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.