Kathmandu July 19

Two Tibetan refugees and a Chinese national, who had overstayed in Nepal without renewing visa, were arrested on Tuesday night, as they were trying to enter China illegally through Tatopani border point.

The arrests come at a time when China is pushing Nepal to create a mechanism of mobilising joint security teams to oversee illegal entry and exit of Chinese and Nepali nationals across the border between  the two countries. Those arrested are Wanbo, 20, a resident of Shigatse, Kunga, 25, from Lhasa and Lophankhu, 37, a resident of Lhasa, according to the Department of Immigration. They were arrested by border security personnel deployed at Kodari in Sindhupalchowk district. They have since been handed over to the DoI for further investigation.

The two men from Lhasa were travelling without proper travel documents. They had identified themselves as “Tibetan refugees” and had shown student identity cards of academic institutions of Arunachal Pradesh in India upon arrest. They had entered Nepal more than one year ago. Many Tibetan refugees settled in Dharamshala, India, have previously been found travelling to Nepal without proper travel documents. The Chinese citizen from Shigatse, on the other hand, had overstayed in Nepal after the expiry of his visa.

“He had arrived in Nepal 15 months ago but had not renewed his visa since. He should pay a fine of

Rs 150,000 or go to prison,” an immigration official said, adding, “It has come to our notice that many Chinese citizens are staying in Nepal illegally.”The DoI will call “representatives of the Chinese Embassy tomorrow” to discuss the legal status of the three. They will either be fined and deported or sent to jail.

Earlier, the Chinese government had proposed to mobilise joint security patrols along the Nepal-China border points, including Tatopani, to monitor the movement of Tibetan refugees and other illegal activities. Nepal, however, has not entertained the proposal so far.

More than 20,000 Tibetan refugees have been staying in Nepal since the 1959 uprising in Tibet, China. A number of Tibetan refugees have been caught while trying to illegally enter Nepal through the Tatopani border point.

Nepal-China border point at Tatopani has remained closed since the 2015 earthquakes. The border point is likely to be reopened in May 2019, as per the information provided by Foreign Affairs Minister Pradeep Kumar Gyawali during Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli’s China visit.

The Chinese government has agreed to provide full financial and technical support to build a bridge at the border point, which was damaged by the quakes.