老兵回家路|Chinese veteran trapped in India for 54 years returns home

https://v.qq.com/txp/iframe/player.html?vid=f0374o9qe3j&width=500&height=375&auto=0Wang Qi, the 78-year-old Chinese veteran, arrived in his hometown in northwest China's Xi'an, Shaanxi Province on Saturday at 17:43. He had been trapped for 54 years in India, attracting widespread attention in China. Who is the man? How did he end up in India? What do we know about his life there? And why did he wait over half a century to come back home?

经过54年的漫长等待，78岁的王琪终于在11号当晚回到了祖国的怀抱。

Captured along Sino-India border

半世纪前 流落异国

Wang lost his way in a forest on China's border with India while constructing roads for the People's Liberation Army of China in January 1963, shortly after the conclusion of the Sino-Indian war. He said he "strayed erroneously" inside India's territory. He then saw a vehicle belonging to the Indian Red Cross and asked for its help. The vehicle took him to Indian authorities, which imprisoned him for seven years for “espionage.”

1963年元旦，当时还是一名中国工程兵的王琪在中印边界地区的树林中迷了路。他看到印度红十字会的车，想请求他们帮助，却被带走并交给了印度军方，军方则以“间谍罪”将他关在监狱里达7年之久。

Married and having dhildren in rural India

娶妻生子 落地印度

After being released in 1969, Wang was taken to Tirodi, a remote village in the state of Madhya Pradesh, where he spent the next 47 years.

In 1975, he married a local woman, Sushila, under "pressure from friends," according to the BBC. They raised two sons and two daughters.

1969年，王琪才终于被释放，可他离日思夜想的家乡依旧遥远。后来他还“迫于朋友的压力”和一名叫做Sushila的印度女孩结婚，生了两双儿女。

Wang Qi (2nd R) and his families in India. 

A 40-year journey home

40年的归乡之路 

Wang said his biggest wish was to return to his hometown before death. He had repeatedly applied to return to China since 1977, but had not received any reply from Indian authorities until earlier this week.

In 1986, he sent the first letter to his family in Xianyang, Shaanxi Province in northwest China. In 2002, he spoke to his mother for the first time in more than four decades on the phone. Unfortunately, he failed to see her again before she passed away in 2006.

40年来，王琪不停地请求返乡，请求回到中国。但是印度政府始终不曾回应。令他终生遗憾的是，他在这了无音讯的40年过去后，终于得以和自己的老母亲通一次电话。可那通电话竟成永诀——他的母亲在2006年去世，最终也没能再见到她的儿子。

In 2013, he received his Chinese passport from the Chinese embassy in India. However, he could not leave India without the exit permit issued by the Indian authorities. As a man in his 70s, he began to worry that he might not be able to realize his homecoming wish.

2013年中国大使馆为王其办了一本护照，但由于当地机关不放行，他的回国梦一直遥遥无期。直到上个月，中国媒体深度报道了他的事迹，他的事迹也得到了更多人的关注。中国外交部也介入其中，让他有了回国的希望。

It was not until last month that Wang and his experience was unveiled by media, drawing widespread attention from the public. On Monday, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Lu Kang said China was "pushing India" to complete the procedures needed for Wang's trip home. “I believe that with the joint efforts of China and India, and respecting the will of Wang himself, the case will be properly solved,” he added.

Having completed all required procedures, Wang eventually took the plane from New Delhi to Beijing with several family members on Monday, after decades of desperate waiting. He will head to his hometown on Monday to visit his parents’ graves.

The day of Wang’s return is also China’s Lantern Festival this year – an important occasion for family reunion.

经历了半个世纪的等待，这周王琪在家人的陪同下从印度飞回了故乡。值得一提的是，他回来的这一天正是元宵节——一个家人团聚的日子。