Chinese army veteran stranded in India for over 50 years longs to return home
Wang Qi was captured after he wandered into India following their brief border war in 1962. Now he is finally on his way home
A Chinese soldier who accidentally crossed the border into India where he was stranded for more than half a century has finally found his way home to China.
Wang Qi, originally from Shaanxi province, was due to fly to China with his son on Friday, a day after they were granted Indian passports by India’s Ministry of External Affairs, state broadcaster CCTV reported.
Wang, 78, grabbed media headlines around the world last week after the BBC reported on January 31 that the People’s Liberation Army surveyor, who was unable to leave India since the brief border war China in 1963, longed to see his family in China.
During the BBC programme, Wang, also known by his Indian name Raj Bahadur, spoke to his elder brother for the first time in more than 50 years through a mobile phone video call. The event drew much media attention in China during the Lunar New Year, the traditional holiday for family reunion.
A PLA surveyor stationed near Sino-Indian frontier, Wang went on leave for the New Year’s Day holiday in 1963, weeks after the Sino-Indian border conflict broke out.