(TibetanReview.net, Nov23, 2016) – The Indian badminton team manager who was denied visa by China because he belonged to the state of Arunachal Pradesh has on Nov 21 denied that he withdrew the application himself as claimed by China’s Foreign Ministry during a media briefing on Nov 18. Earlier, the team manager, Mr Bamang Tago, had said Nov 16 that the Chinese embassy in New Delhi had told him that since he belonged to Arunachal Pradesh, an approval from Beijing was required.
But on Nov 18, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang denied that this statement complied with the facts, adding: “According to what we learnt that the person you have mentioned had previously gone to the Chinese embassy in India for visa application but later he himself cancelled the visa application.”
Tago has now rejected this Chinese foreign ministry’s claim as “false” with not an “iota of truth”.
“China’s statement about me withdrawing my visa application is not true as my passport is still in the custody of the Chinese embassy. I, along with officials of the Badminton Association of India, have been repeatedly calling up the Chinese embassy every day since Nov 11 inquiring about the visa’s status,” Tago has said in a statement Nov 21.
The statement further added. “I also wrote two e-mails on Nov 17 to the Chinese Ambassador to India Luo Zhaohui requesting urgent issuance of visa. I have not applied for cancellation/withdrawal of my visa application.”
Tago has threatened to file a police report in case the Chinese embassy does not return his passport.
Tago, who is also the Secretary of Arunachal Pradesh Badminton Association, was to lead a 14-member Indian team to the China Open Super Series Premier badminton tournament that began in the city of Fuzhou on Nov 15 and concluded on Nov 20. India’s PV Sindhu went on to win the championship of that tournament, beating China’s Sun Yu in the final.
China calls Arunachal Pradesh a disputed territory, describing it as southern Tibet, a claim rejected by India.