The government of Sri Lanka has requested the public not to alienate the Chinese nationals in Sri Lanka.
Nearly, 10,000 Chinese nationals have received Resident Visa in Sri Lanka, according to Controller General of Immigration and Emigration Pasan Ratnayake. And 4,251 of them are currently residing in the country, he added.
The managements of all companies that have employed Chinese nationals have been informed by the Department of Immigration and Emigration to restrict any foreign national who had arrived from China within the past month to their residences and the workplaces.
The Ambassador of China to Sri Lanka Cheng Xueyuan, in a special press briefing held with Ada Derana, spoke on the Chinese nationals currently remaining in Sri Lanka.
“Currently, all outbound group travels from China to Sri Lanka have been halted. We have observed that only nearly 150 Chinese tourists are currently in Sri Lanka. They are all in good health conditions. There shouldn’t be any concern about this. But we must keep in mind how to attract tourists to the country once again.”
The Chinese Ministry of Commerce has already informed all companies not to send any new Chinese national employees to all countries including Sri Lanka, the Ambassador pointed out. Further, if a Chinese national must visit a country for a project, they should quarantine themselves for a period of 14 days, he added.
It has not been revealed that any of the Chinese national employees in Sri Lanka are infected with the Coronavirus, said Xueyuan.
“The Chinese employees currently in Sri Lanka had not returned to China for the Chinese New Year. They had been in Sri Lanka. The employees who had visited China for the New Year are still in China”, he added.
The envoy stated that the virus is not an issue of just one country, but a global issue.
He thanked the Sri Lankan President, Prime Minister and the Speaker of the Parliament in this situation.
He says he felt strongly when Buddhist monks held vigils at the temples to bless China. Further, a group of Muslims had arrived at the Embassy to show their support to China and the humanity of the world.
Meanwhile, Minister of Health Pavithra Wanniarachchi, speaking at a press conference today (03), requested that the Sri Lankan public should continue to cultivate goodwill towards Chinese nationals, without alienating them.
