Why are Burmese in democracy protests unhappy with Chinese investment?
Attackers unidentified
Chinese communist media reported that several Chinese-owned factories in the Ledaya industrial zone on the northwestern outskirts of Yangon were vandalized on Sunday. Reports indicate that the attackers, mostly on motorcycles, first intimidated and vandalized factory staff on duty, and then began setting fires, destroying workshops, warehouses, dormitories and vehicles at several factories. The Chinese Embassy in Myanmar said that as of Monday afternoon, 32 Chinese factories were damaged, two Chinese employees were injured and property damage reached at least 240 million yuan. China also urged the Myanmar authorities to “stop all violence and ensure the safety of the lives and property of employees and personnel of Chinese-owned enterprises in Myanmar.
Taiwan‘s Foreign Ministry said Monday that some Taiwanese companies were affected by the incident. The attackers broke into the factory of the Taiwanese-owned shoe company Chang Yi, damaging the guard room and several official vehicles. After the incident, the Burmese military government declared martial law in Lethaia and the neighboring Sepikda district.
Shwe Yee Win, executive director of Peace & Justice Myanmar, an NGO dedicated to promoting civic participation and electoral reform in Burma, told the station Tuesday that many Burmese believe that the Chinese Communist authorities secretly supported and even Shwe Yee Win, executive director of Peace&Justice Myanmar, said Tuesday that many Burmese believe that the Chinese Communist authorities secretly supported and even participated in the military coup. Local Chinese companies, a symbol of Chinese Communist Party influence, have also been caught in the whirlwind of events.
“Many Burmese are upset with the CCP because they believe that the Chinese side supported the military coup. The previous statement issued by ASEAN also did not express a clear attitude toward the coup because of the influence exerted by the Chinese Communist Party.”
But Shwe I Win said she still could not know the exact identities of the attackers because of the tense security situation in Yangon, where authorities have also adopted strict restrictions on communication technologies such as the Internet. There are rumors, however, that this may have been an incident orchestrated by the military government to justify seeking Chinese support. The station has not been able to confirm the veracity of the claims.
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Burmese grow increasingly discontent with the Chinese Communist Party
While the identities of the attackers remain unknown, it is certain that there has been growing discontent with the Chinese Communist Party in Burma over the past few months. Since the coup early last month, locals have held demonstrations outside the Chinese embassy in Burma for days, urging China to stop supporting the Tatmadaw. Last week, a group of locals demonstrated along the China-Myanmar oil and gas pipeline in Mandalay, Burma’s second largest city, chanting slogans such as “China-Myanmar gas pipeline will be burned down” and “Chinese companies get out of Burma. On social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter, more Myanmar netizens have issued threats against the Chinese-funded project.
Reuters recently cited a Feb. 24 Burmese government document that said Chinese officials had previously asked the military government to provide better security for the China-Myanmar oil and gas pipeline and to provide it with intelligence on local armed ethnic groups along the pipeline route. This information has convinced some Burmese that the Chinese Communist Party has been supporting and manipulating the military government.
Xia Ming, a political science professor at the City University of New York, believes the recent vandalism is more likely the result of pent-up popular resentment.
“The way Chinese capital has entered Burma is very closely tied to the military government, and it is true that the Chinese Communist authorities have been supporting the Burmese military. So this Time, when democracy was overthrown in Burma, the first reaction of the local people was that the Chinese Communist authorities should not have done it.”
Scholar: Burma’s military in power cannot be backed by the Chinese Communist Party
In 1988, when the pro-democracy movement broke out in Burma, Aung San Suu Kyi, daughter of General Aung San, who is revered by the Burmese people as the “father of the nation,” formed the National League for Democracy that same year and soon became the leader of Burma’s largest opposition party. The following year, the Burmese military government placed her under house arrest, prompting strong international condemnation. In the nearly two decades since, the Western world, led by the United States, has imposed extensive economic sanctions on Burma, which have devastated the country’s economy.
However, scholar Xia Ming points out that the military government’s ability to last for two decades is largely linked to the support of the Communist Party of China.
“The period of military rule in Burma in previous years coincided with a period when the Chinese Communist Party was pursuing an authoritarian development model and mainland China’s economy was also surging forward. Because Burma is, after all, a small country, it rode the express train of mainland China’s rise and got some benefits.”
But Xia Ming said many of the Chinese investments in Myanmar are related to extractive industries such as minerals and forestry, which are inherently predatory in nature, and coupled with the fact that many Chinese projects do not adequately take into account the negative impact of these projects on the regional environment and the basic human rights of local residents, Burmese have become increasingly discontent with Chinese investments.
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