The border dispute between India and China regarding Arunachal Pradesh is decades old, but adding to this dispute, a new case has come to light, in which a woman resident of Arunachal Pradesh has been severely tortured in China. The woman has alleged that the Chinese authorities had refused to accept her Indian passport as valid. Chinese officials detained and tortured the woman for 18 hours at Shanghai Airport.

Pema Wang Thongdok, a resident of Arunachal Pradesh, said that Chinese immigration officials detained her at the airport for 18 hours on Friday (November 21, 2025). He claimed that Arunachal Pradesh is a part of China, hence the Indian passport of a woman born in Arunachal is invalid. Actually, Pema Wang Thongdok was going from London to Japan on November 21, 2025, but in the meantime her plane stopped for three hours at Shanghai Airport in China, where Chinese officials stopped the woman and took her into custody.

The woman gave information about the incident on X

Pema Wang Thongdok, a resident of Arunachal Pradesh, posted about the incident in China on social media platform In the post, Pema said, ‘Due to China Immigration and China Eastern Airlines Corporation Limited, I was detained for more than 18 hours at Shanghai Airport on Friday (November 21, 2025). They declared my Indian passport invalid because my birthplace is in Arunachal Pradesh, which they declared to be Chinese territory.

@pemakhandu @kirenrijuju @PMOIndia 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. @cnnbrk

— Pem Wang Thongdok (@wang_pem) November 23, 2025

According to Thongdok’s statement, Chinese immigration officials had declared his Indian passport invalid after seeing Arunachal Pradesh listed as his birthplace. After this, Chinese officials refused to recognize his Indian citizenship and said that Arunachal is a part of China. Chinese authorities also confiscated his passport and he was barred from boarding onward flights despite having a valid visa for Japan. At the same time, after an Indian woman was taken hostage at Shanghai Airport, Chinese officials tortured her by starving her for 18 hours.

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