New Chinese Embassy dedicated in Monrovia….

The New Chinese Embassy

The Chinese Ambassador to Liberia Zhou Yuxiao, on March 24 2009. hosted a grand dedicatory ceremony for his newly constructed Embassy In Monrovia.
The ceremony was graced by the President and, Vice President of Liberia, and many other government officials including the House Speaker, Chief Justice and other senior Liberian government officials as well as diplopic corps, representatives of Chinese aid workers, peacekeepers and enterprises in Liberia. President Sirleaf and Ambassador Zhou unveiled name plate of the Embassy and planted a friendship tree in the new compound.

Ambassador ZHOU

President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf

Friendship tree planted on the Embassy grounds

in his remarks, Ambassador Zhou said that the dedication of the Embassy represented a new milestone in the history of Sino-Liberian friendly relations and a practical support to Liberian effort to “lift Liberia”, and that he and his colleagues would double their efforts to expand and upgrade the bilateral ties in all fields.
Zhou expressed his satisfaction with the ever-deepening Sino-Liberian relationship, and assured that China’s financial assistance to and economic cooperation with Liberia would not be affected despite of the hard hit on China by the current world financial crisis. He believed that like the young tree, the Sino-Liberian friendly relations would grow fervently and bear rich fruits in the years to come. He added that China was also delighted to witness the tremendous changes that had taken place in Liberia in the last few years, and would continue to stand firmly behind the Liberian government and people in their uphill journey to renew, rebuild and revitalize their nation.
President Sirleaf for her part recounted the achievements and contributions made by the Chinese government towards Liberia in recent years. She said that the Chinese government had constructed the new Embassy which was a clear manifestation of the confidence the government of China has in the long term stability and prosperity of Liberia. She pointed out that the construction of the Embassy was just one project on the long list of what the Chinese government had made to Liberia’s post-war recovery. She expressed that the level of cooperation prevailing between two countries spoke for itself and that the friendship and cooperation was strong and growing by day. The President finally expected the two countries to conduct more mutually beneficial cooperation projects in the future.

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Liberian with TPS granted another 12 months extension….

President Obama

Late this evening we finally got the good news that thousands of Liberians with Temporary protected status, which was set to expire on the 31 of march have been granted a 12 months extension.
Temporary protected status is an immigration status given to nationals of countries or parts of countries that are deemed by the U.S. government to be too unsafe for nationals to return. That status can be granted for reasons like an armed conflict or environmental disaster.

President Barack Obama has signed an executive order allowing Liberians living in the United States to stay in the country for an additional 12 months.

U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison, and Minnesota senator Amy Klobuchar who has been among the congressional leaders on this issue, confirmed this afternoon that an extension of the March 31 deadline was granted for those Liberians living in the United States on a temporary immigration status.

We applaud the Presidents decision, to help our countrymen, and we thank all the members of congress who stood by and continue to stand by our side when it comes to all the relevant issues in our community.

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Amy Klobuchar seeks reprieve for Liberians……

U.S Senator Amy Klobuchar

U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, of Minnesota, along with six other Democratic senators, is asking Pres. Barack Obama to grant thousands of Liberians living legally in the U.S. under a temporary protected status, a reprieve from imminent deportation.

Klobuchar says it is important to extend the protected status and, eventually, give them permanent legal status.

“They’ve been a part of our community in the Twin Cities. They work in our jobs in Minnesota, and we want to make sure they can stay and not go back to a dangerous situation. These Liberians have been living in the United States for almost two decades. They’ve fled their own country; they were forced from their homes.,” said Klobuchar.

It is estimated that more than 30,000 Liberians live in the state of Minnesota, one of the highest concentration of Liberians in the country , and most of them were granted Temporary Protected status when they fled the civil unrest in Liberia. Their temporary status is due to expire on March 31st.

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