Day: September 28, 2021

Myanmar model and television and film actor Mya Hnin Ye Lwin, 34, gained widespread recognition for her roles in popular TV drama series and 10 movies, including the 2016 legal drama “Angel of Eden” and the 2018 romantic comedy “Yee Sar Ta Won Kwal.” She also holds a degree in psychology from Dagon University. Earlier this year, she returned to the spotlight, but this time as one of the most active celebrities in the resistance movement against the national military’s seizure of power on Feb. 1. Mya Hnin Yee Lwin has denounced the coup at anti-junta rallies and on social media. In response, the military government in April issued a warrant for her arrest for inciting the public to disturb the peace and stability of the nation. Although she has fled Yangon and sought refuge in a rebel-controlled “liberated” area, she has vowed to keep up the fight against the junta. Reporter Aye Aye Mon of RFA’s Myanmar Service spoke to Mya Hnin Ye Lwin about her decision to join in the anti-junta activities. The interview has been edited for length and clarity.

RFA: Many film and music artists have joined the protests against the Feb. 1 military takeover, but most of them did not choose to take up arms. Why did you decide to join the protests and stand up for the people?

Mya Hnin Ye Lwin: I took part in the protests after hearing the shocking news about the coup that morning on Feb 1. I felt that it was an injustice against the people and decided to join the protests. In the beginning, I did not have much fear because there were so many people, thousands of us trying to peacefully express what we wanted for the country. Later on, when arrests were made and a warrant was issued against me under Section 505(a) [of Myanmar’s Penal Code], I became a little frightened of what might become of me if I was arrested. I went into hiding at first and decided later to join the resistance, despite the fear in my heart.

RFA: You come from a very well-off and educated family and have been quite successful in your career. Do you find daily life to be very difficult in your present situation?

Mya Hnin Ye Lwin: I had never dreamed about, not even joked about, spending my days in the jungle like this. Of course, there are hardships. Food and shelter are poor. Sanitary conditions are unspeakable, especially for a young woman like me. Sometimes it is a little disheartening and I have to lift up my spirits by thinking about those who have made greater sacrifices. I have no regrets, and now I have become used to life here. The changes in life were so sudden, and I have had to adjust myself mentally as well as physically.

RFA: You must miss home.

Mya Hnin Ye Lwin: Of course, I miss home very much sometimes, but we told ourselves we cannot go home yet. We have decided to make sacrifices for the people. And with that in mind, even when looking at posts and pictures on social media, I put my emotions aside and just look at them as a third person.

RFA: Some people say that you resemble former Myanmar State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi in photos posted on Facebook. When did you first realize that you look like her?

Mya Hnin Ye Lwin: People began noticing that I looked very much like her when they saw pictures of me in interviews with some media [outlets]. At one time, a photographer friend asked me to model for him, and I dressed up in a long-sleeve top with long hair flowing down like Amay [Mother] Suu. I have a habit of learning the styles and movements of people I’m portraying even though I may not totally resemble them physically. More people noticed the resemblance one day at the protests. That day, all the women protesters were asked to wear traditional Myanmar dresses and wear a flower in their hair the way Amay Suu always does. I dressed up accordingly, and people saw how much I look like her.

RFA: Many people have made sacrifices but for some, successful people like you, the sacrifice is greater. How do you feel about leaving behind all you have worked for?

Mya Hnin Ye Lwin: Like I said earlier, there were days when I felt a bit down in the dumps. But I try not to think of how many sacrifices I have made. The hardships we face each day are nothing compared to the lives of those who gave up life and limb and those who have been imprisoned. With such thoughts in my mind, I will carry on this fight until we have victory.

RFA: What do you think of the daily killings and fighting across the country at present?

Mya Hnin Ye Lwin: All this unnecessary violence and killings stemmed from the brutal suppression of peaceful protesters by the junta. Millions of people peacefully protesting on the streets were all unarmed, but the junta resorted to violence that resulted in bloodshed on the streets and arbitrary arrests and killings. People were not even safe in their own homes, and finally they had no other choice but to take up arms to protect themselves and their families. We will have to fight on until we win so as to honor those who have given their lives.

Reported by Aye Aye Mon for RFA’s Myanmar Service. Translated by Khin Maung Nyane. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin.

Authorities in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong have applied to arrest a human rights lawyer after holding him under residential surveillance for six months, his friend told RFA.

Rights lawyer Zhou Xiaoyun, who formerly worked as a senior editor at the cutting-edge Southern Metropolis Daily newspaper in Guangzhou, was initially detained by police in the northeastern province of Liaoning around six months ago on suspicion of “picking quarrels and stirring up trouble,” a charge frequently used to target peaceful critics of the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

He was held incommunicado under RSDL, residential surveillance at a designated location, but now that the six-month limit has been reached, police have applied to the state prosecutor’s office for approval of his arrest, a friend of Zhou’s who gave only the surname Lu said.

Police in Guangdong’s Panshan county submitted the arrest application to the local procuratorate on Sept. 26, Lu said.

He said Zhou was being victimized by the Liaoning police.

“They sent the case to the Panshan county procuratorate on the 26th, to apply for his arrest,” Lu said. “It’s not clear which leader is in charge, but it is being handled, at least on the face of things, by the Panshan county police, and in actuality by the Panjin municipal police department.”

Zhou had met with his lawyer twice during the past week, as well as receiving a visit from his sister, he said.

A veteran lawyer who gave only the surname Zhang said Zhou will remain in detention after his time in “residential surveillance at a designated location (RSDL)” expires if the application is approved.

“This is what used to be called criminal detention, and it requires the approval of the procuratorate for a formal arrest,” Zhang said. “This is a critical juncture, because if the procuratorate approves the arrest, it means at the very least that they believe Zhou committed a crime which should be investigated and which deserves a prison sentence.”

“[That means they think] he should remain in detention,” he said.

Repeated calls to the Panjin municipal police department and to the Panshan country procuratorate rang unanswered during office hours on Tuesday.

Re-educating the media

The CCP is in the process of “re-educating” its already tightly controlled state media, requiring hundreds of thousands of journalists to sit an exam on the political thought of general secretary Xi Jinping to qualify for a new generation of official press cards.

The process started with a 2014 requirement for journalists to study Marxism, and followed up by Xi in 2016, when he warned during visits to state media organizations that state media are part of the CCP family.

All media operating in China must safeguard the authority of the Communist Party central committee, and adhere to “the correct direction” in forming public opinion, Xi said at the time.

Meanwhile, Xu Yan, wife of jailed human rights attorney Yu Wensheng said he has yet to receive adequate medical and dental treatment in Nanjing Prison, where he is serving a four-year sentence after being convicted of “incitement to subvert state power” by a court in the eastern province of Jiangsu.

Family members have long suspected that Yu has been tortured and ill-treated while in custody, as he only has limited use of his right hand, and is unable to write, brush his teeth, or harvest crops as part of prison labor.

He was named as a finalist for the Martin Ennals Award honoring human rights defenders earlier this year.

The Martin Ennals Foundation called him “one of the best-known and most intrepid human rights activists” in China, acknowledging that Yu has been subjected to arbitrary detention, a secret trial, and the removal of his license to practice law.

Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie.

The ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has intensified a ban on cryptocurrency transactions and mining, in a move commentators said could be intended to protect the government’s digital yuan.

Accusing Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies of breeding money-laundering, illegal fund-raising, fraud and pyramid schemes, the People’s Bank of China said in a statement on its official website on Sept. 24 that cryptocurrencies have no legal tender status, banning financial institutions from participating in such transactions.

“Cryptocurrency exchanges and trading [and the provision of related services] are all illegal financial activities and are strictly prohibited,” it said.

It said it was also illegal for overseas cryptocurrency exchanges to provide services to Chinese residents online.

“Ten departments including the People’s Bank of China, the Cyberspace Administration of China, and the Ministry of Public Security will coordinate this work, while provincial governments will be responsible for cracking down on illegal cryptocurrency-related activities at the local level,” it said.

Analysts say China also sees cryptocurrencies as a threat to its sovereign digital-yuan, which is at an advanced pilot stage, Reuters reported.

China has been rolling out trial projects in recent months to develop a digital yuan payments system challenging the current digital payments duopoly of privately owned WeChat and Alipay.

Pilot projects have been launched in Beijing, Shenzhen, Suzhou, Shanghai, and Xi’an, among other places, while six major state-owned banks and more than a dozen smaller banks have launched a digital yuan wallet.

Chinese economist He Jiangbing said the digital yuan is both currency and payments system.

“Alipay and WeChat are just third-party applications, but the digital yuan is a currency in its own right,” He told RFA.

Limited to domestic economy

A current affairs commentator who gave only the pseudonym Wan said the applications of the currency are still limited to the domestic Chinese economy at this stage.

“China’s digital renminbi doesn’t have much international recognition, and it is not even linked to international cryptocurrency standards,” Wan said. “It is simply a tool designed for internal circulation that allows all digital renminbi users to consume in designated areas.”

Wan said the CCP appears to be moving ever closer to a state-controlled economy with state-owned monopolies in key areas, with the government able to limit which transactions the digital yuan can be used for.

“Far from preventing monopolies, they are themselves a monopoly,” Wan said. “We are talking about [market] dominance.”

“For example, let’s say somebody’s home is demolished, and compensation is only paid in digital yuan,” he said. “That money could only be used to buy a home and decorate it, but not for anything unrelated to the home.”

“This is the biggest drawback of the digital yuan,” he said.

Chinese cryptocurrency exchange Huobi Global said on Sunday it had stopped taking new mainland customers and would end contracts with Chinese clients, taking care to safeguard their assets.

Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie.