Burmese Language
China tells Burma VP to ‘keep promises’
China has asked Burma to stick to its word on projects that the leaders of both countries had agreed on, in a thinly veiled reference to the suspended Myitsone dam project that has triggered a frantic scramble to mend relations.
Burmese Vice President Tin Aung Myint Oo is currently in China at the ASEAN-China expo trade fair but reportedly met with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao on the sidelines of the summit.
“The two countries should earnestly work to implement the consensus on projects reached by the countries’ leaders, fulfill their promises … and guarantee the healthy development of China-Myanmar [Burma] cooperation,” Wen was quoted as saying in the Chinese press.
Both countries had signed a slew of legal and financial agreements and memoranda of understanding since the lucrative dam project began in 2006, but after a groundswell of opposition, President Thein Sein told parliament that the project would be suspended for the duration of his tenure.
Tin Aung Myint Oo reportedly told Chinese officials this week that Burma would “proactively look for ways to resolve issues”.
Issues that remain prominent for the Chinese will be the security of their investments in projects such as the trans-Burma Shwe gas and oil pipeline and the corresponding high-speed rail line, on which work could begin in December.
Part of the so-called resolution of differences seems to have come in the form of a PR offensive in Burmese state newspapers, including a warning in the New Light of Myanmar that “immature democracy” may lead to “anarchy”.
Tin Aung Myint Oo is a former trade minister and current chairman of the Burmese trade council but his status was built during a promising military career: in 1980 he was awarded the title Tihar Thura for bravery in fighting Chinese-backed communist rebels.
A leaked US embassy cable from 2004 notes that “it is the Burmese military, particularly those officers with direct experience confronting the PRC-supported Burmese Communist insurgency, which remains the most wary of China’s motives.”
The Myitsone project had been part of frenetic Chinese investment in Burma, whose oil and gas interests largely account for the 60-fold annual rise in foreign direct investment (FDI) in Burma.
“Implementing important China-Myanmar [Burma] cooperative projects is in the interests of both countries,” Wen said yesterday.
The local Burmese Weekly Eleven journal estimates that 25 percent of all FDI into the country was in war-torn Kachin state alone, one of three resource-rich states, including Shan and Arakan, who account for 65 percent of all investment in the country, and which largely divert interest from the Burman-dominated lowlands.
The dam drew criticism from large swathes of civil society in Burma, both on environmental and political charges. Campaigners warned that irreparable damage would be done to fish stocks and agriculture further down the Irrawaddy river, while 90 percent of electricity would, for the 50-year duration of the build operate transfer (BOT) agreement, be sold directly to China.
The dam’s reservoir meanwhile would have reportedly flooded an area larger than Singapore and displaced more than 20,000 Kachin people.
Tags: burma, china, hydropower, myanmar, Myitsone, Wen Jiabao
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Greedy China , they have only one interest. It is for the China irrespective of damages done to environment or destroy lives of local people. Without ethics and principles as a human being. Irresponsible chinese companies pirating , stealing technology combine. What Burma gets it third grade inferior construction products. Difficult to respect china. China is nothing more Just another uncivilized country with lots of unclean money in the bank.
China should go and tell Gadaffi to keep his promise to protect all Chinese investments in Libya by not running away and died. China is a blood sucking communist imperialist doing business with World’s despots exploiting the people. China gets what it deserves. All Chinese investments are one sided interest to China and the people of Myanmar gets nothing.
Come on Tin Aung Myint Oo tell China that the financial agreements and memoranda of understanding of the dam project was signed with Tatmadaw bandits in 2006, now new government have nothing to do with them. The personal loans taken by Than Shwe and his associates are not liable to repay by the people of Burma.
As a citizen of burma,I object the dam project,high speed train project.This is for another government to reserve.The previous military ruling government has no right to sell everything without the knowledge of the citizen.
We will stand up and fight back together.
Mr Chinese if you want to be a great country in the world you must respect Human Rights and take responsibilities of your action. Otherwise please stay in China. Not welcome in UN.
Now It’s time to organize for STOPPING SHWE GAS & PIPE LINE PROJECTS!
This was agreement between Than Shwe and China (whoever it was). It was back door contract.
It is not necessary that we have to recognize them statically.
Today, China morality and values are questionable to the world which we can see a clear evidence that 2 years old girl run over by two mini van where 18 passer by has been ignoring.
Idiot Than Shwe selling away our country value resources at cheap prices to China in getting favor at UN security council. China with money power is wiping out our resources without having Burmese people benefit.
China uses to say: “They are helping Burma”.
Yes! Of course! How?
Currently illegal Chinese nationalities have been pushing from North with money power while Burmese nationalities are fleeing to south such as Thailand, Malaysia, etc.
Mr. Ronald Reagan had said: “Gaddafi was mad dog of the Middle East”.
But, I will say: “Than Shwe is mad dog of the Burma”.
And, China is doing business with such ruthless dictator wherever it can.
Down with China expansionist! And, “Hands Off Burma”!
I really had thought it was China that had been the one to help push better policy of not going ahead with dam construction. After all it was the opinion of Chinese company doing a study that building the dam wasn’t wise.. Unwise contracts by previous government shouldn’t stand.
Jee, china only think about themselves and their religion is money.
Anything coming from a country where 18 people ignored a dying baby girl run over by a car, mixing flour inside baby milk powder, putting industrial chemicals into milk just to make up protein content; pls Mr vice president, let me complain,make threats, whatever.
We stand firm, remembering chinese dont care about burmese people, not even their own citizens, they just care about making money only.
Promises are made to be broken by dishonest and brutish men. Is China morally credible in its economic, social and political relationships?
U Thein Sein is honest, kindly and and, above all else, he seems to consider the Burmese citizenry his own, not a aliens, if for a change.
Besides the promises that China talks about were made by another man in another era. But certainly, due compensation must be paid.
China seems to consider money as their most precious possession. Human environment is precious, more precious than any other physical resource.
Kindly be reasonable.
We are not a Chinese colony.
The two of them sure looks like ‘brothers’- on born by natural birth and the other by IVF. Nobody can question who the father or the sperm donor will be.
If Burma can simply default a signed agreement/contract, how can anyone invest in Burma anymore??
You think the Americans or Europeans are all holy and will not cheat you? Look at Ivanhoe Monywa Copper Mine. The poor Burmese were really ripped off by Ivanhoe. Ivanhoe really made a killing out of the copper mine and so call financing cost for the investment… Burma got nothing/pittance out of the whole deal. Worse, when the copper at Monywa was depleted, Ivanhoe quietly extracted copper ore from the nearby Letpadaung reserves, which was not included the JV Agreement. When found out, the Burma government stopped Ivanhoe, Ivanhoe went to the media to condemn, decry Burma on its poor human rights. (The dog that bites the hand that feeds it). Now Ivanhoe is in Mongolia to screw the Mongolians.
Another case in point is Freeport in Indonesia. The local Papuans, like the Kachins got nothing from the world biggest gold mine. When the Papauans protested environment issues, destruction of forests, poor work conditions/pay, they were shot by the military and hired guns employed by the mine. Many were killed, but the West did not bother to condemn the killings or cry human rights violation… total silence from the Americans… WHY???
Think again… Americans good, Chinese bad?
Grow up… don’t fool yourselves…
Wen Jiabao is right. Burma should honour the projects the leaders of both countries agreed on. Only catch is that Awizi Than Shwe is NOT the leader leave alone clowns like Awizi Tin Aung Myint Oo however clever he is in killing people or no back bone Awizi Thein Sein. The People of Burma (all people living in the geography boundary of Burma) WILL NOT let the chinese destroy the country. One would agree that the thugs who only know guns and killing all their lives and their supporting crowd inside and outside the country had taken dirty money from you chinese and sold tha river and all. But sadly you can take them only if you kill us all with equal effect on you. Irrawaddy will unite the people. Irrawaddy is the beginning of the end of the “sit-tut” who had robbed, killed and mocked the people. Irrawaddy will expose the Chinese as ruthless, greedy, cruel and bullying imbeciles as they are. For only the imbeciles will trade pristine nature for idiotic electricity and high rise building and cars. Wait it out Wen Jiabao. Irrawaddy will not be yours with or without your bought slaves who uses guns (incidentally only language chinese understand as well) to usurp the power in Burma and threaten and cow the citizens.
China is bullying Burma and THTRTAMO (shitlone) should stop being a chinese axe-handle (tayoke pu hsein yoe)
If Myitsone Dam is continued, will destroy after finishing. China, please wait and see if you don’t believe and ignore the locals.We will not let that run.
Its declaration of war!
This is like a bad son selling the house without the knowledge of house owner parents. Like a greedy merchant buy steal gold from bad son. It is a kind of high risk stock. Its value can be zero when its found by owner. Pls discuss with good lawyer. If need to pay back just handed over the rotten egg who sign agreement and withdraw all the money in their account in china. Not from Burmese people. We object it and will stand on our people.
If Burma does not stand up to China – as it has done with the Myitsone Dam project – then it will become another Chinese colony like Tibet.
Do the Burmese people want to end up like Tibetans? With there country being populated and dominated by Han Chinese?
China has enjoyed doing business with the Tadmadaw regime, because the generals have been stealing the nation’s resources from the people.
And everybody knows, stolen goods are cheaper than those purchased legitimately.
Maung Maung Kyaw….
If Burma got screwed by the Ivanhoe company, it was because the Burmese generals were screwing the people.
Anyhow, what use is there in comparing one evil to another?
Just because American or European companies have had a bad reputation in exploiting poorer countries, it does not follow that Chinese companies will not do the same. They do.
China has already demonstrated a cynical readiness to support unscrupulous regimes, so long as they get cheap resources for themselves.
Wake up, Maung Maung. Are you blind to this?
Some “Ingalais” companies are bad, but so are many Chinese companies.
I think investment in Burma by even India would have to be better than Chinese investment. At least you’d be dealing with a democratic nation.
China hardly pays lip service to concepts of democracy, human rights, or environmental protection (especially in other people’s land).
The fundamental consideration for Chinese interests is only money.
MONEY, MONEY, MONEY.
We don’t need India, we don’t need china or the west. Unlike what the people outside the country might think we don’t need full electricity, wide roads or high speed Internet even though I am currently using it.
All what people in Burmese geographical land needs is to be left alone to strive fir whatever inspire them. Knowing the nature and work ethics of the people, the country will prosper in no time as it has been shown before. For people of Burma, the richness is being able to live without killing, lying, stealing, drinking and fornicating for any religious persuasion. Only then there wil be peace and calm. High rise buildings and KFC and IPad, they may or may not be in the picture. The Chinese has yet to learn that. Chinese are incapable of learning it. So they will continue to destroy the animals, sharks, forest, rivers and human value.
Burmese wil not let it happen in their land with ou without their paid slaves in the government it’s close clique.
Maung Maung Kyaw wrote:
“You think the Americans or Europeans are all holy and will not cheat you? Look at Ivanhoe Monywa Copper Mine. The poor Burmese were really ripped off by Ivanhoe. Ivanhoe really made a killing out of the copper mine and so call financing cost for the investment… Burma got nothing/pittance out of the whole deal.”
Are you ranting against NORTHERN Americans as in the continent of North America, or Americans as in the United States of America?
If you have an issue with Ivanhoe Mines, they would be NORTH Americans as in the country of CANADA, not AMERICANS as in United States of America.
As for who made a killing with the Monywa mines, don’t be so sure that it was just Ivanhoe, because the SLORC (which probably made a lot of killings clearing the land of its inhabitants) probably pocketed tons of money from the deal, and if the Burmese people didn’t get their share, that’s a different problem you can blame on whoever allowed the SLORC to remain in power. (NOT Americans for sure)
While you are ranting about “total silence from the Americans” as regards human rights atrocities in Freeport, which I find doubtful, you may as well be fair and list the countries which did speak-out in protest of the atrocities to your liking.
By the way, guess who took over the Monywa copper mine in a deal made by the SPDC just prior to the 2010 elections? China North Industries Corporation. (I don’t think they are Americans either)
It is laughable that China demand to keep the promise from Burmese side. First of all, there is no promise made by Burma with China. The promise was made by one dictator of Burma. Why not Chinese go after Than Shwe or the military leaders who sign the deal. I also want to share some Rousseau’s writing with slimmy bastard Wan Jiabao. I know Wan like reading Marcus Aurilius’s “Meditation”. Simplicity is wisdom of all things. However, immoral one sided deal with a weak dictator and demand to keep the promise by simplicity ground seems to be quite dishonest. Anyway, here is what Rousseau wrote.
“To speak of a man giving himself in return for nothing is to speak of what is absurd, unthinkable; such an action would be illegitimate, void, if only because no one who did it could be in his right mind.”
The Myit Sone dam deal, what is it Burmese people going to get? It will ruin our geographic landscape, countless lifes depends on Irrawaddy river will suffer trumendously, China will get majourity of power and profit from that dam for 50 years. Do you know life expectancies in Burma? It is 65 years, right? 50 years is 2 generations in Burma. The resent generation is already paying the price and another 2 generations will have to pay the price for blood sucking Chinese. There is no fairness in this deal, so Burmese people refuse it. If you don’t like it, you can go to hell!!! There is another sour deal that Burmese people have to fight; Shwe gas and oil pipe line. Burmese people lose lands and lifely hood over Chinese deal. Chinese must stop immoral dealing in Burma or we will see your business in very near future. I am not nationalist, but I do not like unjust treatment and deal. So Wan, you can go to hell!!!
The mentality of Chinese rulers are savagely destructive for the whole citizens of Burma. How cruel it is to see the Chinese mindset of sucking the blood deep down to the bone of Burma and leave them dry to death.