Chairman for the Ghana-China Parliamentary Friendship Association (GCPFA) and Member of Parliament for Wa West, Mr. Joseph Yieleh Chireh has urged Ghanaian travelers to get genuine documents for their visas when seeking to travel to China for business.
According to the Chairman of the Association, the issue of forged documents by Ghanaians is not only limited to China but other developed countries like the United Kingdom, United States of America, amongst others.
Mr. Yieleh Chireh explained that it is in the best interest for travelers to China to follow due procedure in acquiring visa.
In an interview with ghanajustice.com in Parliament, Mr. Yieleh Chireh pointed out that Ghanaians who are complaining of unfair treatment should bring such complaints to the appropriate authorities, provided they have a good case.
He further reiterated that Ghanaians need to be disciplined when going through the visa application procedure.
“We need to educate Ghanaians against unnecessary hate for China, Britain and other countries. If you do not follow the procedure, you cannot blame the embassies. We should not create the impression that the Chinese are at war with Ghanaians”, he averred.
Thereafter, he added that Ghana’s mission abroad faces similar situations, as people who want to come to Ghana sometimes present forged documents.
Chinese Ambassador’s initial comments on forged document
Meanwhile, a delegation from China in September 2018 paid a courtesy visit to the Speaker of Parliament, Professor Mike Oquaye, and complained that the major challenge of the Chinese Embassy in Ghana is forged travelling documents from some Ghanaians, seeking to travel to China.
The New Chinese Ambassador to Ghana, Mr. Ting Wang indicated that some Ghanaian visa applicants forge bank statements and invitation letters, being the major contributory factor for the denial of visas to some Ghanaians.
In his speech at the conference room of the Speaker of Parliament, the China Ambassador to Ghana stated that there is always a long queue at the visa section, which puts much pressure on the embassy.
Mr. Ting Wang stated that Ghana’s population is not as huge as Nigeria but the number of Ghanaians seeking to travel to China is almost equal to the number of Nigerian travellers.
“Our problem is not the huge number seeking to go to China. Our major problem in the embassy is forged documents from some Ghanaians. They forge bank statements, invitation letters amongst others”, he explained.
He however suggested that China’s law enforcement agencies will work closely with Ghana to help reduce the number of fake documents.
Source: GhanaJustice/S.Ayisi
