Close X
Saturday, November 2, 2024
ADVT 
International

Chinese Soldier, Who Accidentally Crossed Border And Came To India, Returns Home After 54 Years

IANS, 11 Feb, 2017 02:14 PM
    A Chinese soldier, who was stuck in India for over 50 years after he crossed over the border post 1962 war, today arrived in Beijing with his Indian family members to an emotional reunion with his Chinese kin.
     
    Wang Qi, 77, was received by his close Chinese relatives, besides officials of the China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Indian embassy when he arrived here along with his son, daughter-in-law and granddaughter from Delhi-Beijing flight.
     
    Wang Qi became emotional as he hugged his relatives, their first reunion after he crossed into Indian side over five decades ago.
     
    "It was an emotional reunion," an official present at the airport told PTI here.
     
    Wang Qi was accompanied by his son Vishnu Wang, 35, daughter-in-law Neha and granddaughter, Khanak Wang. His Indian wife Shushila, however, stayed back.
     
    Indian officials said Wang Qi and family members will be later flown to Xian, the provincial capital in Shaanxi province from where he will be taken to his native village Xue Zhai Nan Cun in the province.
     
     
    His return became a possibility after India and China worked out modalities for both Wang Qi and his Indian family to travel together to China and later return as per their wish.
     
    Wang Qi was caught when he entered the Indian territory shortly after the Sino-India War of 1962.
     
     
    After his release from prison in 1969, he settled in Tirodi village of Balaghat district in Madhya Pradesh.
     
    Though his story has been published by Indian media several times in the past, a recent BBC TV feature on him was widely picked by the Chinese social media highlighting his plight, prompting the Chinese government to initiate action in coordination with India to facilitate his return.
     
    The Chinese Foreign Ministry said on February 6 that he was provided a passport to travel to China in 2013 and he was also paid a living allowance.
     
    Chinese Ambassador to India Luo Zhaohui recently spoke to him.
     
    While the Chinese government has provided visas for his family to visit China, India has provided a re-entry visa for Wang to return back if he chooses to.
     
    Indian officials terms the facilitation of the travel of Wang and his family by both sides s positive development, specially at a time when India-China relations were stuck with differences over issues like China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, China blocking India's entry into Nuclear Suppliers Group and listing of JeM leader Masood Azhar as terrorist by UN.
     
    Before leaving for Beijing, Vishnu Wang, told media in India yesterday that "my father joined the Chinese Army in 1960 and he entered India through the eastern frontier after losing his way in the darkness one night."
     
     
    He landed in Assam where an Indian Red Cross team handed him over to the Indian Army on January 1, 1963.

    MORE International ARTICLES

    Woman Sentenced To 1 Year In Jail For Impersonating Ex-boyfriend On Facebook, Sending Herself Threat

    Woman Sentenced To 1 Year In Jail For Impersonating Ex-boyfriend On Facebook, Sending Herself Threat
    The Orange County District Attorney’s Office said in a statement Stephani Renae Lawson, 25, allegedly created a Facebook account impersonating her ex-boyfriend, using it to send numerous threats to her own account.

    Woman Sentenced To 1 Year In Jail For Impersonating Ex-boyfriend On Facebook, Sending Herself Threat

    Bed-Ridden Egyptian Woman Weighing 500 Kg Gets Visa After Sushma Swaraj's Intervention

    Bed-Ridden Egyptian Woman Weighing 500 Kg Gets Visa After Sushma Swaraj's Intervention
    A bed-ridden Egyptian woman weighing 500kg was today granted visa by Indian Embassy in Cairo following intervention by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj.

    Bed-Ridden Egyptian Woman Weighing 500 Kg Gets Visa After Sushma Swaraj's Intervention

    Hijab-Clad Transit Worker Pushed Down Stairs, Called Terrorist

    Hijab-Clad Transit Worker Pushed Down Stairs, Called Terrorist
    Soha Salama, a 45-year-old Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) station agent who was wearing a hijab with her uniform, was injured when she was pushed down the stairs at Grand Central Terminal by a man.

    Hijab-Clad Transit Worker Pushed Down Stairs, Called Terrorist

    Indian-Origin Man Charged With Murder For Stabbing His Wife To Death In US

    Indian-Origin Man Charged With Murder For Stabbing His Wife To Death In US
    Prem Rampersaud, who lives in Guyana, is temporarily residing with a friend in Queens.

    Indian-Origin Man Charged With Murder For Stabbing His Wife To Death In US

    PICS: 23 Nations Celebrate Release Of Diwali Stamp In United States

    Over 20 countries, including two UN Security Council permanent members France and the UK, have supported a dedication ceremony hosted by India to commemorate the release of a Diwali postage stamp by the US.

    PICS: 23 Nations Celebrate Release Of Diwali Stamp In United States

    Donald Trump May Move Closer To India To Balance China: Chinese Media

    Donald Trump May Move Closer To India To Balance China: Chinese Media
    There are unbridgeable differences between American intentions for developing a close relationship with India to balance China and India's concept of developing independent diplomacy toward the US and China

    Donald Trump May Move Closer To India To Balance China: Chinese Media