Myanmar’s military staged a coup on Monday (Feb. 1), arresting several top government officials from the ruling National League for Democracy (NLD) party, including Senior Minister of State Aung San Suu Kyi and President Win Myint. The political turmoil in Myanmar has added to the plight of nearly 100,000 Chinese businessmen and Chinese workers trapped by the Epidemic. Since the military coup took place in the early morning, Chinese officials have not provided any contingency plans for the Chinese community. Earlier in the day, Chinese people were restricted from returning Home for Chinese New Year on the pretext of epidemic prevention.
Mr. Chen, a Yangon resident, told us that after the coup by the Burmese military on Monday morning, local communications were once cut off and there was a rush to buy goods and there was a crush at the bank’s ATMs.
Mr. Chen revealed that the military government is still arresting people, but the people in Yangon city are still in a wait-and-see situation. The atmosphere on the streets is tense, but there is no large-scale unrest yet, but the mall only accepts cash.
Mr. Chen said: close ah, all. I ran a very remote kind of ATM today to go there, directly is closed. Including now this supermarket, before you can swipe the card, now only cash. We just came back from buying things, buy a lot of people, not sent down, if there is turmoil, then it is not easy to say.
Tu Guoding, president of the Zhejiang Chamber of Commerce in Myanmar, pointed out that communication has been restored and everyone is waiting to see where events are headed. And according to the Chinese Embassy in Burma, the Burmese military may soon announce the new heads of the provinces. He worries that Europe and the United States will take sanctions against Burma, when the Chinese-owned factories may be affected.
Mr. Tu said: just now when I got up in the morning, the phones were not working, and the Internet was masked off. Just now it seems that some cell phones have regained their signal and resumed communication. Just restored. I asked the embassy, a few of us were talking, now not every governor well basically arrested, said it should be tomorrow, the Burmese military will appoint the governor. We have a lot of businesses in Zhejiang, including garments and footwear, which are mainly exported, so if the military government comes to power and Western countries impose sanctions, it may have a big impact on our businesses.
Mr. Tu also pointed out that the Myanmar Civil Aviation Authority had notified the local airport by noon Monday that it would be closed until the end of May. He said that the Chinese side had previously announced that during the Chinese New Year period, Air China, China Southern and China Eastern’s Myanmar routes would be suspended until around Feb. 20, and that after the coup, Myanmar Airways, which is the only airline that flies to China and has only one flight a week, had also been suspended immediately. All Chinese in Myanmar are currently unable to return to their home countries in the near future. He said there are currently tens of thousands of Chinese people in Yangon.
Mr. Tu said: I am in Yangon. In Myanmar, we just counted a few days ago, there are tens of thousands of (Chinese) people, right? Originally there were routes, because of the epidemic problem, the Chinese New Year flights were stopped, to about 20 to resume.
According to local Chinese media in Myanmar, the Chinese embassy was contacted after the coup, but was told that there was no plan to evacuate the Chinese. There is no hope for Chinese people to go home for Chinese New Year.
Our correspondent called the Chinese embassy in Myanmar on the matter, but no one answered the phone at several departments.
In response to our inquiry, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said they had not received any notice of evacuation either. Chinese people in Myanmar can only pay attention to the embassy’s official website for now.
Foreign Ministry: You said the situation over in Myanmar, right? It is possible that the local network is in this situation, so wait for a while, wait for it to restore that communication. We have not received any notification so far, so you can only read the information on the embassy and consulate websites to see if there are any corresponding arrangements.
The international community has expressed concern about the situation in Myanmar, with UN Secretary-General Guterres and British Prime Minister Johnson both condemning the actions of the Burmese military and urging it to respect the will of the people. The U.S. White House, for its part, has said it will take action to hold those involved accountable if the current situation is not reversed.
China, on the other hand, expressed its hope that all parties in Myanmar will properly handle their differences under the constitutional and legal framework and maintain political and social stability.
Since the new crown epidemic spread worldwide early last year, Chinese officials have taken tough measures to restrict overseas citizens from returning to China to intercept imported cases. Previously, Chinese businessmen have been killed in attacks in Myanmar as a result of increased China-hating sentiment due to the epidemic. With the recent resurgence of the epidemic in China, officials have stepped up restrictions to stop the widespread movement of people in the Spring Festival, and the situation of Chinese people stranded in Myanmar after the coup has become more of a concern.
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