After a wait of over five decades, former Chinese soldier Wang Qi, who had been stranded in India since 1963, a year after the border war, reached his home village in central China’s Shaanxi province on Saturday.
Mr. Wang, now 77, was accompanied by some of his family members as he arrived in Beijing by an Air China flight. He and his family were seen off at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi by Tarun Vijay, President of the India-China Parliamentary Group. “Mr. Wang’s is an incredible story of humanity winning over clouds of war, doubt and hate,” Mr. Tarun said.
Mr. Wang was arrested in 1963, after he strayed into India during the India-China war. He was imprisoned in 1969 and was shifted to Tirodi village in Madhya Pradesh where he married a local woman and settled there ever since.
After reaching Beijing, he took the afternoon flight for Xian, official sources in Beijing said. Two Indian embassy officials escorted Mr. Wang. Mr. Wang thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and said that he would return within a month.
“Despite decades in India, Mr. Wang was quite fluent in mandarin, along with conversing in Hindi,” a source said.
MEA spokesperson Vikas Swarup had earlier described the visit of Mr. Wang to China as part of a “family reunion.”
Apart from issuing passports to his family members, India would also be “regularising his stay in India.” Mr. Wang’s accompanying family members are his son, Vishnu Wang, Neha Wang, his daughter-in-law and his granddaughter Khanak Wang.
Chinese media reported that at Beijing airport, Mr. Wang was served Tangyaun, a special dish arranged by the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, especially consumed during the Lantern festival, which is being celebrated in China on Saturday.
Upon arrival at Xianyan airport in Xian in the evening, Mr. Wang was given a rousing reception by 60 relatives, including his three brothers. He was then quickly taken to a location in Qianxian township, about 70 km away.
The website Chinamil.com, affiliated with the People’s Liberation Army, quoted Chen Qungeng, who had served in same unit, as saying that Mr. Wang served in number 2 Company of the Independent Engineer Battalion.
(With inputs from Kallol Bhattacherjee)
