nor took her into custody or troubled her”, adding that she was offered water, food, and a place to rest. (If that is true, why was the Indian woman held at the airport for 18 hours ? China must be held accountable for this. – Editor)

🇨🇳 China now denies mistreatment of an Indian woman from Arunachal Pradesh.

To teach the expansionist Chinese 🐲 a lesson, its true face must be exposed before the world.

🇮🇳 India must prepare firmly – diplomatically, politically & strategicallypic.twitter.com/5pX3ujQPLP https://t.co/O03P1RJMqQ

— Sanatan Prabhat (@SanatanPrabhat) November 26, 2025

India’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal responded firmly that Arunachal Pradesh is an integral part of India, and the truth does not change simply because China chooses to deny it. He stated that the incident of Pema’s detention had been strongly raised with China, yet Chinese officials have failed to explain the basis for her detention.
China’s own rules allow 24-hour visa-free airport transit, making the detention even more questionable.
(Transit permission allows a traveller to remain in an airport for up to 24 hours without a visa, usually while waiting for a connecting flight.)

The incident in brief

Pema, an Indian woman living in Britain, was travelling to Japan on 21.11.2025 when her flight halted in Shanghai for a three-hour layover. During passport screening, Chinese immigration officers noticed that her place of birth was Arunachal Pradesh and, suspecting it was “illegal”, seized her passport.

Pema stated, “Despite having a valid visa, I was not allowed to board my connecting flight to Japan. Several passport officers and staff of China Eastern Airlines mocked me. It was an agonising eighteen-hour ordeal.”

Unable to get help from Chinese authorities, Pema contacted the Indian Consulate in Shanghai through a friend in Britain. Indian officials later helped her board a night flight out of Shanghai.

China continues to make baseless claims that Arunachal Pradesh is part of “South Tibet”, whereas India has made it unequivocally clear that Arunachal Pradesh is an inseparable State of India.