(CTN News) – People should have the common sense to understand that passports cannot be sold or bought, says interior minister.
Interior Minister Anutin Charnvirakul declared on Wednesday that he has advised the Provincial Administration Department (PAD) not to set up any billboards advertising the sale of passports in Thailand again.
He claimed that anyone with common sense should know that passports cannot be sold, and that the PAD should never have allowed such ads to be put up in the first place.
On Monday, Anutin ordered authorities to remove a billboard in Bangkok’s Huai Khwang district that displayed a Chinese advertisement for passports and nationalities.
The takedown order was issued after a photo of the billboard caused controversy on Thai social media.
Bangkok’s Huai Khwang district is now known as the city’s new Chinatown, with numerous Chinese entrepreneurs opening bars and other businesses to cater to Chinese tourists. Many shops and bars in Huai Khwang have signs in Chinese.
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“Yesterday [Tuesday], I told the PAD that this kind of signs cannot be put up again,” Anutin recalled. “Any advertisement offering passports from any country for sale is incorrect. Thailand is not a place where outsiders can engage in illegal activities.
It is not true that selling passports from other countries is not illegal. It is common sense that passports cannot be sold.
Anutin, who also serves as deputy prime minister, stated that police are currently investigating to determine who was the mastermind behind the gang that wanted to sell passports.
He also stated that he has directed the PAD to work with relevant government agencies to screen out criminals attempting to enter the country under the free-visa policy.
The minister has also directed the PAD to work with police to identify and apprehend members of foreign call-center gangs that may be operating out of Thailand.
As for concerns that Thailand will soon become a “province of China”, Anutin said this fear is unfounded as Thailand is a sovereign nation.
He said it is okay for Chinese nationals to do honest business in Thailand as it would generate more income for the country.
“We are all descended from aliens. “My grandparents, like my deputy Chada Thaised, are Chinese,” Anutin continued.
Source: Nation Thailand
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