China Targets athletes from Arunachal

  • September 23, 2023
  • Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
  • Category: DPN Topics
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China Targets athletes from Arunachal

Subject: IR

Section: Places in news

Context: China Targets athletes from Arunachal.

More about the news:

  • On the eve of the 19th Asian Games’ opening ceremony, Union Sports Minister Anurag Thakur canceled his planned trip to China.
  • The decision was prompted by a troubling incident involving three athletes, all practitioners of wushu martial arts, hailing from Arunachal Pradesh.
  • These athletes were denied accreditation cards, essential for participating in the Games, and were instead offered stapled visas by the Chinese authorities.
  • It is important to note that these accreditation cards serve a dual purpose, functioning both as identification cards for the Asian Games and as visas for entry into the host country.

What is a stapled visa:

  • A stapled visa is simply an unstamped piece of paper that is attached by a pin or staples to a page of the passport and can be torn off or detached at will.
  • This is different from a regular visa that is affixed to the passport by the issuing authority and stamped.

History of Stapled visas issued by China

  • China has a longstanding practice of issuing stapled visas to Indian nationals hailing from two specific regions: Arunachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir.
  • Despite China’s assertion that these stapled visas are valid travel documents, the Government of India consistently rejects this position.
  • China initiated the issuance of stapled visas to residents of Arunachal Pradesh in the mid-2000s and extended this practice to residents of Jammu and Kashmir starting in 2009.
  • Notably, China claims the region of Arunachal Pradesh as part of its own territory, a claim that is contested by India.
  • The Indian government firmly refuses to recognize stapled visas as legitimate travel documents for its citizens.

Some facts about Asian Games:

  • The Asian Games, also known as Asiad, are a multi-sport event that takes place every four years. The games are the second largest multi-sport event after the Olympics.
  • The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) organizes the games, which have 45 participating countries or regions.
  • The Asian Games were first held in 1951, soon after the end of World War II.
  • The 1st Games were held in New Delhi, with 11 participating countries, including Japan.
  • The 19th edition of the Asian Games is being held in Hangzhou, China from September 23 to October 8.

The 18th Asian Games were held in Indonesia.

China Targets athletes from Arunachal IR