Day: January 11, 2022

More than two-thirds of residents in the capital of Myanmar’s Kayah state have been displaced by fighting since last week, when the military escalated attacks anti-junta forces in the region, a local official said Tuesday.

Aung San Myint, spokesman for the Karenni State Consultative Council (KSCC) told RFA’s Myanmar Service that more than 90,000 people had been living in Loikaw in recent weeks after some 30,000 residents of nearby Demawso and Prueso joined the city’s population of 60,000 while fleeing clashes in their home townships.

However, since Jan. 6, when troops loyal to the military regime fired heavy weapons and sent tanks and helicopters to battle joint forces of the ethnic Karenni Army (KA) and the prodemocracy People’s Defense Force (PDF) and Karenni National Defense Force (KNDF), at least 60,000 people have fled the capital, with many crossing the border into neighboring southern Shan state to seek refuge, he said.

“About two-thirds of Loikaw’s population has now fled to safety,” he said.

“Most of the residents left the town for Shan state after rumors spread during the past three days that the military would bomb the city. Some are seeking refuge within the state – especially those from Demawso and Prueso townships. So only about one-third of the population is left in town, and they are living in fear.”

Residents told RFA that they are mostly headed for the Shan state townships of Taunggyi, Hsisaing, Pinlaung, Inlay and surrounding areas, and seeking temporary shelter in monasteries with the help of local civil society groups. Some are staying with relatives, while others have set up makeshift camps in the nearby forests and mountains of Kayah state, they said.

One woman who fled from Mong Lone ward in Loikaw said she had to leave her home because there was no security left in the town.

“We had to face a lot of difficulties – it wasn’t easy to decide whether to stay in town or leave,” she said, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal.

“The army began firing heavy weapons now and then, and finally we had to flee.”

Another woman who fled said people were being permitted to enter Shan state only after submitting to questioning along the way by government soldiers at around six different checkpoints.

“We had to pass through several inspection points,” said the woman, who also declined to be named.

“It took a very long time at some points as there were a lot of vehicles on the road. They checked every car; how many women and men were in the cars. We had to pass through five or six such gates.

Residents said that at least six civilians have been killed in the five days of fighting since Jan. 6.

When asked about the mass exodus of civilians in Loikaw, junta spokesman Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun told RFA that the situation “would not have occurred if they didn’t attack us,” referring to the joint anti-junta forces.

“All of this started when they attacked a plane carrying passengers and COVID vaccines at Loikaw Airport,” he said, without elaborating.

“If there are [displaced persons], the [junta] will work for their security and stability and make efforts to resettle them.”

Zaw Min Tun denied claims by the KNDF that it had shot down an Air Force helicopter in recent days. In a Monday statement, the KNDF had also warned the public to take safety measures as the junta “is likely to carry out more airstrikes” in Demawso and Loikaw townships.

‘Nowhere else to flee’

Fighting between the military and anti-junta forces erupted on May 21, forcing residents of Demawso and Phruso townships to flee to relatives’ homes in other villages and towns, as well as nearby refugee camps.

Residents said Loikaw is now the third city in Kayah state whose inhabitants have been forced to flee en masse. They said more than half of Kayah’s population of 300,000 has been displaced by fighting since the military seized power from the democratically elected National League for Democracy (NLD) in a Feb. 1, 2021 coup.

A spokesman from the Progressive Karenni People’s Movement said residents of Kayah are likely to face more difficulties if military tensions continue.

“During earlier fighting, government soldiers as well as some bad elements looted houses and took away farm animals, various household things, etc. It was a very difficult situation for residents,” he said.

“If this military tension goes on unchecked, I dare not think what might come next. Our Kayah state is so small and there’s nowhere else to flee.”

Sources estimate that in December alone, more than 40,000 people were displaced in Kayah and Kayin states as well as in Sagaing and Magway regions. Those displaced by the recent fighting join more than 500,000 refugees from decades of conflict between the military and ethnic armed groups who were already counted as displaced at the end of 2020, according to the Internal Displacement Monitoring Center, a Norwegian NGO.

Reported by RFA’s Myanmar Service. Translated by Khin Maung Nyane. Written in English by Joshua Lipes.

Troops in Myanmar’s western Chin state have massacred at least 10 civilians, including a 13-year-old and a journalist, after detaining them days earlier, residents said Tuesday, prompting the head of a rights group to label the deaths “war crimes” and call for greater protections for ethnic Chins in the region.

The 10 victims were arrested by junta soldiers on Jan. 6 in Matupi township’s Ki-lun and Lon-hlaw villages, around nine miles north of the township seat, residents said. The bodies of two of the victims were found near Ka-se village on Jan. 8, while those of the remaining eight were discovered a day later between Ki-lun and Lon-hlaw, they said.

Residents identified the victims as Salai Tui Dim, Salai Van Htoo, Salai Steven, Salai La Ring, Salai La Nang, Salai Tin San, Salai Phupa Sali, Salai Lian Ngai, Salai Ze Caet Aung and Salia Thak Lung.

Salai Tui Dim, who lived across the border in India, was the founder and editor-in-chief of the Chin state-based Khonumthung news agency. He had been visiting his hometown of Matupi when he was arrested, one of the outlet’s editors, who gave his name as Robert, told RFA’s Myanmar Service.

“Tui Dim’s body was among the 10 dead,” he said. “According to residents, his body was found near Ki-lun village on the Matupi-Hakha road.”

Another of the dead, Salai La Nang, was a 13-year-old boy who had gone hunting with the other victims — all men between the ages of 40 and 60 — on the afternoon of Jan. 6, when fighting erupted between the military and the CDF, residents said. They were captured by troops of the 140^th Infantry Battalion based in Matupi, they added.

A woman who had accompanied the hunting party told RFA on condition of anonymity that she jumped off a cliff when the fighting began and escaped with only injuries to her face and head.

The military has stepped up arrests and clashes with the CDF in Chin state in recent months, after launching an offensive in the region in the aftermath of its Feb. 1, 2021, coup. Residents told RFA that security forces arrested some 50 young men over the course of a few days in the state’s Hakha region at the end of September on suspicion of membership in the CDF, releasing them only after the payment by family members of large sums of money.

CDF fighters had stopped attacking government troops at the request of residents who feared retaliation, but government troops and police on Sept. 29 began to stop pedestrians, searching mobile phones and taking many into custody.

Victims’ ‘throats cut’

When contacted for comment on the deaths by RFA on Tuesday, junta spokesman Deputy Information Minister Zaw Min Tun said that the military does not attack civilians.

“There were about 10 so-called terrorist PDFs attacking our security forces in the area,” he said. “There was a skirmish, and we confiscated some bodies and six guns, as well as four motorcycles, that were left behind. We have no reason to shoot at non-violent groups.”

Jay Kay, a leader of the Matupi CDF Battalion 2, dismissed Zaw Min Tun’s claims, telling RFA that none of the 10 bodies exhibited gunshot wounds and all but one were found with their hands tied and throats cut.

“One body found near Ka-se village has stab wounds in the neck — seven stab wounds,” he said, adding that the victims had been buried near the site where they were found.

Salai Za Op Lin, deputy executive director of the India-based Chin Human Rights Organization, called the killings “yet another war crime committed by the military” in Chin state.

“It is a war crime — killing a young boy and a journalist,” he said.

“It as a war crime to seize and kill ordinary villagers or use them as human shields,” he added, referring to reports of troops using hostages to defend themselves from CDF forces.

Salai Za Op Lin noted that the military had recently strengthened its forces in Matupi and expressed concern that more human rights abuses would take place.

Residents say more than 4,000 people from some 30 villages in Matupi have been displaced by fighting since the military launched an offensive in the region, most of whom are now sheltering with friends and family across the border in India.

Reported by Myanmar Service. Translated by Khin Maung Nyane. Written in English by Joshua Lipes.

Sanctions China imposed on the members of a U.S. federal government commission on religious freedom are “without merit” and an “affront against universal rights,” U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement on Monday.

On Dec. 21, China banned four commissioners of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) from entering the country in retaliation for U.S. sanctions on its officials over rights abuses against Uyghurs and other minorities in its far-western Xinjiang region. China also froze any assets that Chairwoman Nadine Maenza, Vice Chair Nury Turkel, and Commissioners Anurima Bhargava and James W. Carr hold in the country.

“We remain undeterred by these actions, and we stand in solidarity with USCIRF and its staff,” Blinken said in response. “The United States is committed to defending human rights around the world and will continue to use all diplomatic and economic tools to promote accountability.”

The U.S. also called on China to stop its transnational repression of Uyghurs abroad, including imprisoning and denying freedom of movement to family members of Uyghur American activists.

“These acts undermine the international rules-based order,” Blinken said.

The independent, bipartisan USCIRF monitors the universal right to freedom of religion or belief abroad. Each year it issues a report that assesses religious freedom in several countries and makes policy recommendations to the president, secretary of state and Congress.

China’s move came after the U.S. imposed sanctions on Chinese officials linked to human rights abuses in Xinjiang, where Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities are subjected to mass incarceration, invasive surveillance, forced labor and other severe rights abuses.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin called the secretary of state’s allegations of genocide and crimes against humanity in Xinjiang “lies of the century fabricated by some individuals in the U.S.” He accused the U.S. of trying to tarnish China’s image and restrain its development.

“These acts interfere in China’s internal affairs and gravely harm China’s interests,” Wang said at a press conference. “The Chinese side has made a response in accordance with law, which are completely justified moves to defend sovereignty, security, and development interests.

“We will continue to take all necessary measures to safeguard our national sovereignty, dignity and legitimate interests,” he said.

Nury Turkel, who is the only Chinese-sanctioned U.S. official with family ties in China, thanked Blinken for his support of the USCIRF.

“Beijing’s bogus actions against USCIRF commissioners stand in contrast to U.S. sanctions applied in defense of freedom and against perpetrators of the Uyghur genocide,” he told RFA on Tuesday. “We urge our allies and partners to join the efforts to stop the Uyghur genocide and to end the enslavement of Uyghurs and others in Communist China.”

Commissioner James Carr said he was disappointed that the Chinese government sanctioned him after he had worked to improve relations between the two countries.

“For China to be so concerned about religious minorities to the extent that they do everything they can to harass and intimidate them is unacceptable,” Carr told RFA on Tuesday. “Not only are the Uyghurs receiving inhumane treatment, but other religious groups, including Christians, are not free to worship.”

U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi has also been sharply critical of China and its response to the passage of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) late last year.

“The U.S. Congress strongly condemns the Chinese Communist Party’s retaliatory actions against religious freedom leaders, which directly follow our passage and President Biden’s enactment of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act,” Pelosi’s office said in a Jan. 5 statement, as quoted in a tweet thread by Washington Post columnist Josh Rogin.

“The Chinese government’s abuse against the Uyghur people and other Muslim minorities is genocide, and its intimidation tactics will not deter the United States from taking strong action to address this horror,” her office said.

The UFLPA, which was passed unanimously by both houses of Congress, bans imports from Xinjiang unless they are certified as not having been made with forced labor.

Written in English by Roseanne Gerin.

Authorities in northwestern China’s Qinghai province arrested a Tibetan college graduate last year for speaking against Chinese policies mandating the teaching of Chinese language in Tibetan areas, RFA has learned.

Loten, 23, was taken into custody on Dec. 20 in Matoe (in Chinese, Maduo) county in the Golog (Guoluo) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture after objecting on social media to the replacement of Tibetan-language textbooks in local schools, a source living in exile said.

“He said that China’s policy will eventually disconnect young Tibetans from their own language in the future,” RFA’s source said, citing contacts in Matoe and speaking on condition of anonymity for security reasons.

Loten is now being held at an unknown location in Qinghai’s provincial capital Xining, the source said. “His family was only informed of his arrest over the phone and hasn’t been allowed to see him yet. They were told that Loten is now being given political education,” he added.

Beginning on Sept. 21, 2021, the Tibetan language has been sidelined as the medium of instruction in Tibetan schools in Qinghai, with more focus given now to classes in written Chinese language and basic Chinese speaking skills, RFA’s source said.

“Many Tibetan parents are concerned about these changes and the policies being implemented by the Chinese government, but they have no way to do anything about them,” he said.

Qinghai authorities had earlier detained two Tibetan students identified as Gyuldrak and Yangrik, both 19, in Golog’s Darlag (Dari) county in August for opposing plans to use the Chinese language as the only medium of instruction in Tibetan schools, sources told RFA in earlier reports.

The policy had already aroused widespread opposition among Tibetans in neighboring Sichuan, where Tibetan private schools have been closed and children sent to government schools amid parents’ concerns for their children’s connection to their native language and national culture, sources said.

“It has been evident in recent years that the Chinese government has no plans to ease up on its hardline policies and tight control inside Tibet,” said Namgyal Choedup, representative in The Office of Tibet in Washington, D.C., speaking to RFA.

“Tibetans are firm in their conviction to protect their Tibetan identity, but the Chinese government’s Sinicization of the Tibetan language and religion pose threats to the survival of Tibetan Buddhist culture and values in Tibet.”

“We have spoken urgently to the U.S. government and U.S. officials from time to time about these deteriorating situations inside Tibet. The policies implemented inside Tibet by the Chinese government do more harm than benefit in reality for the Tibetans,” Choedup said.

Chinese Communist Party efforts to supplant local language education with teaching in Chinese have raised anger not only among Tibetans, but also in the Turkic-language-speaking Uyghur community of Xinjiang and in northern China’s Inner Mongolia.

Plans to end the use of the Mongolian language in ethnic Mongolian schools sparked weeks of class boycotts, street protests, and a region-wide crackdown by riot squads and state security police in the fall of 2020, in a process described by ethnic Mongolians as “cultural genocide.”

Formerly an independent nation, Tibet was invaded and incorporated into China by force 70 years ago.

Language rights have become a particular focus for Tibetan efforts to assert national identity in recent years, with informally organized language courses in the monasteries and towns deemed “illegal associations” and teachers subject to detention and arrest, sources say.

Translated by Tenzin Dickyi for RFA’s Tibetan Service. Written in English by Richard Finney.

New marriage-friendly policies being introduced by the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) as part of a campaign to return to traditional family roles under leader Xi Jinping have met with a less-than-enthusiastic reception among the country’s young women, many of whom told RFA they would prefer to focus on owning their own home.

Young, unmarried women are emerging as a fast-growing segment of the property market, as many women see more of a future in real estate than in marrying and having kids.

“The day the sale was completed, I picked up the keys and took the documents across the street where I had a bowl of hot and sour noodles,” divorced millennial Joey Zhou, who saved enough for a down payment on her first home through a job in Beijing’s financial sector, told RFA.

“Sitting there in the cafe, I knew I would be in debt from the moment I swiped my card,” she recalled. “But the psychological sense of security was hard to describe.”

Qi Sun, a 34-year-old tech employee, bought herself a 60-square-meter apartment in Shanghai’s Songjiang district in the summer of 2021, following the advice of a friend and to avoid a sense of insecurity that came from renting.

“My friend said that it could be easier to buy a house than to find a boyfriend,” Sun said with a wry smile, before adding: “But when I bought a house, I really started to feel that getting married isn’t so important any more.”

Sun said many of young women in her social circle are doing the same.

“All of my female friends who have bought a home have almost no regrets,” she said. “Their only regret is why they didn’t grit their teeth and get a bigger one.”

Zhou and Sun aren’t alone.

A 2021 report by the Shell Research Institute found that more women are buying homes than men in several major cities including Chongqing and Tianjin.

The proportion of women buying houses in 30 key cities in China has risen from 45.60 percent in 2017 to 47.54 percent in 2020, with much faster growth rates reported among female buyers under 29.

Once the preserve of anxious parents looking to nab a property in a good school district, rich elders looking to buy a home for young newly-weds or real estate speculators, China’s real estate market is increasingly being used by young women to seek a sense of security and self-worth outside marriage.

A joint report in 2021 by realtor 58.com and Anjuke found that some 82 percent of women are planning to buy a home in the next five years, while 40 percent want to be owner-occupiers within two years.

“Many of these young women come from a generation of only children [under the one-child policy], and their sense of themselves was shaped during the 1980s and 1990s,” professor Dong Yige of the State University of New York at Buffalo told RFA.

“Their vision for themselves is to have their own lives, their own property, and an independent sense of who they are,” Dong said. “And yet now they’re being told that women are expected to be good wives and mothers, and stay home to help the kids with their homework.”

Dong said such rhetoric from CCP leaders is unlikely to cut much ice among a generation that has been left to battle a rising tide of sexism at work and in society at large.

“They are finding that the [job] market discriminates against women, as does being married,” Dong said. “In a situation where the wealth divide is widening … the best option for individuals is to invest all of their resources into something they can own.”

Emma Zang, an assistant professor in the Department of Sociology at Yale University, said changes to the official judicial interpretation of China’s Marriage Law in 2011 have also affected this generation of women.

“Before 2011, the changes in Chinese marriage laws were generally conducive to protecting the rights and interests of women during divorce,” Zang told RFA. “When a couple divorced, the law considered the marital home to be the joint property of the couple.”

“But a new judicial interpretation of the Marriage Law was promulgated in 2011, which decreed that the ownership of the marital home depends on whose signature is on the property deeds,” she said. “Chinese traditional custom has it that the husband’s name is on the property deeds.”

Growing discontent, but less keen on divorce

Zang said married women have become less keen on divorce since then, because they could lose their property, while there is also growing discontent among women who stay married.

“We also find that women are spending more time on household chores [than their husbands], and they have less confidence in the future,” she added.

All of those factors mean that young women have more incentive to remain single, and to invest in property on their own account, Zang said.

These attitudes are already being reflected in official marriage statistics, with 8.13 million couples marrying in 2020, compared with 10 million in 2019. Marriage figures are at their lowest point since 2003, and 60 percent lower than a recent peak in 2013.

The government has responded to falling marriage rates with a new mandatory, 30-day “cooling-off” period for couples seeking divorce that took effect from Jan. 1, 2022.

For Joey Zhou, she decided to leave her marriage before the process was complicated by children, but still ran into opposition from her family.

“I never expected that the hardest part of my divorce would be convincing my parents,” Zhou said. “They are very traditional, and think that a woman should stay married.”

But for Zhou, both the traditional sense of marital obligation nor the romantic ideal of soulmates sharing their lives forever are now a busted flush.

“Some people will tell you that it’s hard to marry a woman who already has her own home,” Zhou said. “I say, stay away from people like that.”

“People like that are exactly the reason why people like me want to buy a home before getting married,” Zhou said. “But we girls all know that we have to make a living first, and then look for love.”

Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie.