Conduct Free, Peaceful polls- Chinese Envoy urges Ghanaians

THE Chinese Ambassador to Ghana, Mr Yu Wenzhe, has urged Ghanaians to demonstrate the maturity of the country’s democracy to the world once again by conducting free and peaceful elections in December.
He said free and fair elections were essential because Ghana’s economy was in good shape and Ghanaians should protect that.
Mr Wenzhe was speaking at a ceremony to mark the 59th anniversary of the People’s Republic of China in Accra yesterday.
“With courageous policies and relentless efforts, Ghanaians are benefiting a lot from fast economic growth and good governance, the rule of law, democracy and unity under the leadership of the current government.
“For the elections in December, we hope that Ghana will show the world once again the maturity of its democracy by conducting free, fair and peaceful elections,” he emphasised, adding that for the past years China’s relations with Ghana had been very fruitful, especially in the field of economic co-operation, as more Chinese companies were investing and co-operating with local businesses.
“Trade between Ghana and China reached $1.2 billion last year,” he stated, adding that progress had also been made in the construction of the Bui Dam, which he said would be President J.A. Kufuor’s legacy and a new milestone in Sino-Ghana co-operation.
Mr Wenzhe expressed his appreciation for Ghana’s consistent adherence to the “One China policy” and noted that the implementation of the policies agreed on at the recent Beijing Summit was in full swing and progressing smoothly.
“The Chinese government has strengthened its technical co-operation, human resource development, education and cultural exchanges with Ghana. The teaching of the Chinese language at the University of Ghana was launched early this month and more Ghanaian students have the opportunity to study in China under Chinese government scholarships,” he stated, and prayed that the mutual understanding and appreciation between the two countries would further promote closer co-operation.
According to him, the 59th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China was special to the Chinese people because China had successfully hosted the Olympic Games, during which more than 11,000 athletes, 450,000 visitors and 30,000 journalists from all over the world experienced the warm hospitality of the Chinese people.
“The Beijing Olympic Games provided an excellent opportunity for the world to discover, understand and appreciate China and for the Chinese people to learn and appreciate the world,” he added.
He said the games were special because this year also marked the 30th anniversary of China’s reform and opening up and it had also successfully launched its third space mission, with the size of its economy expanding over 10 times.
“China has been transformed successfully from a poor and backward country to a thriving and prosperous one,” he observed.
The Minister of Education, Science and Sports, Professor Dominic Fobih, who led the government’s delegation to observe the anniversary, said Ghana was grateful for the pragmatic economic and industrial policies China had been pursuing, indicating that those policies had enabled China to make great strides in development and create wealth for its huge population.
“Ghana owes your great nation a deep sense of gratitude for all the assistance you have given us over the years and the amount of investments you have channelled into our country,” he said, and disclosed that China was now the third largest foreign investor in the Ghanaian economy.
“China has provided Ghana with various forms of financial assistance and support for many projects, including the development of the Bui Dam, the rehabilitation of the National Theatre, the Ofankor-Nsawam road and the construction of two stadia in Tamale and Sekondi,” he noted.
Prof Fobih said Ghana was one of the first African countries to establish diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China in the early 1960s, recalling that Ghana’s relations and active political co-operation with China began in the early days of Ghana’s independence, when Dr Kwame Nkrumah, the country’s first President, visited China in 1961, 1964 and 1966 to establish personal friendships with Chinese leaders at that time.
He noted that in recent times the leaders of the two countries had continued to exchange official visits, with President Kufuor paying week-long visits to China in October 2003 and November 2006, with the Chinese Prime Minister, Wen Jiabao, also visiting Ghana in June 2006.
He commended China for successfully hosting this year’s Olympic Games and added that President Kufuor’s presence at the opening ceremony of the games in Beijing demonstrated the importance Ghana attached to its relations with China.