Chinese university investigates forged Cambridge invitation that led to visa rejections
British embassy in Beijing says Chinese student were refused visas because ‘false documentation was provided in their application’
In a statement released on Tuesday, Zhejiang University’s school of economics said it had filed police reports after receiving student complaints on December 6 about alleged fraud in their visa applications to attend a joint forum in Britain.
Acknowledging the incident as a grave concern for the university and students, the university said it had also set up a team to conduct an in-depth investigation of the incident and “make every effort to safeguard the rights and interests of students”.
It said the team would “continue to negotiate in various directions and through multiple channels”, and try to minimise the impact on students. It also vowed to “sternly punish” anyone found guilty of illegal behaviour.
Several mainland media outlets have reported that a staff member in charge of the international exchange programme and a visa agent allegedly fabricated an invitation letter from a Cambridge University professor.
The students had their visas rejected and said the alleged fraud jeopardised the chances of students who wanted to do further study in Britain.
