On behalf of President Obama and the people of the United States, I would like to convey my best wishes to the people of Myanmar on your independence day this January 4.
This 68th anniversary of Myanmar’s independence follows your country’s historic parliamentary elections on November 8. On that day, millions of people around the country, many voting for the first time, seized the opportunity to move Myanmar one step closer to a more democratic, peaceful, and prosperous future. (Courtesy of state.gov)
January 1, 2016
Taiwan Cooperative Bank opens representative office in Yangon
Taipei, Dec. 31 (CNA) Taiwan Cooperative Bank (合庫銀), the banking arm of Taiwan Cooperative Financial Holding Co. (合庫金), opened a representative office in Yangon, Myanmar Thursday, making the office the fifth foothold of the bank in the fast-growing Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) market.
The four other outlets in the ASEAN market consist of one branch located in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, two sub-branches located in Tuek Thla and Pur Senchey, also in Cambodia, and another branch located in Manila, the Philippines.
The bank said that the office in Yangon is expected to help the bank to extend its reach in the ASEAN market and take advantage of the market's great growth potential. According to the bank, collectively, ASEAN is likely to become the fourth largest economy in the world by 2030, up from its current position in seventh place. (Courtesy of Focus Taiwan)
The four other outlets in the ASEAN market consist of one branch located in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, two sub-branches located in Tuek Thla and Pur Senchey, also in Cambodia, and another branch located in Manila, the Philippines.
The bank said that the office in Yangon is expected to help the bank to extend its reach in the ASEAN market and take advantage of the market's great growth potential. According to the bank, collectively, ASEAN is likely to become the fourth largest economy in the world by 2030, up from its current position in seventh place. (Courtesy of Focus Taiwan)
Chinese Company Wins Contract for Deep Sea Port in Myanmar
China’s CITIC Group Corporation has won two contracts related to a special economic zone in western Myanmar, Reuters reports, including building a deep sea port on the Bay of Bengal. CITIC’s consortia (including China Harbor Engineering Company Ltd., China Merchants Holdings, TEDA Investment Holding, and Yunnan Construction Engineering Group) will lead projects to build the port as well as an industrial area at the Kyaukpyu Special Economic Zone in western Myanmar’s Rakhine State, which borders Bangladesh to the north and the Bay of Bengal to the west.
The contracts give yet another Chinese company a pivotal role in developing maritime infrastructure on the Indian Ocean, adding to China’s involvement in a number of regional ports (Chittagong in Bangladesh, Gwadar in Pakistan, and Colombo in Sri Lanka). Taken together, those ports are sometimes referred to as China’s “string of pearls” — a concept that assumes they will be of military as well as civilian use.
Kyaukpyu is of particular interest to China because overland links between Myanmar and southern China can reduce reliance on the potential chokepoint of the Strait of Malacca. By eliminating the need to travel via the Strait of Malacca, Kyaukpyu Port would save about 5,000 kilometers in sailing distance for shipments traveling to China from India and points beyond. The drive to diversify its shipping routes – and to increase economic clout in neighboring countries – is a major impetus behind the new “Belt and Road” initiative, which envisions infrastructure and trade networks linking China with every part of the Eurasian continent. (Courtesy of The Diplomat)
The contracts give yet another Chinese company a pivotal role in developing maritime infrastructure on the Indian Ocean, adding to China’s involvement in a number of regional ports (Chittagong in Bangladesh, Gwadar in Pakistan, and Colombo in Sri Lanka). Taken together, those ports are sometimes referred to as China’s “string of pearls” — a concept that assumes they will be of military as well as civilian use.
Kyaukpyu is of particular interest to China because overland links between Myanmar and southern China can reduce reliance on the potential chokepoint of the Strait of Malacca. By eliminating the need to travel via the Strait of Malacca, Kyaukpyu Port would save about 5,000 kilometers in sailing distance for shipments traveling to China from India and points beyond. The drive to diversify its shipping routes – and to increase economic clout in neighboring countries – is a major impetus behind the new “Belt and Road” initiative, which envisions infrastructure and trade networks linking China with every part of the Eurasian continent. (Courtesy of The Diplomat)
These were the most dangerous viral images to share in 2015
It hasn’t been a great year for internet freedom.
In 2015, citizens everywhere from Paris to Myanmar were accused and sentenced for sharing jokes and opinions on social media. Now, a Thai factory worker faces up to 32 years in prison for having “liked” and shared a doctored photo of the nation’s king, and for sharing an infographic that denounced corruption in the construction of a tourist attraction.
Worldwide, internet freedom has declined for the fifth consecutive year, according to US watchdog organization Freedom House, which counts factors like content removal, censorship, surveillance and intimidation practices. According to the same report (pdf), nearly seven of every ten of global internet users are either not free or only partly free today, with internet use particularly limited in China, Iran, Syria, Ethiopia, and Cuba. (Courtesy of Quartz)
In 2015, citizens everywhere from Paris to Myanmar were accused and sentenced for sharing jokes and opinions on social media. Now, a Thai factory worker faces up to 32 years in prison for having “liked” and shared a doctored photo of the nation’s king, and for sharing an infographic that denounced corruption in the construction of a tourist attraction.
Worldwide, internet freedom has declined for the fifth consecutive year, according to US watchdog organization Freedom House, which counts factors like content removal, censorship, surveillance and intimidation practices. According to the same report (pdf), nearly seven of every ten of global internet users are either not free or only partly free today, with internet use particularly limited in China, Iran, Syria, Ethiopia, and Cuba. (Courtesy of Quartz)
Myanmar authorities block anti-Rohingya semina
Myanmar authorities have denied an application for a planned seminar on the ethnic identity of Rohingya Muslims – not officially recognized by the state -- living in the troubled western state of Rakhine, according to an official Thursday.
Rohingya -- whom the United Nations consider to be the world’s most persecuted ethnic minority -- have been fleeing Myanmar in droves since 2012, in fear of violence that some human rights groups consider to be state sponsored.
An invitation for the seminar planned for Friday said, “internationally claimed historical and cultural evidence is to be presented and discuss to reaffirm that the so-called Rohingyas have never been a part of Rakhine in terms of religion or culture.”
A senior official confirmed to Anadolu Agency on Thursday that Yangon’s regional government had decided Wednesday to block the seminar, expressing concern that it could have sparked anger among the public. (Courtesy of aa.com.tr)
Rohingya -- whom the United Nations consider to be the world’s most persecuted ethnic minority -- have been fleeing Myanmar in droves since 2012, in fear of violence that some human rights groups consider to be state sponsored.
An invitation for the seminar planned for Friday said, “internationally claimed historical and cultural evidence is to be presented and discuss to reaffirm that the so-called Rohingyas have never been a part of Rakhine in terms of religion or culture.”
A senior official confirmed to Anadolu Agency on Thursday that Yangon’s regional government had decided Wednesday to block the seminar, expressing concern that it could have sparked anger among the public. (Courtesy of aa.com.tr)
Nationalist monks rally over double-murder verdict
YANGON, Myanmar -- One of Myanmar's leading Buddhist nationalist monks, U Pamaukka, made a startling vow before several hundred protesters gathered in a sports field on Dec. 29.
He would leave the monkhood and join the army if that was what it would take to defend the lives of two Burmese migrant workers who had just been sentenced to death in Thailand, he said.
"I can bravely say from here that I can disrobe and [I] dare to pick up the gun," he told the cheering crowd in Yangon's Tamwe district.
After Myanmar's Nov. 8 national elections left the country's radical Buddhists in the cold, the conviction in Thai courts of migrant workers Zaw Lin and Win Zaw Htun for the 2014 murder of two British backpackers on the Thai island of Koh Tao has given the Buddhist groups an opportunity to stir up nationalist sentiments and try to revive support for their cause. (Courtesy of Nikkei Asian Review)
He would leave the monkhood and join the army if that was what it would take to defend the lives of two Burmese migrant workers who had just been sentenced to death in Thailand, he said.
"I can bravely say from here that I can disrobe and [I] dare to pick up the gun," he told the cheering crowd in Yangon's Tamwe district.
After Myanmar's Nov. 8 national elections left the country's radical Buddhists in the cold, the conviction in Thai courts of migrant workers Zaw Lin and Win Zaw Htun for the 2014 murder of two British backpackers on the Thai island of Koh Tao has given the Buddhist groups an opportunity to stir up nationalist sentiments and try to revive support for their cause. (Courtesy of Nikkei Asian Review)
Burma’s Muslims Pin Hopes on NLD Government, Says Campaigner
RANGOON — Former political prisoner Yan Naing is a politician and activist from the Irrawaddy Delta. A member of Burma’s Muslim minority, he was a second generation supporter of the National League for Democracy.
As a campaign manager for an NLD candidate in the 2012 elections, he faced some resistance from inside the party. He left the NLD before the 2015 elections, in which the party failed to field a single Muslim candidate amid rising anti-Muslim and nationalistic rhetoric in Burma.
Yan Naing, a lawyer by profession, joined the United National Congress (UNC), a historically Muslim party, and ran in Thingangyun constituency for a Lower House seat. Like all his fellow UNC candidates, as well as many other non-NLD candidates, he lost.
He spoke again to Myanmar Now about his thoughts on the future of Muslims in Burma as the new NLD government prepares to take office. (Courtesy of Irrawaddy)
As a campaign manager for an NLD candidate in the 2012 elections, he faced some resistance from inside the party. He left the NLD before the 2015 elections, in which the party failed to field a single Muslim candidate amid rising anti-Muslim and nationalistic rhetoric in Burma.
Yan Naing, a lawyer by profession, joined the United National Congress (UNC), a historically Muslim party, and ran in Thingangyun constituency for a Lower House seat. Like all his fellow UNC candidates, as well as many other non-NLD candidates, he lost.
He spoke again to Myanmar Now about his thoughts on the future of Muslims in Burma as the new NLD government prepares to take office. (Courtesy of Irrawaddy)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)