Some protesters gather in the Ledaya district of Yangon, Myanmar, March 14, 2021. The area is chaotic and resembles a battlefield.
Since the military coup in Burma, anti-China sentiment among the protesters has been on the rise. On the 15th, a foreign media reporter asked at a press conference of the Chinese Foreign Ministry whether this was an interference in Myanmar’s internal affairs. Zhao Lijian was so angry that he stammered on the spot, causing netizens to mock.
On March 15, during a regular press conference at the Chinese Foreign Ministry, a reporter from the U.S. news agency Bloomberg asked Zhao Lijian, “The Chinese Communist Party has always said that it does not interfere in the internal affairs of other countries, but the request for police protection for Chinese-owned enterprises in Myanmar is not interference in the internal affairs of other countries.
Zhao Lijian replied to the reporter’s question, so angry that he stammered: “China…in…when…living…in…the embassy of the country, requesting the local government, the local police to their own citizens I would like to ask, how does this interfere with Myanmar’s internal affairs?”
After the film of Zhao Lijian stammering in anger was exposed, netizens mocked.
“The War Wolf has become a cockroach!”
“The Communist Party has really disgraced the Chinese people all over the world!”
“There is no one left in the Chinese Communist Party! Such a thing has been produced.”
“Just… Just… This, this, this, this, this level of skill is also, also, also, also can be a spokesman?”
“The reporter’s tone was calm and not provocative. Look at this Zhao speaking students, are anxious ah, this angry yo!”
“A group of people facing a mad dog, and a serious tease, and then see a wild bark and bite! It’s actually very boring.”
Some netizens also scolded Zhao Lijian for his robber baron logic. “The Chinese Communist government has more power than the sky, and the military party is one, so they also ask other countries to be like him, and the government uses the military at will. Is this not interference in internal affairs?”
Someone else said, “In fact, the reporter should ask the Burmese why they just smash the Chinese communist state enterprises! Not to smash other countries!”
It has been more than a month and a half since the military coup in Burma, and the Burmese protesting public is in high anti-China mood and questioning the Chinese Communist Party’s funding of the Burmese army.
The UN human rights office confirmed that at least 149 protesters have been killed in protests since February 1, including 18 on March 13, 39 on March 14 and 11 on March 15, AFP said on the 16th.
And security forces are now arbitrarily arresting and detaining people across the country, with at least 2,084 people arrested. The whereabouts of hundreds of others who have been illegally detained are unknown, and the military’s failure to acknowledge the arrests “amounts to enforced disappearance.
According to human rights group Political Prisoners Assistance Association, the death toll from the coup has exceeded 180, with 74 people shot dead during protests on the 14th alone.
On the 14th, dozens of Chinese-owned enterprises or Sino-Burmese joint ventures in Yangon’s industrial zones were set on fire and vandalized. The situation continues to spread and worsen, according to some Chinese who work in the textile industry in Myanmar.
The Chinese Embassy in Myanmar said that on March 14, 32 Chinese-invested factories were damaged and two Chinese employees were injured in the vandalism in Yangon’s Ledaya Industrial Zone, so it is hoped that local police will ensure the safety of Chinese-invested enterprises and personnel.
On March 15, Burmese netizens started the hashtag “#ChineseEmbassyGetOutOfBurma” on social media platforms, angrily denouncing: “At least 70 heroes died in the brutal military crackdown on the 14th. But the Chinese embassy in Burma issued a statement on protecting Chinese companies, ignoring the deaths of Burmese. ‘We don’t want such neighbors.'”
Other Burmese netizens tweeted, “China (Communist Party), if you still think what is currently happening in Burma is an internal affair, then blowing up the gas pipeline that runs through Burma is an internal affair for us too.”
The $1.5 billion, approximately 770-kilometer-long China-Myanmar Crude Oil pipeline was officially put into service in Myanmar in 2017. Some Burmese media said some people said they wanted to “blow up the Chinese oil and gas pipeline!” and for Chinese companies to leave Myanmar.
Although the Chinese Communist Party has repeatedly denied supporting the Burmese military in the coup, the Burmese citizens’ group For Justice in Burma reported that Chinese companies accounted for the largest number of the 16 foreign companies supplying conventional weapons and related items to the Burmese Defense Force, including China North Industries Corporation, China Aviation Industry Corporation, China Aerospace Science and Technology Group, China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, and China Aerospace Technology Import and Export Corporation. Ltd. and China National Aviation Technology Import and Export Corporation.
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