Ghana’s Deputy Ambassador to China, Dr. Charles Dwamena, has revealed that an average of 5 Ghanaians were arrested every week by the Chinese authorities for illegal employment and for overstaying in the year 2018, and that majority of those arrested were students.
Addressing Ghanaian students at the 2018 Afehyiapa Dinner organized by the Beijing Chapter of NUGS-China on the 29th of December 2018 in Beijing, Dr. Dwamena, who was the Special Guest of Honor, advised the students to desist from engaging in any form of employment as it is illegal for students to work in China.
According to him, a number of students have had their education truncated because they were arrested by the Chinese authorities for teaching, deported and banned from entering China for a period making it impossible for them to complete their education.
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According to him, per the Vienna Conventions, the Embassy cannot interfere with the procedures of the Chinese authorities once a Ghanaian is arrested for doing something illegal and ‘for us at the Embassy, it becomes a painful situation to watch a student who has put so much efforts in his or her studies get deported in the final year for illegally working’, he said.
He used the occasion to advise all students present to desist from taking up any form of employment saying that ‘it doesn’t matter if your friends have been doing it for years without being caught, you do not know the day of reckoning for you so please play it safe and say no to illegal work in 2019’.
He informed the gathering that a number of Ghanaian students are excelling in their various campuses and that is worth commending.
He further disclosed that as a result of the fruitful discussions President Akufo-Addo had with his Chinese counterpart, the number of Chinese Government scholarship slots has been increased for Ghanaian students starting from the 2018/2019 academic year and encouraged the students to take advantage of the opportunities presented.
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He also used the occasion to caution all those who have overstayed their permits to take the necessary steps to regularize their stay as the Chinese authorities have intensified their efforts aimed at flushing out illegal immigrants.
The President of the Beijing Chapter of NUGS-China, Mr Ahmed Abdul Basit Sofo, thanked the Deputy Ambassador and the entire Embassy Staff for always coming to the aid of students in China and pledged that they will also use their influence to get students to stop the illegal activities.
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Present at the event were the Head of Chancery, the 1st Secretary Consular and 1st Secretary Administration as well as over 95 Ghanaian students from various universities in Beijin