Day: February 1, 2024

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet blamed bad foreign press for the abrupt end to a development boom in the coastal resort of Sihanoukville that has left hundreds of derelict buildings in its wake.

“It takes a long time to build a good reputation so that people will want to come to visit Angkor Wat but [this reputation] was destroyed within only six months after a few articles from Al Jazeera,” he said, without elaborating on specifically what the Qatar-based news outlet had reported.

In 2019, Al-Jazeera published a scathing piece about crime-ridden casinos in Sihanoukville, and in 2022 it produced a documentary about cyber slaves–people duped into working as scammers, usually in casinos–after they were promised high-paying jobs. 

Hun Manet’s remarks came at a forum to promote investment in Sihanoukville, where according to data by the Ministry of Finance there are 362 so-called “ghost buildings” – hotels, restaurants or casinos funded by Chinese investors who pulled out before construction was completed.

Hun Manet unveiled a plan to deal with the problem, which would allow special visas and tax incentives for investors to purchase the buildings worth more than US$1 million on the condition that they fix and maintain them.

“We will consider tax exemptions [for those who buy the ghost buildings and fix them] but we need to set conditions so that they are actually fixing them instead of sitting on them for resale,” Hun Manet said.

He said the government will also make Sihanoukville more attractive by introducing duty free zones, investing in infrastructure and fostering the creation of resorts and other services for tourists. And to prevent further bad press, Sihanoukville province should do more to prevent crime.

Minister of Finance Aun Pornmoniroth told the forum that Cambodia needed US$1.1 billion to take care of the ghost building problem. 

“Back in 2016 investment in Sihanoukville was booming, especially in construction of restaurants, hotels and shops, but since 2019, due to the financial crisis and COVID-19 everything stopped,” he explained. 

In addition to the 362 ghost buildings there are an additional 176 buildings that are complete, but are not being used, he said.

Concerning incentives

The new incentives might bring more casinos to Sihanoukville concerns Cheap Sotheary, the provincial coordinator for theCambodian Human Rights and Development Association. 

He told RFA Khmer that the province would have to deal with more crime, drugs and human trafficking unless it seeks out other kinds of investment.

“[Casinos] bring in gamblers through and sell drugs, alcohol and sex,” she said. “People don’t want to see this kind of investment.”

Social and political commentator Por Makara said corruption has scared away Western investors. 

“The ghost building situation will worsen because only Chinese investors … will be willing to deal with all the corruption,” he said. “European and American investors don’t want to be involved with human rights abuses.” 

Political commentator Kim Sok told RFA that the government’s incentives would not attract good businesspeople to invest in the restoration of ghost buildings in Sihanoukville. He said that the main reason why Cambodia lacks good businessmen now is because the legal system is trampled by powerful people, corruption and crime.

“Hun Manet’s incentives won’t help the national or local economy but are only good for money laundering. Good investors won’t invest in those buildings,” he said.

The International Monetary Fund on Wednesday said in a report that Cambodia is on a “recovery trajectory post-pandemic.” The country’s GDP grew 5.2% in 2022 and is projected to grow 5.3% in 2023, “fueled by a resurgence in tourism,” which saw gains due to the 2023 South-East Asia Games.

Translated by Samean Yun. Edited by Eugene Whong.

Burmese physician and pro-democracy activist Tayzar San has been a leading figure in Myanmar’s ‘Spring Revolution,’ a series of protests that began in early 2021 in opposition to the coup d’état that ousted the elected government. He organized the first public street protest against the coup in Mandalay, sparking a string of similar peaceful demonstrations across the country. 

On the anniversary of the Feb. 1, 2021, government takeover by the military, Tayzar San, 34, and other organizers called for the Burmese people to participate in a fifth nationwide ‘Silent Strike,’ by remaining in their homes and keeping their shops closed for the day. They also called for the continuation of the so-called ‘White Campaign,’ in which people wear white clothing, ribbons or armbands to demand an end to junta rule. 

RFA Burmese reporter Htet Htet Eindra Aung spoke with Tayzar San about the third anniversary of the takeover, ongoing popular strikes and his assessment of where the people’s revolution is headed. The interview has been edited for length and clarity.

RFA: What kind of activities will the people’s revolutionary strike forces be engaging in now?  

Tayzar San: The People’s Revolution has been around for three years. When we look back at the three-year journey, we can say that the people have played a key part in the revolution. However, at the end of three years, we all need to continue the revolution. In addition to saying that we support the revolution, we all need to prove it with actual work. This campaign is aimed at encouraging public participation. 

RFA: The people also have been called on to participate in the Silent Strike and the White Campaign. How will these activities be carried out?  

Tayzar San: While we are carrying out this revolution, other anti-coup forces are strategically and simultaneously implementing armed struggles and public protests. Everyone can participate in these campaigns to mark the three-year anniversary of the coup. 

The Silent Strike … has demonstrated to the world how unified and enduring this movement is. This campaign can be conducted in both rural and urban areas. The military is also afraid of this campaign. Therefore, on Feb.1, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., we will again hold a silent strike.

Our other movement is the White Campaign. We have three main messages for the public. First, while the military council is losing heavily in ground battles, they are killing and bombing civilians in aerial strikes, which is to their advantage. To prevent it, we are conducting the White Campaign to call on international organizations not to sell aviation fuel to the Myanmar military. 

Second, the junta has a need for foreign currency. It’s a battle they are facing on the financial front. Now the junta is collecting taxes from Myanmar nationals abroad for its budget to kill people at home. So, the White Campaign is to alert people not to pay taxes to the junta.   

Another objective of White Campaign is to urge both commanders and lower-ranking soldiers on the ground to join hands with the people as soon as possible. With these three objectives, the White Campaign will be carried out every Monday.  

RFA: Won’t it be difficult for some people to participate in these movements under the current situation?

Tayzar San: Of course. There are difficulties and challenges in any revolution. Particularly, the terrorist army is inhumane and very cruel. For years, the military has repressed its opponents in the most brutal ways in its controlled areas. However, people have not surrendered to them in fear. People have not accepted the bad military bureaucracy. That is why we are conducting this revolution. as we fully believe in the people. 

The people will surely join both the Silent Strike and the White Campaign. On the other hand, the military regime is forcing people to leave their homes on campaign days to make towns and villages appear busy, and they are ordering their supporters to do the same. These are their traditional methods. However, they do not realize that the more they oppress people, the stronger the popular resistance to the military will be. The more they try to rule with fear, the more aware the people become.  

RFA: It’s now been three years since the beginning of the Spring Revolution. What’s your assessment of the situation?

Tayzar San: Three years back, at the start of our revolution, some international experts noted that the military was very strong, and they concluded that it would be impossible to remove the junta. However, after three years, they have changed their views. After three years, it is clear that it is impossible for these dictators to win. It is also the time to prove that we can go beyond this three-year span with our unwavering efforts to reach our final goals.  

Translated by RFA Burmese. Edited by Roseanne Gerin and Joshua Lipes.

People in Myanmar staged a nationwide silent strike on Thursday, forgoing work and staying inside their homes to mark the third anniversary of the coup d’etat that saw the military seize control of the country.

The protest was held from 10 am to 4 pm in Myanmar’s largest city, Yangon, as well as Mogoke in Mandalay region; Monywa, Salingyi, Yinmarbin, Kani and Shwebo in Sagaing region; Myaing in Magway region; Mudon in Mon state; Kawa in Bago region; Ywangan in southern Shan state; and Hpakant in Kachin state.

Vehicle and foot traffic was noticeably reduced in Yangon, residents told RFA Burmese, while security appeared heightened, following the deployment of additional junta troops and security vehicles in the city on Wednesday.

A resident of Yangon’s Shwepyithar township who, like others interviewed for this report, spoke on condition of anonymity due to security concerns, said soldiers, police and officials from the general administration and city development departments were jointly inspecting shops that remained closed as part of the strike.

“Under tight security, they … were taking pictures of the shops that were closed,” the resident said. “There is a [pro-junta] event in front of city hall. Five monks and 95 residents are being made to go to the event [to show support].”

The resident said that similar pro-junta events to mark the Feb. 1, 2021, coup were being held in other townships in Yangon, and that the military regime was requiring at least 100 people to attend in larger townships and 50 in smaller ones.

‘Show of strength’ against junta

Ko Kung, who joined the silent strike in Yangon, called the event a “show of strength” against the junta.

“People across the country are demonstrating that they are still participating in the revolution,” he said. “They want to show that they hate [junta chief Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing], and they will fight until he is removed.”

Yay Bawe, the chairman of the youth group Octopus, which has spearheaded protests in Yangon, told RFA that his organization plans to step up its unarmed resistance movement against the junta following the third anniversary of the coup.

“After the third anniversary, we will fight at an accelerated pace using methods of innovative, unarmed, non-violent mass movement,” he said. “We’d like to thank the public for participating in the revolution in various ways, and for enduring the junta’s violations of human rights and democracy – including arbitrary arrests and extrajudicial killings.”

Myanmar’s second city, Mandalay, also saw a significant reduction in foot traffic on Thursday, as residents joined in the silent strike.

A resident of the city, who declined to be named, told RFA that the streets were “nearly empty this morning.”

“Normally, on weekdays, people are busy moving around, but it’s quite obvious that there are very few people [today],” he said. “[Many places] are nearly deserted.”

Cracking down on the strike

Tayzar San, a prominent protest leader, told RFA that the military regime had arranged mandatory pro-junta rallies and religious sermons on Thursday, forcing people out onto the streets and preventing them from closing their stores in cities including Yangon.

“[The junta’s] only response [to the strike] is to bully the people and to try to make them afraid,” he said. “The junta is terrified of these movements that are joined by the entire population. It’s obvious that they are trembling with fear, while the unity of the people is more apparent than ever.”

In Yangon region’s Kyeemyindaing and Hlaing townships, the junta ordered that shops be opened and authorities took photos of those that were closed, a youth from Kyeemyindaing said.

“They threatened and forced shop owners to open their shops, and took photos of closed shops,” he said. “They also knocked on doors asking how many people lived in each location. All were in plainclothes … They compiled a list of the apartments.”

The youth noted that there had been no checking of occupancy lists the day before.

Detained for taking photos

In addition to mandatory pro-junta rallies, and the inspection of closed shops, RFA received reports of authorities arresting youths for taking photos of empty streets in Yangon.

A member of the Yangon wing of the group Octopus told RFA that at least three young men were taken into custody by plainclothes officers in North Okkalapa township as they snapped pictures of the silent strike.

“I heard that people in civilian clothes arrested three young men who were holding phones in North Okkalapa and took them to the ward office,” the member said, adding that further details about the detainees are unknown.

RFA was unable to independently verify the claims.

Attempts by RFA to contact Attorney General Htay Aung, the junta’s spokesperson for Yangon region, for comment on the arrests went unanswered Thursday.

Sources in Mandalay and Ayeyarwaddy regions also reported that authorities had forced shop owners to open closed shops on Thursday.

In the three years since the coup, authorities have killed 4,474 civilians and democracy activists and detained nearly 26,000 others – more than 20,000 of whom remain behind bars, Thailand’s Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma) said Thursday.

Translated by Htin Aung Kyaw. Edited by Joshua Lipes and Matt Reed.

Lurking within the cacophony of condemnations of ASEAN’s “handling” of the crisis in Myanmar, of its utter failure to move the military junta an inch towards compromise or retreat, is a lament that here was a chance for the bloc  to prove its mettle—an opportunity squandered under the weight of internal contradictions and apathy. 

Implicit is the belief that the barbarism wrought upon the Myanmar people by the junta in the three years since the Feb. 1, 2021 coup provided an opportunity for other Southeast Asian governments to flex their muscles on the world stage. Worse, it offered them an opportunity to show the United States and China that they could keep their own house in order, as though the fate of the Burmese was secondary to keeping the New Cold War from Southeast Asia’s doors. 

But a more fundamental problem with the criticism is the presumption that the bloc could have realistically done something about the Myanmar civil war. To fault someone for failing to achieve what they cannot is unfair, but to criticize them for asserting capabilities they never possessed is another matter entirely. 

Was ASEAN guilty of promulgating a false narrative—of proclaiming its capacity to manage the crisis on behalf of the international community? Did it subscribe to the very propaganda it urges others to echo, extolling the existence of “ASEAN Centrality” and the efficacy of the “ASEAN Way”, when, in reality, the former is a diplomatic pleasantry and the latter a convenient evasion of unpleasant issues rather than a unique method of diplomacy? 

The culpability extends beyond ASEAN; Western democracies and China, cognizant of ASEAN’s limitations, allowed it to set itself up for failure in order to absolve themselves of any responsibility.

Consider what ASEAN could have done in the early days of the coup. Expelling Myanmar from the bloc, imposing trade sanctions, or cutting off investments—all unfeasible options. Communist Vietnam and Laos, staunchly against ASEAN punishing human rights violations, would have resisted.

Thailand, governed by generals who seized power through a coup, would have objected to penalizing a fellow putschist military; and Singapore, a major investor in Myanmar, would have rejected trade sanctions. 

Flawed Five-Point Consensus

Faced with division and apathy among its members, ASEAN settled for the Five-Point Consensus, a compromise flouted by the junta since day one, showcasing a better understanding of its neighbors’ weaknesses than they possessed.

The U.S. President Teddy Roosevelt once recommended speaking softly and carrying a big stick. ASEAN jettisoned all its sticks on day one and spoke pompously—and, to mix the aphorism, offered all its carrots to the junta without any conciliation in return. The junta, well aware that Southeast Asia wouldn’t formally exclude it from ASEAN, played its cards astutely, benefiting economically from ASEAN goings-on even when excluded from diplomatic gatherings.

Indonesia, the ASEAN chair in 2023, is keen to stress that there will be no U-turn on its policies from last year, despite that being exactly what is happening, as seen by a senior junta official in attendance at the latest Foreign Ministers Retreat in Luang Prabang—an unprecedented event in more than two years. 

Indonesia might also reflect on how easy it will be for the new guardians of ASEAN meetings – Laos is the chair for 2024 – to topple the few good mechanisms it put in place last year. One might not consider a policy to be successful if it cannot sustain itself for longer than a year. 

Actually, it isn’t correct to say Indonesia failed: Jakarta generated many headlines for itself because of its apparent hardline and strident management of the crisis, which may not have done much for the Burmese but certainly stroked Indonesia’s ruling elite’s image of themselves as the re-emergent kingmakers of the region. 

Clearly, the Laotians, who now think they’re in charge of the process as ASEAN chair, reckon it’s time for greater cooperation with the junta, which will mean giving more slack to the Tatmadaw without anything in return. 

Supporting the status quo

Last week, the ASEAN foreign ministers agreed for the first time since the coup to send humanitarian assistance to Myanmar, within a safe zone between the Thailand-Myanmar border, which will probably work off a joint task force that Thailand and the junta discussed in December. 

In other words, it will be humanitarian assistance doled out by ASEAN and one party in the Myanmar conflict, despite ASEAN’s pretensions of neutrality. ASEAN’s rhetoric of “reaching out to parties concerned” belies its actual interaction, or lack thereof, with the National Unity Government. 

Why not invite a NUG bureaucrat to the latest Foreign Ministers Retreat?  Even had ASEAN practiced non-intervention, it would still have been a form of intervention on the junta’s side—neutrality always benefits the status quo. The junta takes power and ASEAN doesn’t punish it, so non-interference is to accept the removal of a democratically-elected government as the new normal. 

The catchphrase of a “Myanmar-owned-and-led solution” could best be achieved if ASEAN admits that it cannot deal with this problem and absolves itself of responsibility. Of course they won’t, as what is happening in Myanmar is secondary to their concerns about the “internationalization” of the crisis. 

At least, though, admitting failure would be honest and more responsible. It would strip foreign powers of their shield—their ability to hide behind ASEAN inactivity—and force them to either admit they want nothing to do with Myanmar or intervene more directly. 

It would do more to help the Burmese, stripping the junta of the legitimacy that ASEAN provides. Either do something meaningful or leave it to a Burmese to decide entirely—a genuine Myanmar-owned and led solution without any ASEAN handholding of the junta. 

After all, deep down, it’s clear  the rest of Southeast Asia doesn’t care whether post-conflict Myanmar is a federal democracy or a military fiefdom. They want the conflict to end as soon as possible, so they will never offer any support for this revolution decades in the making and will try everything to hasten a quick and incomplete resolution that merely postpones this struggle until a later date. 

David Hutt is a research fellow at the Central European Institute of Asian Studies (CEIAS) and the Southeast Asia Columnist at the Diplomat. As a journalist, he has covered Southeast Asian politics since 2014. The views expressed here are his own and do not reflect the position of Radio Free Asia.

Residents of a resettlement village in northern Luang Namtha province say they haven’t had access to a critical water source over the last seven months after mud and debris clogged up several wells built by the developer of a nearby dam.

Tavanh village and its water system were built on high ground in 2016 to house villagers displaced by the China-backed Namtha 1 Dam – one of dozens of hydropower dams built in Laos in recent years.

“The system built by the dam developer is completely useless,” said a villager, who like other sources in this report requested anonymity for safety reasons. 

Some residents of Tavanh have built their own system by installing pipes to pump water from a nearby creek and lake, but that costs at least 1 million kip ($50) and the creek runs dry for much of April and May, the villager said. 

Though the Lao government sees power generation as a way to boost the country’s economy, the dam projects are controversial because of their environmental impact, displacement of villagers and questionable financial and power-demand arrangements.

The developer of Namtha 1 Dam hired two subcontractors in 2015 to build 11 resettlement villages that included homes, health centers, offices, roads and schools. 

More than 14,000 people moved to new villages because of the project. There are several hundred residents of Tavanh, which is about 10 km (6 miles) away from the Nam Tha River in the province’s Nalae district. 

No action from authorities

During last year’s rainy season, the village’s wells flooded and then filled up with debris, dirt and mud, according to a second villager.

“The whole water system has broken down,” the second villager said. “It only worked for about a year. After that, it wasn’t so efficient and didn’t supply enough water.”

District authorities have promised to fix the system, but no action has been taken in the last seven months, several villagers said.

A district official told Radio Free Asia that he wasn’t aware of the problem.

“We didn’t know that the water system was damaged,” he said. “The village authorities have never informed us, never reported any problem to us. Our district authorities are going to check it out with the dam developer and villagers.”

The Namtha 1 Dam is a joint venture between China Southern Power Grid International Co. Ltd., which owns 80 percent of the project, and Electricite du Lao, with a 20 percent share.

It began operating in 2019. The dam sells most of its generated power to two special economic zones – the Golden Triangle SEZ in Bokeo province and the Boten SEZ in Luang Namtha, bordering China. 

After 28 years of operation, ownership of the dam will transfer to the Lao government.

Translated by Max Avary. Edited by Matt Reed.

Authorities in Taiwan have protested a “unilateral” change in flight paths starting Thursday that will bring civilian aircraft closer to the median line of the Taiwan Strait, which separates former civil war enemies the People’s Republic of China and the 1911 Republic of China, which controls democratic Taiwan.

The island’s Civil Aviation Administration said it “deeply regretted and strongly protested” a Jan. 30 announcement from the Civil Aviation Administration of China regarding the M503 flight route, which has sparked further concerns about flight safety and sovereignty in Taiwan, amid ongoing saber-rattling and incursions from Beijing.

“In 2015, China unilaterally declared the operation of M503 route, which is situated in the Shanghai Flight Information Region but very close to the Taipei Flight Information Region, prompting concerns about flight safety and sovereignty in Taiwan,” the island’s Central News Agency reported.

The route was later shifted further to the west — closer to China and further away from the border with Taiwan’s restricted airspace. Now, that concession is being canceled, Beijing says.

“China’s new flight routes which are set to come into force on Feb. 1 not only disregard aviation safety and show disrespect for Taiwan, but also appear to be a deliberate attempt to use civil aviation as a cover for political, and possibly military intentions aimed at altering the status quo in the Taiwan Strait,” the agency quoted Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council as saying.

The fear is that China could take advantage of the route’s proximity to the strait median line to launch a surprise air raid on Taiwan, although it is unlikely that such an attack could keep the element of surprise for long.

‘No such thing’ as median line

But experts told the agency that Chinese aircraft will now be flying just 7 kilometers (4 miles) from the median line on a daily basis, compared with 25 kilometers (16 miles) prior to the changes, making it harder for Taiwan to monitor the airspace close to the media line.

Chen Binhua, spokesman for China’s Taiwan Affairs Office, rejected concerns, saying the move “conforms to the common interests of compatriots on both sides of the Taiwan Strait,” and that it would reduce flight delays and ease pressure on regional air routes.

He said there was “no such thing” as the median line, because Taiwan is already an “inalienable” part of China’s territory.

Taiwan’s government has repeatedly rejected Beijing’s territorial claim on the island, while the majority of the island’s 23 million people identify as Taiwanese rather than Chinese.

Shen Mingshi, director of Taiwan’s National Defense and Security Research Institute, said that the move rides roughshod over the symbolic meaning of the median line, which is seldom crossed by Chinese aircraft.

Taiwan’s Democratic Progressive Party lawmaker Wang Ting-yu said the move could prove dangerous.

“When a country poses a military threat to Taiwan and has ambitions to annex it, when these routes are closer to Taiwan, that compromises flight safety and our ability to identify aircraft, putting pressure on … response times,” Wang said. “This is an extremely irresponsible move by China.”

‘A serious matter’

Taiwan’s Minister of Transportation Wang Kuo-tsai said there’s a danger that aircraft flying a route that is just 4.2 nautical miles away from the median line could stray to the east in bad weather, potentially running into conflict with civilian or military aircraft.

“This is a very serious matter,” Wang Kuo-tsai said. “The national security agency is now in charge of handling the response [to this announcement].”

Yu Tsung-kee, former dean of the School of Political Warfare at Taiwan’s National Defense University said China changed the M503 route without authorization or coordination with Taiwan in advance. 

“China’s unauthorized changes are aimed at stepping up pressure on Taiwan’s territory and international existence,” Yu said. “Their aim is to force Taiwan to come to the negotiating table and accept ‘unification’ [under Chinese rule].”

Since Taiwanese voters elected Beijing’s least favorite candidate Lai Ching-te as their next president last month, China has responded with growing pressure towards what it terms “peaceful unification,” in a bid to bring the island under its control through propaganda, threats and infiltration rather than armed invasion.

China launched its diplomatic offensive just two days after the elections, with Taiwan’s former diplomatic ally Nauru announcing it had switched diplomatic ties to Beijing.

Translated by Luisetta Mudie. Edited by Roseanne Gerin.