Dear Editor,
I wish to clarify a sentence in my letter which you published (‘It is time the Natural Resources Sectoral Committee of Parliament asked serious questions of the Ministry of Natural Resources, the GFC and Bai Shan Lin,’ Stabroek News, May 11). I said that the Embassy in Beijing did not know how many foreign workers have been brought into Guyana, and how many more visas are being processed. This statement was based on information that Bai Shan Lin (BSL) staff and other Chinese coming for work in Guyana were issued with a letter by the Ministry of Home Affairs for visas to be issued on arrival at Timehri. However, I have now learned that airlines have been unwilling to take passengers on the basis of an easily-forged letter. Subsequent to this reluctance, the Chinese passports have been stamped by our Embassy in Beijing and thus the Embassy should know how many visas have been issued. What is not known is how many of those visa-holders returned to China after expiration of the visas, and there is some concern in European countries that ‘return’ stamps can be counterfeited.
The BSL investment promotion powerpoint slides (available through the internet) mention “BSL will set up a Guyana Investment Visa Service Center to provide Chinese investors with visa service to Guyana” (slide 16) and “Guyana allows arrival visa to US and some South American and European countries” (slide 26).
Yours faithfully,
Janette Bulkan
