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Month: October 2022

Southeast Asia remains world rice bowl as pockets of region suffer crop disasters

Editor013 mins

Rice crops in Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar have taken a hit from flooding and conflict this year, casting a shadow on a mostly sunny outlook for Southeast Asia’s output of the key grain as the region deals with other potential longer term supply troubles, farm officials and researchers say. Poverty and hunger are stalking some rural communities in peninsular Southeast Asia, also called Indochina, as a result of lost crops, hitting populations still struggling to recover from lost income and other fallout from widespread economic disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar, the poorest Southeast Asian nations, are not major players in rice production in a sector dominated by Thailand and Vietnam, which lead the world in exports of the grain. Southeast Asia accounts for 26 percent of global rice production and 40 percent of exports, supplying populous neighbors Indonesia and the Philippines, as well as Africa and the Middle East, according the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization. But their harvest shortfalls have to be made up from other suppliers, and any serious deterioration in rice output could have ripple effects on import-dependent countries in Asia. The challenge is more acute at a time of deepening worries over food security and rising food prices in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which has removed those countries’ key grain exports from global supplies. A man transports bags of rice in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Oct. 17, 2019. Credit: AFP Cambodia’s National Committee for Disaster Management reported early this month that floods inundated some 770 villages in 22 provinces, including Banteay Meanchey, Battambang, Pursat, Siem Reap, Kampong Thom and Preah Vihear. More than 150,000 hectares of rice paddies were flooded more than 100,000 families were affected by the floods, a committee official told local media. Banteay Meanchey farmer Voeun Pheap told RFA that floods destroyed more than four hectares of his farm and brought immediate hardship to his family as it wiped out his crop and the hope of paying off what he borrowed to plant. “I couldn’t make much money, I lost my investments, and I am in debt,” he said. In Laos, an agriculture and forestry official in Hua Phanh province told RFA that flooding in two districts had wiped out rice crops and left 200 families with no harvest to eat or sell. “Sand is covering the rice fields all over due to heavy rain, which destroyed both rice paddies and dry rice fields,” he said, speaking on condition of anonymity for safety reasons. “Families that have been affected will go hungry this year. The damage is so enormous that villagers will have to seek food from the forest or sell other crops that were not affected,” the official added. People reach out to buy subsidized rice from government officials in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, March 27, 2008. Credit: AFP Fear, fighting leave fallow fields More than 18 months after a military coup toppled a popular civilian government and plunged Myanmar into political and military conflict, the country of 54 million faces security threats to its rice supply on top of the environmental and economic problems faced by its neighbors. “I am too afraid to leave my home,” said Myo Thant, a local farmer in the town of Shwebo in the Sagaing region, a farming region in central Myanmar that has been a main theater of fighting between ruling army junta forces and local militias opposed to army rule. “I can’t fertilize the fields and I can’t do irrigation work,” he told RFA “The harvest will be down. We will barely have enough food for ourselves,” added Myo Thant. Farmers groups told RFA that in irrigated paddy farms across Myanmar, planting reduced due to the security challenges as well as to rising prices for fuel, fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides. Growers are limiting their planting to rain-fed rice fields. “Only 60 percent of (paddy) farms will grow this year, which means that the production will be reduced by about 40 percent,” Zaw Yan of the Myanmar Farmers Representative Network told RFA. Senior Gen Min Aung Hlaing, the Myanmar junta chief, told a meeting August that of 33.2 million acres of farmland available for rice cultivation, only 15 million acres of rainy reason rice and 3 million acres of irrigated summer paddy rice are being grown. Brighter regional outlook This year’s flooding has caused crop losses and concern in Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar, but so far it doesn’t appear to have dented the regional outlook for the grain, thanks to expected big crops and surpluses in powerhouse exporters Thailand and Vietnam. World stocks have been buoyed by India’s emergence as the top rice exporter of the grain. In this June 5, 2015 photo, workers load sacks of imported Vietnam rice onto trucks from a ship docked at a port area in Manila, Philippines.Credit: Reuters Although Myanmar is embroiled in conflict and largely cut off from world commerce, Cambodia exported 2.06 million tons of milled and paddy rice worth nearly $616 million in the first half of 2022, a 10 percent increase over the same period in 2021, the country’s farm ministry said in July. Laos was the world’s 25th largest rice exporter in 2020. A report released this month by U.S. Department of Agriculture saw continued large exports from Thailand and Vietnam likely into 2023, offsetting drops in shipments of the grain from other suppliers. While the USDA has projected that Southeast Asia’s rice surplus will continue, a research team at Nature Food that studied rice output in Cambodia, Indonesia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam suggested the region might lose its global Rice Bowl status. The threats include stagnating crop yields, limited new land for agriculture, and climate change. “Over the past decades, through renewed efforts, countries in Southeast Asia were able to increase rice yields, and the region as a whole has continued to produce a large amount of rice that exceeded regional demand, allowing a rice surplus to be exported to other countries,” the study said. “At…

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Chinese sportswear brand apologizes after fashion likened to Japanese WWII uniforms

Editor05 mins

Chinese sportswear brand Li-Ning has apologized after some of its latest fashion clothing sparked public anger in China over a perceived resemblance to Japanese World War II military uniforms. The company, founded by retired Olympic gymnast and billionaire Li Ning, made the statement after being deluged with complaints that its “Chasing Dreams Airport Collection” of down khaki parkas, hats and hoodies looked like vintage Japanese uniforms. Some items from the Sept. 20 fashion shoot were slammed as copies of Japanese war-time clothing, with users posting photos side-by-side for comparison. The company described the collection, which included hats with earflaps commonly associated with Japanese uniforms, as being inspired by “ancient Chinese helmets.” “Li-Ning sincerely apologizes for the perplexity and doubt caused by some of the products in its Chasing Dreams collection, the design and appearance of which have sparked online discussions in recent days,” the company said in a statement on its official Weibo account. “The Chasing Dreams collection took aviation as its theme, finding inspiration in the clothing worn by pilots, to show how humanity continues to search the skies for its dreams,” the statement said. “The inspiration from the pilot hat that sparked the most discussion came from an ancient Chinese helmet,” Li-Ning said. “We will continue to listen carefully to people’s feedback and suggestions.” The statement didn’t appease everyone on Weibo, however. “Shouldn’t the very first words be an apology?” @Big_head_girl_one commented, while @I_met_you_in_my_dream said it was an unacceptable response from a native of Nanjing, whose elderly population still remember the 1937 Nanjing Massacre, in which the International Military Tribunal for the Far East estimated at least 200,000 murders and at least 20,000 cases of rape. “As a native of Nanjing, I can’t accept this … because I keep hearing the older generation talk about their experiences in that year,” the user wrote. “I’m never buying Li-Ning again,” added @warm_winter_sun_cf566, while @small_windy_mud commented: “Speechless.” Trolls at work? Others, however, thought the complaints were far-fetched, and the work of trolls. “It’s like people who can’t tell the difference between a Nazi [swastika] and a Buddhist [manji] criticizing Buddhists for using Nazi symbols,” @Yuanxi_21711 commented, while @half_a_catty_and_eightyli said the clothing looked nothing like Japanese uniforms. “This isn’t a standard Japanese flight suit — the shape and color are different,” the user wrote. “Is Li Ning being trolled by his opponents?” Ho Tsung-hsun, chairman of the Taiwan Citizen Participation Association, said the “fragility” of online comments were linked to Beijing’s authoritarian brand of nationalism. “This isn’t the first time this has happened and it won’t be the last,” Ho told RFA. “If they hadn’t apologized, their business and public image could be affected.” “This is a dictatorship, and its people are so fragile.” Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie.

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Local officials linked to Cambodia’s opposition party forced to condemn Sam Rainsy

Editor06 mins

Cambodia’s main opposition Candlelight Party on Friday called on authorities to stop trying to force local officials to publicly condemn Hun Sen’s exiled political rival Sam Rainsy. In a statement, the party urged the Ministry of Interior to advise local authorities to stop “intimidating activities” to ensure that the upcoming 2023 general election can be free and fair. Sam Rainsy is a co-founder of the Cambodia National Rescue Party, which was the previous main opposition party before the country’s Supreme Court dissolved it in 2017. He has been living in self-exile in France since 2015, when he fled a series of charges his supporters say are politically motivated. Cambodia has convicted and sentenced Sam Rainsy in absentia several times during his exile, including handing him a life sentence this month on bogus claims that he attempted to cede four Cambodian provinces to a foreign state. Hun Sen, who has ruled Cambodia since 1985, threatened last week that he would dissolve any party that associates with Sam Rainsy and accused those who support him of being against Cambodia’s king. Several Candlelight Party members who were elected to local commune council seats in elections this summer were then told to sign petitions declaring they rebuke Sam Rainsy. “This is a serious violation against the constitution and universal declaration on civil and political rights and freedom of expression,” the Candlelight Party statement said. The party is gathering evidence and will file an official complaint, vice president Thach Setha said. RFA was unable to reach Ministry of Interior Spokesman Khieu Sopheak for comment Friday. One Candlelight Party commune councilor told RFA’s Khmer service that when he refused to sign the statement, he was asked by his colleague from Hun Sen’s ruling Cambodian People’s Party, or CPP to appear at the commune office to declare his stance in regards to Sam Rainsy. “I told  [the commune chief] that I am waiting on orders from the party but he said he also received his orders from the top,” said Sorn Meang, who sits on the council of Da commune in the southeastern province of Tbong Khmum.  “This is a threat against another commune councilor,” he said Chhoyy Mao, the commune chief told RFA that he did ask Sorn Meang about Sam Rainsy but denied he forced him to sign or say anything. “Only the CPP councilors placed their thumbprint next to their names, but none from the Candlelight Party did,” he said. “I explained the reason but [Sorn Meang] said he was waiting for orders.” On Thursday, the Candlelight Party said that political dialogue between Hun Sen and the party has resumed after the party issued a public statement to distance itself from Sam Rainsy by condemning those who insult the king, without naming any specific person. Hun Sen posted that statement on Facebook with a comment saying he appreciated the party for following his request. CPP spokesman Sok Ey San denied that the party had instructed party activists to threaten the Candlelight Party. However, he said those who refuse to condemn Sam Rainsy are insulting the king. “There is no threat,” he said. “People nationwide have condemned [Sam Rainsy] and those who disagree have revealed their stance on the nation, our religion, and our king.” Local authorities have abused the Candlelight Party’s commune councilor rights, according to Soeung Seng Karuna, spokesperson for the Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association. He said allegations over the king stemmed from political conflict between the CPP and the dissolved opposition party.  “In a democratic countries they value free thoughts, ideas and political affiliations,” he said. “The authorities are abusing people by preventing them from making free decisions and trying to affect their political will.” Translated by Samean Yun. Written in English by Eugene Whong.

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Top Vietnamese leader heading to China on Sunday to meet Xi

Editor07 mins

Vietnam’s top leader Nguyen Phu Trong will travel to China on Sunday to visit President Xi Jinping, the first foreign leader to do so since Xi’s re-election to a third five-year term last weekend. The two countries have had territorial disagreements in the South China Sea but are generally considered allies. The two men are expected to discuss strengthening ties and underscore their will to cooperate on a variety of issues. The three-day visit will also be Trong’s first trip abroad since he suffered a stroke in 2019.  Xi’s re-election last Sunday at the Chinese Communist Party’s national congress signals that there will be little change in China’s foreign policy, and it is an opportunity for Vietnam to reaffirm that it has no intention to counter China by allying with a third nation, such as the United States, Vu Xuan Khang, an International Security Ph.D. candidate at Boston College, told RFA’s Vietnamese Service. “Despite territorial disagreement in the [South China] Sea, the Communist Party of Vietnam attaches significance to its comradeship with the Communist Party of China and hopes that the two sides can maintain their good relationship in the future,” said Khang.  China, meanwhile, extended the invitation to make sure the Asian neighbors continue their dialogue and avoid unnecessary misunderstandings, Khang said.  “China doesn’t want to have conflicts with Vietnam as the Taiwan issue is way more important,” he said. China may use the meeting to draw Vietnam closer and deter Hanoi from getting too close to Washington, Nguyen The Phuong, a marine security expert, told RFA.  Vietnam needs China more than China needs Vietnam, especially when it comes to economic issues,  said Phoung. But he said Xi chose Trong to be the first leader to visit since the end of the congress as a gesture to show that China does value the relationship.  Containers are transferred from a truck to cargo ship at the international cargo terminal of a port in Hai Phong city, Vietnam, Aug. 12, 2019. Vietnam’s import-export activities heavily depend on China, says researcher Nguyen The Phuong. Credit: AFP “Recently, Vietnam’s relations with western countries, especially with the U.S., have improved rapidly,” he said. “From China’s perspective, letting Vietnam freely get closer to western countries is also a strategic threat.” Beijing has several tools at its disposal to prevent Hanoi from falling into Washington’s orbit, Phoung said. “Economically, Vietnam’s import-export activities heavily depend on China, especially in terms of raw material imports and border trade,” he said. “Therefore, by creating economic pressure only, China would already be able to send the message that Vietnam should not go too far.” Additionally, China would be able to put pressure on Vietnam by increasing military presence in the South China Sea. It can also persuade the Vietnamese Communist Party that a closer relationship can help maintain the party’s power, Phoung said.   Ironing out disagreements The two countries have also tangled over the Mekong River, as China has built a series of dams in the Upper Mekong that have adversely affected Vietnam and other downstream countries in Southeast Asia. But the visit will likely seek to avoid any overt conflicts as the two sides try to smooth over relations, a researcher who requested anonymity for safety reasons told RFA “Vietnam will perhaps not mention the Mekong very much. However, it will try to put forth the Eastern Sea issues to resolve differences through negotiation by the two countries,” he said, using the Vietnamese term for the South China Sea. Phuong said these issues would be secondary to maintaining their harmonious relationship. “If mentioned at all, the two sides would still emphasize dialogue and cooperation and not promote an image of insurmountable challenges in Vietnam-China relations,” said Khang.  Instead, the two sides will likely play up strategies for building the party and fighting corruption. They may have differences in foreign policy, “but the two countries have many things in common when it comes to domestic policy,” he said. These commonalities include the mechanism of party leadership, state management, a socialism-oriented market economy, and economic development based on export and foreign investment, Khang said. Translated by Anna Vu. Written in English by Eugene Whong.

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Protests spread in Lhasa over COVID-19 restrictions

Editor010 mins

Protests over COVID-19 restrictions in the Tibetan capital Lhasa spread to at least four different areas of the city Thursday, prompting “scuffles” with authorities in some cases, sources told Radio Free Asia, as ethnic Chinese migrant workers demanded permits to return home from the region. RFA was able to confirm that many of the protesters were ethnic majority Han Chinese migrant workers who likely obtained permission to reside in Lhasa for jobs that pay daily wages.  Sources in the city, who spoke on condition of anonymity out of security concerns, said that the migrant workers have been demanding that local authorities issue them permits to return to their homes in eastern China because they have been unable to earn a living during the nearly three months of lockdown in the city. In footage from one video obtained late on Wednesday, a man claiming to be a police officer pleads with protesters in Mandarin Chinese to return to their homes, and tells them their concerns have been relayed to senior officials. “Please return to your homes. Why? If you [don’t] go back and block up this area, what might happen? You’ll infect each other,” the apparent officer says. “We’ve already reported to the higher ups, okay? Please go home.” “We understand your pain. We’re going to make a report soon,” he goes on to say. ”Please everybody understand, we will report to the relevant authorities.” On Wednesday, RFA Tibetan reported that scores of people had taken to the streets in what appeared to be Chengguan district’s Chakrong area, in eastern Lhasa, as well as the Payi area of the city, based on video obtained by sources in the region. By Thursday, protests had spread to include the districts of Lhalu and Kuang Ye, sources told RFA, with newly obtained video footage showing crowds growing more restless. In one such video, protesters appear to engage in a yelling and shoving match with authorities, while in another, a group of people appear to push a large iron gate off of its hinges. Trying to contain Sangay Kyab, a Tibet expert based in Spain, told RFA that Chinese authorities likely did not resort to violence to crack down on the protests in Lhasa because they were related to COVID-19 restrictions, and because Beijing doesn’t want the situation to escalate. Sakar Tashi, a Belgium-based China and Tibet watcher, took it a step further, suggesting that authorities wouldn’t have responded as peacefully to a protest held exclusively by Tibetans. “Han people in Lhasa protested against the epidemic control policy. Tibetans are also involved,” he wrote in a post to Twitter. “Most who led & participated were Han – if it were Tibetans, it would have been bloodily suppressed long ago.” RFA was able to contact an officer with the Lhasa Public Security Bureau who insisted that no protest had taken place over the past two days. “There was no gathering, assembly or protest,” he said. “Everything is in an orderly manner. We did not arrest anyone.” When asked how many people were able to obtain permits to leave the region, the officer replied that “anyone who meets conditions can receive permits and leave Tibet freely.” When pressed further about the status of the protests, the officer said that “everyone is fine, everyone went home.” Other sources inside the city appeared more wary about discussing the incidents, including some who had provided RFA with updates on Wednesday. However, accounts provided to RFA by some Lhasa residents on Thursday appeared to confirm the officer’s explanation of events. Residents said that protesters dispersed after authorities agreed to process applications for Chinese migrant workers to return to their homes outside of the region. RFA was unable to independently verify whether such an arrangement had been made. COVID-19 restrictions Reports of the protests in Lhasa – believed to be the largest in the city in more than a dozen years – came days after the government of the Tibet Autonomous Region issued an Oct. 24 statement announcing that a harsh COVID-19 lockdown in Lhasa would be “loosened.” The lockdown in Lhasa began in early August as COVID-19 numbers there and throughout China continued to climb.  Lhasa residents have said on social media that the lockdown order came without enough time to prepare, leaving some short on food, and making it difficult for those infected with the virus to find adequate treatment. Despite Monday’s announcement by authorities, residents of Lhasa told RFA on Thursday that the lockdown remains in effect and claimed even more stringent measures were being implemented. One video obtained by RFA appears to be taken inside a bus full of people who the narrator says are Tibetans being rounded up and taken to an undisclosed location. “Look, they are taking all these people who aren’t even sick,” a man’s voice says, urging viewers to “please share this on Douyin,” referring to a popular video-hosting website in China. Chinese state media had reported more than 18,000 cases of COVID-19 infection as of early October, with at least 60,507 people now held in quarantine in conditions described as harsh by sources inside the Tibet Autonomous Region. In a Sept. 26 statement, the Central Tibetan Administration – the Dharamsala, India-based Tibetan government-in-exile – said Chinese authorities are holding Tibetans in quarantine camps without adequate food, water or medical care. Camp managers have routinely placed infected persons with others still uninfected, resulting in a further spread of the virus, it said. Formerly an independent nation, Tibet was invaded and incorporated into China by force more than 70 years ago, following which the Dalai Lama and thousands of his followers fled into exile in India and other countries around the world. Beijing has accused the Dalai Lama of fomenting separatism in Tibet. Translated by Kalden Lodoe, Rita Cheng and Chase Bodiford. Written in English by Joshua Lipes.

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Wife of slain Cambodian activist accepts compensation, but still demands justice

Editor03 mins

The widow of a slain Cambodian opposition party activist said she received compensation for her husband’s death, but had not agreed to withdraw charges against the assailant as court officials claimed she had. Wen Kimyi, whose husband Po Hin Lean was shot on his way to go fishing early on the morning of Oct. 16 in the southeastern province of Tbong Khmum, told Radio Free Asia on Tuesday that she received $12,000 in compensation from a Cambodian court. But when she received the compensation, court officials read a document stating that she had withdrawn her criminal complaint and agreed not to press charges against her husband’s killer.  “They read me a letter saying that my husband resisted arrest, and so the police shot him, according to the police officer,” said Wen Kimyi. ”I don’t allow the police to release my husband’s killers. I want to find out: who is my husband’s killer?” She said she accepted the compensation money to pay for her husband’s funeral. The court in Tbong Khmum province only said that a security guard named “Vet” was detained for the killing and charged with involuntary manslaughter. RFA was unable to confirm if he was released after the victim’s wife accepted compensation.   A court spokesperson discussed the case with a local radio station in Cambodia and said that the matter is being handled by an investigative judge. Po Hin Lean’s killing was part of a series of attacks targeting opposition activists across Cambodia, especially those linked to the relatively new Candlelight Party.  Hun Sen’s ruling Cambodian People’s Party has had a firm grip on Cambodia’s government since 1997. In the most recent communal elections, several opposition candidates and activists reported being harassed and targeted in the run-up to the vote.  Translated by Samean Yun. Written in English by Nawar Nemeh.

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Dozens of ethnic rebels killed alongside civilians in Myanmar airstrike

Editor011 mins

An ethnic rebel group said Wednesday that dozens of its personnel were among those killed along with 17 civilians, in what is believed to be the bloodiest single airstrike in Myanmar since last year’s military coup. The revelation comes as top diplomats from Southeast Asia prepare for emergency talks on Myanmar after more than a year of diplomacy has failed to end the country’s political crisis and halt widespread violence. Col. Naw Bu of the ethnic Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) told RFA Burmese that on Tuesday evening, a KIO staffer succumbed to injuries he sustained in the Oct. 23 attack on Kachin state’s Hpakant township, bringing the death toll from the incident to 63. Of the dead, 46 were KIO officers, including the commander of the 9th Brigade of the Kachin Independence Army, the group’s military wing. “According to the list sent to me yesterday, there were 62 bodies and 62 injured,” he said of the tally prior to the additional death on Tuesday evening. “The death toll may continue to rise.” Of the remaining 61 injured, 33 are KIO officers and 28 are civilians, Naw Bu said, adding that rescuers continue to search for people missing after the attack and are working to identify those on the list of casualties. Sunday’s carnage was the result of military jets dropping munitions on a concert celebrating the 62nd anniversary of the KIO’s founding.  Among the 63 dead were two KIA officers, members of the Kachin business community, religious leaders, prominent Kachin vocalist vocalist Aurali Lahpai, keyboard player Ko King, and a Myanmar-born Chinese national named Kyar Kyo, residents said. Injured seek to circumvent military roadblocks As rescue efforts continued on Wednesday, residents told RFA that the military had yet to remove roadblocks set up in the aftermath of the attack. They said no traffic was allowed to come in or out of the area from Hpakant, around 15 miles away, leaving them short of the medical supplies they need to care for the injured. “There are too many injured patients and too few nurses here,” said one resident assisting the wounded, speaking on condition of anonymity. “Some have died because they didn’t get the treatment they needed … The medication we already have is barely sufficient either.” Meanwhile, family members have been unable to claim the bodies of their loved ones because junta authorities are refusing to allow vehicles through checkpoints to carry them home, sources said. A resident of Hpakant told RFA that some of those in need of medical treatment are taking huge risks to leave via footpaths in the jungle. “Some people walked very risky and dangerous paths through jungles and over several mountains to return home – I think three or four of them. They carried some seriously injured people with them, but they couldn’t bring all of them,” said one resident, speaking on condition of anonymity. “There aren’t enough people to carry them out through the mountains. Some are still in the jungle getting what little medical help they can. They have no access to clinics or hospitals.” Win Ye Tun, the junta’s spokesman for Kachin state, told RFA he had no way to organize assistance for the injured amid ongoing tensions between the military and the KIA. “When the situation is safer here in the Hpakant area, we are going to start helping,” he said. The junta has said it was justified in its airstrike on the KIO gathering as a response to attacks on military bases and boats by the KIA and anti-junta People’s Defense Force paramilitary groups, which it calls “terrorist organizations.” It maintains that the only casualties in the attack are members of the KIA and PDF. The U.N. and foreign embassies have condemned the attack for causing mass civilian casualties in statements the junta foreign ministry dismissed on Tuesday as fabricated claims meant to interfere in Myanmar’s internal affairs. Special envoy The latest reports from the military attack in Kachin state came as the U.N. special envoy for Myanmar told the U.N. General Assembly’s human rights committee in New York that the political crisis in the nation is taking “a catastrophic toll on the people.” Speaking to the assembly on Tuesday evening, Noeleen Heyzer said that more than 13.2 million of the country’s 54.4 million people lack enough food to eat, while 1.3 million are displaced by fighting and raids by a military using disproportionate force, including arson and the killing of civilians. The address marked Heyzer’s first at the U.N. in New York since visiting Myanmar in August and meeting with junta chief Snr. Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, who she said she had urged to end aerial bombing and the burning of civilian infrastructure, as well as non-discriminatory distribution of aid. Heyzer said that she has been working with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), of which Myanmar is a member, to restore stability in the country, despite the junta’s failure to uphold its end of the bloc’s Five-Point Consensus, agreed to in April 2021. The plan calls for an immediate end to violence, a dialogue among all concerned parties, mediation of the dialogue process by an ASEAN special envoy, provision of humanitarian aid through ASEAN channels and a visit to Myanmar by the bloc’s special envoy to meet all concerned parties.  ASEAN foreign ministers are planning to hold an emergency meeting in Jakarta, Indonesia on Thursday to discuss the status of the agreement ahead of the bloc’s annual summit on Nov. 10 in Cambodia’s capital Phnom Penh. ASEAN has not extended an invitation to junta Foreign Minister Wunna Maung Lwin to attend Thursday’s meeting. Kyaw Zaw, the spokesman for the office of the president of Myanmar’s shadow National Unity Government, said that the meeting will likely discuss actions that can be taken against the junta to ensure that it implements the Five-Point Consensus, “because there is no positive outcome, no progress.” He also urged ASEAN to extend negotiations to the National Unity Government and all opposition parties…

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Hun Sen threatens to dissolve Candlelight Party over connection to Sam Rainsy

Editor07 mins

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen on Wednesday threatened to dissolve the opposition Candlelight Party if it does not clarify its stand on alleged insulting comments about King Norodom Sihamoni by exiled opposition leader Sam Rainsy. Sam Rainsy, co-founder of the now banned opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party, or CNRP, fled to France in 2015 to avoid arrest for various charges. On Monday, he posted a comment on Facebook  that in 2005, Hun Sen forced the king to support a “treasonous act” – a reference to signing a border treaty with Vietnam – otherwise he would abolish monarchy. Sam Rainsy also blamed Hun Sen for using the king to shield his dictatorship. “The king today has no national conscience, not even a little,” Sam Rainsy said in the video. “After Hun Sen, the king of Cambodia betrayed the nation, because we supplemented others, betrayed the nation completely, because we cut off Khmer territory to foreigners.” On Wedneday, Hun Sen responded by demanding the Candlelight Party make its stance on Sam Rainsy clear. “Is Sam Rainsy right or wrong? I want the Candlelight Party to clarify its stand on Sam Rainsy’s statement claiming the King has no conscience. The party’s leaders need to clarify before our compatriots,” Hun Sen told a crowd at a public gathering in Kampong Chhnang province. Hun Sen, who has ruled Cambodia for nearly four decades, also urged party activists to join his ruling party, saying the Candlelight Party is at risk of being dissolved.  In 2017, Cambodia’s Supreme Court dissolved the CNRP, a move that allowed Hun Sen’s ruling Cambodian People’s Party to capture every seat in the National Assembly in 2018 general elections. “It isn’t a small story, and [it’s] not a joke,” Hun Sen said. “The Candlelight Party members must immediately defect to avoid any problem [because Sam Rainsy’s supporters in the party] want to topple the government and monarchy.” On Tuesday, Cambodia’s Ministry of Justice alleged that Sam Rainsy had seriously insulted the king and ordered Phnom Penh Municipal Court to take immediate and strict legal action against him, though he has been sentenced to life in prison and permanently barred from engaging in politics. Hun Sen recently tried to convince party activists to condemn Sam Rainsy for supposedly insulting the king, calling on party vice presidents Thach Setha and Son Chhay to issue a statement. The prime minister also said he learned of a phone conversation between CNRP co-vice president Eng Chhai Eang and Candlelight Party officials about setting up the party’s network in Ratanakiri province. The prime minister told the crowd that political parties can’t work with “convicts” in accordance with the law.  “With this, I want to tell you [the Candlelight Party] that you are facing any issue for yourself, so what you should do is to clarify your stand over Sam Rainsy’s comment. Is it right or wrong? I want an affirmation from you,” said Hun Sen.  He went on to say that he has a problem with the Candlelight Party because the party was founded by Sam Rainsy.  Senior Candlelight Party officials said they have no connection to Sam Rainsy. Thach Setha, who also serves as the party’s spokesman, said the Candlelight Party acted in accordance with the law and has a leadership structure that has nothing to do with Sam Rainsy.  He said the party would issue a statement on its stand, but would not condemn Sam Rainsy as a person.  “We work independently, we have full sovereignty of our party, we do not accept orders from anyone,” Thach Setha said. “We will make a statement but not name a specific person, and [condemn] all of those who insult the king. Those who abuse the constitution, we will also condemn. We fight to protect Cambodia and the throne.”  Political analyst Em Sovannara said the country’s leaders should not compromise national interest with political conflict, and that Cambodia has no law prohibiting citizens or politicians from talking to “convicts.”  “Yes, if we talk about communication, it is not illegal,” he said. “Any person has the right to communicate, the accused, the convict or the prisoner. The politician has the right to communicate.” Translated by Samean Yun for RFA Khmer. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin.

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Laos to grant honorary citizenship to foreigners who invest US$1.5 million

Editor08 mins

Laos will allow foreign nationals to acquire honorary citizenship if they donate and invest roughly U.S. $1.5 million, but critics worry that the program could result in a massive land grab by wealthy Chinese investors. According to Decree No. 14 issued in September, honorary citizens are exempt from visa requirements for entering and exiting the country and may live in Laos permanently. Additionally, they will be able to buy land on state-owned property for a set duration and they can lease public and private land, the Laotian Times reported. To become an honorary citizen, investor applicants must donate $500,000 towards the country’s socio-economic development, and also invest $1 million before they apply, the report said. The stated purpose of the program is to bring in foreigners with knowledge and expertise to help Laos develop. But this will likely mean that Chinese investors will buy up land and leave Lao people with fewer places to live and less access to natural resources, said a resident of the capital, Vientiane, who asked not to be identified for safety reasons. “It’s not right, what they are doing,” the source said. “If someone has money they can buy anything, including land and other things. But the Lao people are poor, and after a while the people will not have any land to grow crops.” The decree would allow investors to purchase unlimited amounts of land, a source from the northern province of Luang Prabang told Radio Free Asia. “We already have a lot of Chinese investors here in our country as it is,” the second source said. “When they come to get their land concession, it affects rural villagers. They won’t  have land to grow rice to feed their families any longer.”  China is Laos’ largest foreign investor and aid provider, and its second-largest trade partner after Thailand. Growing resentment Reports have increased in recent years of growing resentment in Laos over Chinese business presence in the country, over Chinese casinos and special economic zones linked to human trafficking and crime, and over the often high-handed treatment of Lao workers by their Chinese bosses. But a government official pointed out that the program is not only available to Chinese citizens. “It is open to all foreigners who have the money to invest,” the official, from the Lao Ministry of Justice, told RFA. “We do not choose what nationality to give the honorary citizenship to. They can be Thai, Chinese or Vietnamese,” the official said. “All have the same right to get honorary citizenship from the government.” An honorary citizen has some, but not all, of the rights of a full-fledged Lao citizen, a second official said, particularly that honorary citizens can gain concession to use land but cannot own it. But since all land in Laos is owned by the state, residents can be forced off their land with little or no compensation as they are pushed out to make room for development projects. RFA was not able to determine exactly how honorary citizenship differs from full-fledged citizenship. The honorary citizenship program has both positives and negatives, a law professor from Lao National University told RFA. “The good point is that it will allow foreign investors to more easily invest in our country,” he said. “But the bad point is that in the future there will be many foreign investors coming to Laos, and this could force Lao people to move out from their rural villages.” Several other countries in the region offer either permanent residency or citizenship to those who invest in large amounts. Singapore grants permanent residency to foreign nationals who invest at least $2.5 million, while South Korea will grant it to those who invest $5 million, or who live in the country for three years after investing more than $500,000. In both countries, permanent residents can become citizens after living in the country for a specific period of time. The “Cambodia My Second Home” program, meanwhile, allows foreign investors to acquire a visa with a five-year path to citizenship with an investment of $100,000 or more. Cambodian law also allows for investors to bypass minimum residency requirements with an investment of about $312,000. Similar programs exist in Thailand, the Philippines and Malaysia. In Cambodia, some have been able to bribe their way to obtain immediate citizenship. Independent news outlet VOD reported last month that interior ministry official Oknha Duong Ngeap admitted in court to taking $120,000 each from Chinese and Taiwanese clients in exchange for granting them Cambodian citizenship. Translated by Sidney Khotpanya. Written in English by Eugene Whong. 

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Xi Jinping’s extended term as supreme leader sparks warning to China’s ethnic groups

Editor010 mins

Xi Jinping’s third term in office as Chinese Communist Party supreme leader will likely mean more suffering for ethnic minority groups in China, exiled activists warned in recent forums and interviews with RFA. Xi’s regime, which is already engaged in a program of mass incarceration of Uyghurs and mass surveillance and police controls in Xinjiang and Tibet, will continue to pose a grave threat to minority groups, exiled Uyghur rights activist and businesswoman Rebiya Kadeer told a recent forum in Taiwan. If the international community doesn’t try to resolve the issue of Uyghurs, Tibetan and other ethnic minority groups, “Chinese atrocities” could have a global impact, Kadeer told the forum analyzing the global threat posed by the Chinese Communist Party under Xi, who removed presidential term limits in 2018, and could now rule indefinitely. She said in a recorded message to the forum that “the most dangerous time” was right now, and called on “ethnic minorities oppressed by the Communist Party” to unite to resist it. Unlike previous versions, Xi’s political report to the opening session of the 20th National Congress on Oct. 16 made no mention of “regional autonomy for ethnic minorities,” a phrase that had appeared in his reports to the 18th and 19th party congresses. Before Xi took power, the Chinese government was criticized for widespread rights violations in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and the Tibetan Autonomous Region, but still paid lip service to the notion of autonomy, and allowed the use of the Tibetan and Uyghur languages to teach children in schools, along with a limited degree of religious activity. Kelsang Gyaltsen, who represents the Tibetan government-in-exile on the democratic island of Taiwan, said Xi was at least still talking about “accelerating the development of ethnic minority regions” back in 2012, as well as “equality, solidarity, mutual assistance and harmony.” By 2017, he had added the phrase “forging a national consciousness” and “the sinicization of religion,” two policies that were to give rise to a nationwide crackdown on Muslims, Christians and Tibetan Buddhists, as well as a ban on minority languages as a teaching medium in schools. The ban on Mongolian prompted street protests and class boycotts by students and parents across the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, which borders the independent country of Mongolia, prompting a region-wide crackdown by riot squads and state security police in the fall of 2020. Tibetan, Uyghur and Korean-language teaching is also being phased out of schools in ethnic minority areas, local parents and teachers have told RFA. Kelsang Gyaltsen [left], who represents the Tibetan government-in-exile on the democratic island of Taiwan, says ‘national unity’ programs have led to forced intermarriage between majority Han Chinese and Tibetans. A similar policy has targeted Uyghurs in Xinjiang, RFA has reported. At right is Dawa Cairen, director of the Tibet Policy Research Center. Both were attending the forum this past weekend in Taiwan. Credit: Xia Xiaohua ‘National unity’ and ‘Forging a sense of community’ Chinese writer and historian Wang Lixiong described one aspect of the “sinicization of religion” in Xinjiang in detail following a research trip to the region. In a commentary for RFA’s Mandarin Service published on Tuesday, he cited a sign at a rural school listing “23 manifestations of illegal religious activities.” Traditional Uyghur marriage ceremonies, Quranic study groups, “printing and distributing religious propaganda,” and proselytizing Islamic religious beliefs were among the actions listed, along with “accepting foreign religious donations” and organizing pilgrimages to Mecca outside of government-backed package tours. “You can imagine how religious believers would feel, caught in such an endless web,” Wang wrote. “The janitor told me that teachers were required to gather in school four days a week, even during vacation, to study politics, mainly anti-separatism,” he said. “Political study now takes up more of their time than studying for professional purposes.” Kelsang Gyaltsen said “national unity” programs have led to forced intermarriage between majority Han Chinese and Tibetans. A similar policy has targeted Uyghurs in Xinjiang, RFA has reported. “Forging a sense of community” means abolishing ethnic identity and autonomy, he told RFA in a recent interview, adding that “strengthening exchanges” refers to the erasure of distinct ethnic identities. “The Constitution and the Ethnic Region Autonomy Law clearly stipulate the protection of the rights and interests of ethnic minorities, but Xi Jinping’s report to the 20th party congress didn’t mention it,” he said. Signs suggest policies to continue Tseng Chien-yuen, an associate professor at Taiwan’s Central University, said Xi likely avoided mentioning it due to widespread international criticism — including at the United Nations — of China’s policies in ethnic minority areas. “Of course he daren’t mention it; it is his flaw and a stain [on his regime],” Tseng told RFA. “There is a major conflict between the party-state system and regional ethnic autonomy, which has worsened during Xi’s tenure, with concentration camps and ethnic minority groups stigmatized for their beliefs and cultural differences, or accused of terrorism,” he said. “I can’t see any indication that he is reviewing [those policies].” Other observers agreed that while Xi said little explicitly about ethnic policies, nothing about this year’s party congress indicates that there will be a loosening of restrictions currently in place in regions such as Tibet and Xinjiang. Kunga Tashi, a U.S.-based Tibet and China analyst, told RFA that Xi’s speech “included nothing that signals positive changes for Tibet in the near future,” while Ilshat Hasan, the executive vice chairman of the World Uyghur Congress exile group, noted that Xi’s elevation of loyalists to China’s inner circle of policymakers “is not a good sign for the world or for Uyghur people.” Kelsang Gyaltsen said the treatment of Tibetans, Uyghurs and ethnic Mongolians should also serve as a warning to democratic Taiwan. “Now that Tibet, Xinjiang and Mongolia are all being tightly controlled, none of those promises [of autonomy] are worth the paper they’re written on,” he said. “If Taiwan falls under the control of the Chinese Communist Party, like Tibet and Xinjiang … it won’t…

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Investigative Journalism Reportika © March 2022 by Ij-Reportika is licensed under CC BY 4.0