Bhopal: A former Chinese soldier, who got married in Madhya Pradesh in 1974 and returned to his native country for the first time in 2017, got a visa Thursday to visit his children in India, his family said.
Wang Chang Qi (80) was captured by Indian forces in 1963 after the India-China war. Convicted for spying, he was in Indian jails for six years till his release in 1969.
Wang Chang Qi married a local woman in Tirodi village of Madhya Pradesh in 1974 and settled there. He raised a family comprising two sons and two daughters, before visiting China for the first time in 2017, almost 54 years after he first came to India.
“My father first returned to China, February 10, 2017 and came back May 10, 2017. His second visit to China was in August 2017 and he returned in October 2017 as my mother was sick and breathed her last,” the ex-soldier’s son Vishnu Wang (38) told this agency from Tirodi in the naxal-infested Balaghat district.
“Wang Chang Qi He went to China again in January 2018 and returned in April-May the same year. His left for a fourth visit to China fourth visit to China, October 1, 2018 and he was stuck there as he could not get his return visa to India,” Vishnu informed. “My father got the visa today 9Thursday). He will book a return ticket to India within a day or two,” Vishnu added.
“This time the authorities have given him visa for a period of six months and after that he again has to go to Beijing to get a fresh visa, informed Vishnu. He said his father applied to the Indian embassy in April but there was no response for a long time. “I had been in communication with Indian officials both in India and China,” stated Vishnu Wang.
Wang Chang Qi was captured by Indian forces in 1963 after he lost his way back to China following the India-China war. Convicted for spying, he was handed a prison terms for six years.
After the Indo-China war, the former soldier was spotted in Assam by the Indian Red Cross Society and handed over to the Indian Army, January 1, 1963.
After his release Wang Chang Qi settled in Tirodi village, where he worked in a flour mill before starting a grocery shop. In 1974, he got married to Sushila.
Vishnu, who works as an accountant with a private firm, said earlier his father used to get visa, valid for a year, within a fortnight from the date of application
“My elder brother and my mother died and I and my two sisters live in Tirodi. We are anxiously awaiting my father’s return to Tirodi,” Vishnu stated.
PTI