Stapled Visa Row: India withdraws from World University Games in China

As a mark of protest against China's decision to issue stapled visas instead of stamped ones to three athletes from Arunachal Pradesh, India has responded by withdrawing its entire wushu (martial art) team from the World University Games in Chengdu. The Games were scheduled to begin on Friday, 28 July.

The decision to withdraw the team came shortly after airport authorities in New Delhi prevented an eight-member contingent, consisting of five athletes, a coach, and two support staff, from boarding the flight on Thursday midnight. Coach Raghvendra Singh confirmed that immigration officials and CISF personnel at the boarding gate stopped them, without providing any reason, and stated that they were acting on the government's instructions.

It is worth noting that the group barred from boarding the flight did not include athletes from Arunachal Pradesh, who were set to depart on a 1.05 am flight on Friday, 28 July.

On Thursday, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi expressed India's displeasure with China's decision, deeming it 'unacceptable'. He emphasized that India reserves the right to respond appropriately to such actions. 

The issue stemmed from the fact that stapled visas were issued to some Indian citizens representing the country in an international sporting event in China. This move by China is in clear contradiction to India's stance on the matter, and the Indian government lodged a strong protest with the Chinese side.

According to an official of the Wushu Federation of India, the athletes applied for visas on 16 July. While the visa applications of the rest of the team were processed on time, the documents of the three Arunachal athletes (Onilu Tega, Nyeman Wangsu, and Mepung Lamgu) were rejected. 

They were asked to resubmit their applications on Tuesday, 25 July, and were issued stapled visas by the Chinese embassy on Wednesday afternoon.

The Indian government was made aware of this decision and subsequently put the team's participation in the competition on hold before ultimately deciding to withdraw from the event altogether. The use of stapled visas in this context carries a strong symbolic message, indicating that China does not recognize India's sovereignty over Arunachal Pradesh.

This is not the first time such a situation has arisen. In the past, China has either refused visas to athletes from Arunachal Pradesh or issued stapled visas, effectively barring their travel. Instances include the issuance of stapled visas to five karate players from Arunachal Pradesh in 2011 for a championship in Quanghou and the prevention of two archers, Sprang Yumi and Maselo Mihu, from participating in the Youth World Archery Championship in 2013 for the same reason.