Wednesday, September 4, 2013

The Irrawaddy Magazine

The Irrawaddy Magazine

Policeman Shoots Dead Superior in Mandalay Police Office

Posted: 04 Sep 2013 07:30 AM PDT

Relatives and friends attend the funeral of Lieutenant Maung Tint in Mandalay on Tuesday. (Photo: Man Tha Lay/ the Irrawaddy)

MANDALAY — An argument between two policemen on duty in Mandalay Region Police Office turned violent on Monday, leading one policeman to shoot dead his superior officer in the office.

Lieutenant Maung Tint was working in the office of the Assistant Police Force Against Crimes at around 11 pm on Monday, when second-Lieutenant Thein Than Soe walked in, pulled his service weapon and shot him in the head. He died instantly from his wounds.

Maung Tint has a wife and two daughters, according to local news reports. His funeral was held at Mandalay's Kyar Ni cemetery on Tuesday afternoon.

Thein Than Soe has been detained and charged with murder. It was not immediately clear what caused the argument and police are still investigating the incident.

Second-lieutenant Thein Than Soe was recently transferred to Assistant Police Force Against Crimes section, after serving with the Traffic Police.

An officer who worked under the victim provided The Irrawaddy with a brief account of Monday's events.

"Earlier in the day, I heard him [Maung Tint] ask [Thein Than Soe]: 'Where have you been while you are on duty?' But I don't know anything about their later argument on the phone," said the officer, who declined to be named.

"Thein Than Soe just came in later that evening and then shot his superior, who was sitting down after he did some writing, in the head. They both are calm people. I don't know exactly how the argument started," he said.

Describing the officer who allegedly committed the killing, he said, "Thein Than Soe is a young and handsome guy. There are many women who like him. It seemed that he might have had some disputes with his girlfriends on that day."

Union Parliament Speaker Shwe Mann Meets Wa Rebels

Posted: 04 Sep 2013 05:53 AM PDT

United Wa State Army (UWSA) troops on parade in Panghsang. (Photo: SHAN)

RANGOON — Burma's Union Parliament speaker, Shwe Mann, has met with ethnic Wa rebel leaders from the United Wa State Army (UWSA) in east Burma's Shan State, in the first sit-down between the parliamentary leader and Burma's largest ethnic armed group.

The 90-minute meeting on Tuesday focused on rural development projects in Shan State and peace deals with ethnic groups, according to a reliable source close to the government's peace negotiation team. The source, who asked for anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media, declined to elaborate on details of the discussions on peacemaking and development projects.

Among UWSA officials at the meeting in the town of Kengtong, also known as Kyaing Tong, were Kyauk Kho Ahn, head of the rebel group's foreign affairs department, Aik Lian from the group's southern unit, and Aung Myint, the group's main spokesman.

The UWSA is known as Burma's biggest ethnic rebel group, with an estimated 25,000 military men and women. It has called on the government to upgrade its territory to the status of an anonymous state.

Shwe Mann also paid a visit on Monday to Taunggyi, the capital of Shan State, where he met with ethnic armed groups including the Restoration Council of Shan State (RCSS), the Shan State Nationalities People's Liberation Organization (SNPLO) and the Pa-O National Organization (PNO).

In July, Shwe Mann called for greater parliamentary involvement in the peacemaking process between ethnic armed groups and the government peace negotiation team, which is led by President's Office Minister Aung Min.

During the trip this week, he told the public that he supported a federal system of governance in Burma, which many ethnic groups have demanded for years. He also urged armed groups in Taunggyi to be patient and avoid viewing the government as an enemy.

Sai Oo, an RCSS representative who attended the meeting in Taunggyi, said the Union Parliament speaker did not offer a clear strategy on how to resolve the current political impasse between ethnic groups and the government through dialogue.

The RCSS asked Shwe Mann to help find a peaceful solution, as clashes continue between the Shan State Army-South (SSA-S) and the government army despite a preliminary ceasefire between both sides. But Sai Oo said that a commander from the government's Bureau of Special Operations No. 2 replied that the clashes took place in a bid to protect local residents.

"Lt-Gen Aung Than Htut interrupted, saying that the government army was following orders to preserve rule of law in the country," Sai Oo said. He quoted the lieutenant general as saying, 'The RCSS/SSA-S was recruiting new soldiers and collecting taxes from local people, that's why clashes occurred—to protect locals."

The lieutenant general also reportedly said that the government army had followed its agreement with the RCSS and was requesting that the rebel group did the same.

More than 70 clashes have taken place since a preliminary ceasefire agreement was signed between the SSA-S and the government on Dec. 2, 2011, Sai Oo said.

"I want to ask the lieutenant general if we can solve problems by other means, besides military action," he said.

After meeting with representatives from ethnic armed groups, Shwe Mann continued discussions on Monday afternoon with the chief minister of Shan State and state cabinet members, members of the regional assembly and political parties, as well as representatives from non-governmental organizations and community-based groups.

Participants reportedly raised a number of issues surrounding the central government's budget allocation for different states, long-lasting internal peace, the formation of a federal union, the return of confiscated farmland, and the need to hold the government accountable for rights abuses in the state.

They also called for amendments to the 2008 Constitution, including the revocation of Article 17/1, which concerns illegal connections to unlawful associations, and Article 18, which prohibits public gatherings without official permission.

"I am not satisfied with the speaker's responses yesterday because he couldn't give us a guarantee on any issue," Sai Khin Maung Nyunt, a leading party organizer from the Shan Nationalities League for Democracy (SNLD), who also attended the meeting in Taunggyi, told The Irrawaddy. "But, I am thankful to the meeting organizers, because we were able to discuss with him directly what is going on in our area."

Govt Donation to Press Council Draw Criticism

Posted: 04 Sep 2013 05:49 AM PDT

Deputy Information Minister Pike Htwe (right) hands a $50,000 cheque to interim Press Council President Khin Maung Aye. (Photo: Jpaing / The Irrawaddy)

RANGOON — A $50,000 donation by President Thein Sein to Burma's interim Press Council on Wednesday has attracted criticism from local journalists. They said accepting the funds could affect the independence of Burmese media organizations and ongoing discussions about new media laws.

During a ceremony in Rangoon, the Deputy Minister for Information Pite Htwe presented a 50,000,000 kyats (around US$50,000) cheque to the press body. "Today, I'm assigned by the President's Office to hand over the money to Press Council as a means of support," he said, adding, "It will not interfere with the council's independence."

The financial assistance came two days after the first meeting between President Thein Sein and the council's leading members in Naypyidaw. During the meeting the president offered the donation and agreed to renew the validity of the council.

Thein Sein ordered the formation of the council on Sep 17 last year in order to help create a code of ethics for Burmese media and aid the creation of new media laws.

Kyaw Min Swe, the council's secretary, said during the ceremony in Rangoon that Thein Sein had offered the $50,000-donation because he "felt sorry" to learn that the council had been self-funded since its inception.

"He recognized our council's efforts and explained that he had a plan to support us — with no strings attached — through the government budget," said Kyaw Min Swe, adding, "We didn't mention a single word about wanting a donation from him."

Since assuming office in 2011, Thein Sein's reformist government has lifted many of the restrictions that curtailed Burma's media during past decades of military rule. Media censorship was abolished and daily newspapers were allowed to start publication in April this year.

New laws concerning media freedom are currently being drafted and discussed, but disagreements have arisen between the government and the interim Press Council, with the latter claiming that the current draft laws could be used to restrict media freedoms.

The interim Press Council has been in talks with the Information Ministry about the new Press Law, but both sides disagree on a range of issues. The bill is due for a first discussion in the Upper House soon.

The Printing and Publishers Law has already been approved by the Lower House, but it has been criticized for giving the government broad powers to issue and revoke publication licenses. The council has threatened to resign if the law is passed in the Upper House.

The Public Service Media Bill, which would regulate Burma's state-linked media, has been better received by media freedom organizations and local journalists. But it has been criticized for continuing state funding for government newspapers such as The New Light of Myanmar and for not giving sufficient independence to public broadcasters.

Some journalists questioned the council's decision to accept government funding while it was holding important discussions with the Ministry of Information on these new media laws.

"I don't understand why they accept this money from the president," said Thiha Saw, editor-in-chief of English-language newspaper The Myanmar Freedom Daily and a council member. "Our Press Council has been self-funded since the beginning," he said. "Why did they do this now, when the council is one year old?"

Thiha Thwe, a Burmese journalist working for Japan's NHK news agency, said accepting the president's donation would complicate the ongoing discussions between the government and journalists. "Given the situation that we have now with them, there could be misunderstandings," he said, adding, "If he [Thein Sein] wants to be generous to us, he should have done this before."

Dr Than Htut Aung, the CEO of the Eleven Media Group, said on the group's website that the council should have turned down the government money. "Whether the government has a hidden agenda or not [in making the donation], the Press council shouldn't take that much money from the government, especially during a time when the Press Law is still under debate," he said.

However, Interim Press Council member Myint Kyaw defended the body's decision to accept the large donation from the president, adding that it would not undermine the media's independence.

"Everyone knows that we have financed the council from our own pockets, and that we have struggled. So that's why we should accept the donation, as there's no strings attached," he said.

No SIM City in Burma

Posted: 04 Sep 2013 04:33 AM PDT

A man in Rangoon shakes a box containing SIM card lottery tickets, before the tickets were drawn in April. (Photo: Reuters)

RANGOON — Even with the slow-motion connections, it's still possible to get addicted to the Internet in Burma. And those who like to get their fix more quickly usually turn to a mobile phone, which in this country inexplicably allows faster online access compared to other devices.

But first, of course, one must have a smart phone. And even before that, a SIM card, or a subscriber identity module card.

That first step stops many local Internet addicts from taking the smart phone approach, encouraging them to head for an Internet café instead. After all, to get a SIM card in Burma, one must literally be lucky enough to win a lottery.

A SIM card enables a mobile phone to connect to a service provider, and anyone looking to buy one in Burma is required by the government to file an application. Then comes a wait of at least a month for an announcement on whether the applicant was among the chosen few new SIM card winners in a lottery-style distribution process conducted monthly by the government. Only about 100 to 120 people are chosen in each round.

It's not certain how many Burmese currently have mobile phone subscriptions. According to a 2012 report by Nomura Equity Research on Asia Telecoms, the figure can range from between 1.3 million to 2.5 million. But another 2012 report by the International Telecommunication Union, a special agency for information and communication technologies of the United Nations, says there are about 5.4 million Burmese mobile subscribers.

The reports do not say how many of these subscribers connect regularly to the Internet, but according to Radio Free Asia, "The majority of Internet access in Burma is obtained through Internet enabled mobile devices."

SIM cards in Burma are all under the care of the government-owned Myanmar Posts and Telecommunications (MPT), which came up with the lottery system just this year, after being overwhelmed by thousands of applications for SIM cards. In April, the government offered SIM cards through the lotteries for about $2.

Two years ago, a person could only purchase a SIM card by parting with 2.91 million kyats (US$3,000), a price that Mon, a local journalist, described as "insane." In March, one month before the first lotteries, the government dropped SIM card prices to between 200,000 kyats ($200) and 250,000 kyats.

Another option in past years was to buy a temporary SIM card, lasting one month, for about $20 or $25. In June, however, the government stopped distributing these temporary cards, which were previously available for both locals and foreigners.

While someone in the Philippines can easily get a prepaid SIM card for as low as P40, or less than $1, the majority of Burmese who do not win in the lotteries must turn to the black market, where permanent SIM cards go for about $150 to $170. Foreign tourists and expats, who are not eligible to participate in the lotteries, are forced to rent handsets and SIM cards at the airport, where state-owned Yatanarpon Teleport runs a small booth.

This writer rented a SIM for 10 days and paid $90. To activate the SIM card, a top-up call and text card was needed. Two top-up cards cost $28. For 10 days, the communication cost in Burma was $118, equivalent to two months of an unlimited data plan in the Philippines.

Even locals said this SIM card and mobile phone rental at the airport was nothing short of a money-making scheme. "You guys are being robbed in broad daylight," said a cab driver.

That could be how one former public school headmistress felt in 2006 when the government blocked her mobile phone number and confiscated her SIM card after she used her phone to share reports on the country's human rights situation. The confiscation was devastating for her, as she earned only $8 monthly at the time and had paid $3,000 for her SIM card mostly with money from her retirement fund.

A public servant for the military regime for more than three decades, she refused to succumb to the order—even seeking the help of the United Nations to get her SIM card back. The SIM card was finally returned to her a few months ago, after five years of fighting the confiscation.

"When she finally got it back, she had her freedom," her son Randt (not his real name) said. "We celebrated—we claimed it as our victory as well."

Meanwhile, the lotteries continue these days for cheap SIM cards. The journalist Mon said her boyfriend recently won a card for 1,500 kyats, or $150. He waited two months before being notified of his win.

"Selling the SIM card for $3,000 was crazy enough," Mon said. "Now we have this lottery. I cannot believe it."

She said she was happy for her boyfriend, but she also seemed concerned about the entire setup. "We should celebrate this, no matter how twisted this policy is," she said. "But I still maintain that this is simply insane."

In March, shortly before the lottery system began and after the government reduced SIM card prices from the equivalent of thousands of dollars to a couple hundred, President Thein Sein praised the Ministry of Communications and Information for being "pivotal for comprehensive development" after the surge of SIM card sales.

"Telephone density so far only covers seven percent of the country," Thein Sein said in a statement. "It is targeted to cover 50 percent at least in 2014."

The president and former military general also called for "equitable distribution of SIM cards in divisions and states. In addition, he promised to make low-cost handsets available to the public. Indeed, there are now China-made Huawei handsets for Burmese that can be had for 22,000 kyats to 25,000 kyats, although the phones can only be used for calls and texts.

Net-capable handsets are still out of reach for most Burmese. Samsung smart phones, with prices ranging from 445,000 kyats to 520,000 kyats, and IPhone models, which can be bought from 660,000 kyats to 990,000 kyats, are popular, but only among the middle class and rich Burmese.

"People are at the mercy of the government," Mon said.  "But we do not have a choice but to wait and be patient and play their game."

This article was produced for the 2013 Southeast Asian Press Alliance (Seapa) fellowship program. Jefry Tupas, who is one of the founders of NewsDesk (newsdesk.asia), is one of the 2013 fellows. This year's theme is Freedom of Expression Challenges to Internet Government in Southeast Asia.

Burma Offers a Faster Track to the Golden Rock

Posted: 04 Sep 2013 04:15 AM PDT

Kyaiktiyo Pagoda on Golden Rock in Mon State. (Photo: Steve Tickner / The Irrawaddy)

This weekend Burma's Ministry of Rail Transportation will launch a new "special train" from Rangoon to the Mon State town of Kyaikhto, home to the famous Golden Rock, in a bid to reduce travel time to the popular tourist attraction and pilgrimage site.

The new train service will start on Saturday, initially running as a pilot program and only on weekends. "If there is a boom in rail travel, we will extend it to a daily route," the ministry's deputy general manager in Lower Burma, Kyaw Kyaw Myo, told The Irrawaddy on Wednesday.

He said that depending on the success of the pilot program, a daily route could be launched during the tourist high season, which starts in November.

The air-conditioned special train will travel from Rangoon to Kyaikhto in 4.5 hours, a couple hours faster than regular trains. It will depart from the Rangoon rail station at 6:25 am and arrive at 11 am, stopping at three stations along the way—in Pegu and Wall townships of Pegu Division, and in Mon State's Thanbyuzayat Township. There will also be a return train from Kyaikhto.

A one-way ticket will cost 3,500 kyats (US $3.5) for local travelers and $10 for foreigners.

Three regular trains currently run from Rangoon to Kyaikhto, but many travelers opt instead to ride by bus, which is quicker at about four hours. Regular trains are also unpopular among some travelers due to irregular arrival and departure times.

Dr. Aye San, a resident in Kyaikhto said most people could not afford to pay 3,500 kyats for the special train, while a bus ticket costs only 2,500 kyats, but some travelers will still be tempted. "Because the train is more comfortable than the bus, I would rather take the train if I need to go to downtown Rangoon, because of the bad traffic in Rangoon," he said.

He said the addition of only one special train would be insufficient during the tourist high season. "I can definitely say that in peak tourist season, even 10 trains will not be enough," he said.

Kyaikhtiyo Pagoda is a well-known Buddhist pilgrimage site, while its iconic Golden Rock is a popular attraction for tourists. The small chedi was built on top of a granite boulder covered with gold leaf by devotees. Peak tourist season in Kyaikhto town is December through January, with more than 20,000 pilgrims arriving during those months.

Burma to Cooperate With Malaysia on Forced Repatriation of Migrants

Posted: 04 Sep 2013 04:04 AM PDT

Immigration enforcement officers detain suspected illegal migrant workers from Indonesia, in Nilai, outside Kuala Lumpur on Sunday. (Photo: Reuters)

RANGOON — Burma's government is preparing to cooperate with Malaysia to arrange for the repatriation of hundreds of Burmese migrant workers who were rounded up during an ongoing crackdown by Malaysian authorities, officials said on Wednesday.

"The [Burma] embassy will check the identity of those who have been detained. Then, if it's found that they are citizens of Myanmar, they would be sent back to the country," Ye Htut, the President's Office's spokesperson, told The Irrawaddy.

Myo Aung, a director general from the Ministry of Labor, said Burmese officials were preparing to visit Kuala Lumpur in order to discuss the impending expulsion of unregistered Burmese nationals in Malaysia.

"We need to go to talk with the Malaysian authorities first, to find out how we can help our people," said Myo Aung, adding that a date for the visit had not yet been set.

Malaysian authorities began a crackdown in recent days that is reportedly targeting about 400,000 foreigners who are staying in the country without proper legal documentation. Many migrants enter Malaysia illegally in search of work and under Malaysian laws foreign workers have little legal recourse once they are apprehended by authorities, according human rights groups.

On Monday, about 2,500 migrants were detained by Malaysian authorities, 555 of who are Burmese nationals, Voice of America reported. Operations to apprehend unregistered foreigners are continuing.

Malaysia, one of Southeast Asia's most prosperous nations, employs several million low-wage migrant workers from poor countries across the region. Indonesian, Filipino, Indian, Nepalese and Burmese workers perform unskilled jobs in restaurants, construction sites and factories, while thousands of young women work as house maids for Malaysian families. The current crackdown on migrants comes at a time of slowing economic growth in Malaysia.

According to some estimates, there are up to half a million Burmese migrant workers living in Malaysia. There are also thousands of Burmese refugees who have fled ethnic conflicts and persecution in their home country.

Kao Non, a Burmese migrant working in a restaurant in Kualu Lumpur, said the ongoing operation was spreading fear among migrant communities. Many had decided not show up for work out of fear for arrest and some businesses had to temporarily close due to a lack of staff, he said.

"But, there are also people who are still working even though they are afraid, but they need to earn money to get food to eat," said Kao Non, who comes from Burma's Mon State. He added that many migrants had temporarily crossed the border into Thailand in order to avoid detention.

Kao Non said that during one operation Malaysian authorities arrested about 100 Burmese nationals who are Christians from Chin State. "They were arrested when they were praying in a church on Sunday," Kao Non claimed.

Such sweeps targeting migrants are implemented annually in Malaysia, but Kao Non said that this year's operation seemed particularly thorough.

"The current crackdown is different from other years. Many police wore plain clothes and we cannot recognize them when they enter our businesses. You only know them after they arrested you," he said.

NLD Prepares for Youth Congress

Posted: 04 Sep 2013 03:21 AM PDT

NLD supporters celebrate in Rangoon in April 2012. (Photo: Reuters)

RANGOON — Burma's biggest opposition party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), expects to hold its first nationwide youth congress in December or early January to encourage the emergence of young leaders.

A youth congress has been an aspiration of the party's leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, since her days under house arrest during the former military regime. The idea received more backing this year after the NLD held a national assembly of about 900 members in March—also a first for the party, which was outlawed before a nominally civilian government came to power in 2011.

The NLD wants to revitalize ahead of the 2015 national elections and has been urged to develop a younger generation of leaders, as many of its current central leaders are in their 70s and 80s.

Suu Kyi, who was elected to Parliament last year, has her eye on the presidency in 2015. But the 68-year-old has also been called on to strengthen other leadership in the party, as the Constitution currently bars her from becoming president.

Maung Maung Oo, chairman of the committee organizing the youth congress, told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday that despite some delays with preparations, the party aimed to hold the youth congress in December or early January. Smaller committees were established in some states and divisions last month to help plan for the event, he said.

"So far, 75 percent of organizing committees have been formed nationwide," he said, adding that the rest would be formed by mid-September.

For three months after that, he said, the committees would spread the word about the youth congress and attempt to recruit new members. New members are already being recruited in Chin State, where all organizing committees for the congress have already been formed, he added.

Party members aged 16 to 35 can attend the congress, along with non-party youths of the same age range. It is not yet known how many delegates will be invited to attend.

The NLD was founded during the 1988 pro-democracy movement and quickly attracted many young members to support Suu Kyi. The party won a landslide victory in the 1990 election, but the military government refused to honor the outcome. Suu Kyi and many party members were detained as political prisoners for years.

After the quasi-civilian government came to power, the NLD won almost all available seats in by-elections in April last year, and Suu Kyi and 42 NLD colleagues entered Parliament.

At the national assembly in March, the NLD gathered to elect new party leaders. Suu Kyi was unanimously re-elected as party chairman while veteran party members were chosen to fill a core executive committee of 15 people.

Win Tin, co-founder and patron of the NLD, said founding members supported the development of a new generation of leaders but added that they were no longer involved in the party's day-to-day affairs, only offering suggestions.

"More youths are needed in the party," he said. "When the party began, many young people came to support Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, so the party was attractive to young people.

"I believe youth forces can create a strength in the party in the future that goes beyond Daw Aung San Suu Kyi."

On the question of whether more young NLD candidates would contest seats in Parliament in the 2015 elections, he declined to comment.

Dr. Yan Myo Thein, a political commentator for local journals, has a different perspective on the NLD youth congress. Though he sees benefits in an assembly of youths, he said he was concerned that the organizing committee might not fairly select delegates for the congress.

"The members of the committee should be loyal and act in the party's interests," he said. "If not, it [the congress] will not benefit the party's future. I heard sometimes that committee members only recognized people who were close to them. It shouldn't be this way this time."

Shaking Off the Fear of State Censorship, Singapore’s Youth Hold Out Hope

Posted: 04 Sep 2013 01:32 AM PDT

The Singapore judiciary, with its recent defamation rulings, is widely perceived as subservient and biased in favor of the PAP-led government, the Lee family and their associates. (Photo: Marlon Alexander / SEAPA Fellow)

SINGAPORE — Twenty-two-year-old Wendy (not her real name), on her first day as a hospitality intern in a budget tourist hostel in Chinatown in Singapore, speaks surprisingly frankly on a seemingly taboo subject, much to this writer's relief.

Clad in a colorful traditional gown, the native Singaporean is taking a break from washing dishes and chatting with guests to talk about the extent to which people and media in her country are free to criticize the government—a subject that senior Singapore-based journalists were extremely reluctant to discuss.

"Actually, I don't think Singapore has much freedom of speech. I mean, compared to America, they don't really have," she says, surrounded by Western tourists having breakfast.

"In Singapore, they don't allow protests, they don't allow riots…You will get arrested. Singaporeans are generally quite well behaved. We don't do those things because we know the consequences," she says with a smile.

Wendy's candid views were a refreshing response, after a week of frustrated attempts to solicit comments from Singaporeans and media professionals on free speech, in a country known for its heavy-handed treatment of public criticism of government policy.

"Sorry, we're not mature enough to talk about that," said a teen in a coffee shop in the Indian-dominated Bugis district.

Experienced media professionals were equally evasive. "I'm afraid I'm not available this month to assist you. In any case I rarely cover 'sensitive' areas," a senior foreign journalist said in response to an emailed request for an interview.

A Philippine national, working with a well-known Singaporean corporation, advised against trying to interview people on the streets on the subject, which could lead to arrest on suspicion of being a terrorist.

No Right to Claim 'Fourth Estate' Status

In his recently published book, "OB Markers," one of Singapore's senior-most journalists, former Straits Times editor-in-chief Cheong Yip Seng, emphasizes how Singapore's rulers, starting with the nation's founder and first Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, have consistently refused to recognize the media's watchdog role. "The political leadership holds fast to the principle that Singapore journalists have no right to be members of the fourth estate, a status enjoyed by the media in the West," writes Seng.

"The PAP [ruling People's Action Party] case for this policy is simple: The media does not subject itself to popular will by contesting an election, therefore it cannot claim the mandate to speak on the public's behalf," he elaborates.

This is why the media is "deemed to have interfered in politics," which is unlawful, when it criticizes policies approved by Parliament.

In a 1971 speech at the International Press Institute General Assembly in Finland, Singapore's first prime minister was quoted as saying, "Freedom of the press, freedom of the news media must be subordinated to the overriding needs of the integrity of Singapore and to the primary purpose of an elected government."

The 2013 "Freedom of the Press Report" published by Freedom House rates Singapore media as "not free" and places it 153 in a global press freedom ranking, tied with Iraq, Afghanistan and Qatar, the last being a country where criticizing the government, the ruling family or Islam is illegal and punishable with a jail sentence.

Judicial Intimidation

Over the decades, the Singapore government has silenced political foes and the media using the country's courts. The elder Mr. Lee and his son, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, have won public apologies and monetary damages in several defamation and libel cases.

Similar pressure tactics are now being used to silence criticism of authorities in blogs and social media.

Earlier this year, blogger Alex Au had to apologize and take down an article he wrote alleging corruption in the sale of town council computer systems to a ruling party-owned company. In April this year, cartoonist Chew Pen Ee, popularly known as Leslie Chew, was arrested for alleged sedition over two cartoon strips published last year on the "Demon-cratic Singapore" Facebook page, which describes itself as a "100 % fictional comic series about a country that does not exist" and has over 28,000 followers. In its Dec. 17, 2012, notice to the cartoonist, the attorney general chambers (AGC) said the cartoon "scandalizes our Courts through allegations and imputations that are scurrilous and false."

Chew was released on bail on April 21. Three months later he apologized and took down the cartoons. The AGC has since withdrawn the charge.

Leading Singaporean press freedom advocate Cherian George, a professor of journalism at the Nanyang Technological University, recognizes the limits to media freedom in his country. "The main reason why they decided to just apologize was maybe because their lawyers advised them they had no chance at all to win their case," he says. Battling out the charges in the courts to stand up for their principles would be financially ruinous for the defendants, especially in the absence of a wider ecosystem of supporting groups such as well-resourced free speech non-government organizations, he explains.

Self-exiled political blogger and disbarred Singapore lawyer Gopalan Nair, who lives in the United States after renouncing citizenship and becoming a US national, is no stranger to the government's use of the law to silence critics. Nair was jailed for three months after writing in a May 2008 blog post that a senior judge had "prostituted herself…by being nothing more than an employee of Mr. Lee Kuan Yew and his son" and ruling in their favor in their defamation case against an opposition politician.

"My passport was confiscated and I was held in solitary confinement for about eight days and interrogated every day, several times a day, many times in the early hours of the night," he said in an email. "I was mentally tortured with sleep deprivation. They tried to intimidate me into confessing. I did not."

Another contempt of court charge case was filed against Nair while he was in the final week of his sentence. He eventually apologized. However, he said he had "no intention in my mind of actually apologizing." In his blog, he later retracted the apology.

"They isolate and marginalize critics simply by making sure that once you are identified as a critic and you persist, you will be denied jobs, denied a career and you will be harassed and victimized all your life. This naturally will dissuade anyone from becoming an open Singapore critic," he said.

Climate of Fear and Self-Censorship

Such horror stories, say rights activists, have not only increased media self-censorship but also created a climate of fear among people, effectively preventing public criticism of government policies.

Braehma Mathi, executive director of Singapore-based human rights group Maruah, says the use of defamation suits is "big psychological warfare, which we haven't overcome yet because of all these horror stories of the past."

In 2006, Chee Soon Juan, secretary-general of the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP), was declared bankrupt and barred from running for public office after failing to pay S$500,000 (US $391,000) in court-awarded damages to former Prime Ministers Lee Kuan Yew and Goh Chok Tong over remarks he made during the 2001 election campaign.

"It's a difficult time for me and my family," he said. "But you have to remember that the only reason why autocrats are doing these things to you is that you have something important to say."

The series of government-initiated defamation and contempt-of-court charges over critical online posts have bothered alternative website TR Emeritus columnist Gilbert Goh, who said bloggers like him do "self-censor whenever someone's being sued." He does feel "enraged," though, whenever he hears about bloggers being sued and forced to apologize.

Self-exiled blogger Nair knows very well the limitations faced by Singapore-based anti-government bloggers. "Singapore only goes after those whom they can bully within the island. They cannot bully anyone outside Singapore because their courts, unlike Singapore's, are not Kangaroo Courts," he said.

A website known as The Real Singapore tries to get around this by allowing anonymous user postings. "Self-censorship is an issue as people are still afraid to be critical [of the government]. We at The Real Singapore try to overcome this by allowing users to post anonymously," the website editors wrote in an email. "Of course, this also brings in other problems, like some individuals not showing enough restraint or careful thought before posting, but we attempt to strike a good balance."

Speaking on condition of anonymity, a local journalist said there was "very little press freedom in Singapore" and self-censorship was common. "I know what's going on because I work for the mainstream [media]," he said.

This was evident in media coverage of the June 2013 protests against new restrictive licensing restrictions imposed on Internet-based media by the state online regulator, Media Development Authority (MDA). Mainstream media coverage of the protest rally organized in Singapore's Hong Lim Park by the #FreedomInternet bloggers group was attended by thousands of people and "carefully angled" so as not to offend the government, the journalist said.

However, he said he did not worry too much about working in a heavily regulated environment. "You know where your limits are. If you feel stifled, then don't work for the mainstream. I'm here to earn a living. [If I had been troubled enough], I wouldn't have lasted so long," he added. He insisted there was minimal government intervention in mainstream media compared to China.

Not all journalists are reconciled to the heavy-handed government regulation. "We can criticize the government here, but we can only do it gently, and that's the difficult part of it. They only want to present one view but you want to present more views," another local journalist said, shaking his head.

The fear of criticizing authority extends to ordinary citizens. Back in the tourist hostel, a conversation with the hospitality trainee Wendy was interrupted by the hostel manager, who wanted to know the topic of discussion.  After learning it was free speech issues in Singapore, the increasingly suspicious manager advised against taking the trainee's views to be those of the hostel, saying "this is just her personal opinion."

Internet Enables and Empowers Citizens to Speak Up

The Internet has, however, made it possible for ordinary citizens to speak their minds on issues rarely discussed publicly in the past.

In a speech at the Asian Media Conference in 1998 in the United States, Singapore founder Lee recognized that with the emergence of Internet and 24-hour international news channels, governments could no longer stop reports disagreeable to them. Those who "try to fight the new technology will lose," he said.

In his book "Freedom From the Press," published this year, media freedom advocate Prof. George says it is not easy for the Singapore government to shield itself from "watchdogs in the cyberspace."

"Within a decade, it was clear that the Internet was transforming Singapore's political culture. The government could no longer so easily set the national agenda by silencing dissenters, who now had the ability to magnify their voices well beyond their economic or institutional heft," he says.

Since its launch in 2006, The Online Citizen (TOC) has become a highly popular website in Singapore with an average of over 100,000 hits, TOC founder Choo Zheng Xi said. The TOC gained recognition after it organized political discussion forums for poll candidates during the 2011 Parliament election.

Its popularity has soared with its coverage of socio-economic issues neglected by mainstream media. These included stories about poverty and homelessness in Singapore and slave-like working conditions of foreign domestic helpers, most of them women from Indonesia, the Philippines and Sri Lanka. The TOC's sustained coverage of the issue forced the Ministry of Manpower to act.

For Xi, this was a manifestation of the growing power and influence of online media in Singapore.

Socio-political blogs like Alex Au's Yawning Bread, Roy Ngerng's The Heart Truths, Martin See Tong Ming's Singapore Rebel, Gopalan Nair's Singapore Dissident and websites such as TR Emeritus, Public House and The Real Singapore are also popular.

Facebook has also opened up the space for political satires such as Leslie Chew's Demon-cratic Singapore featuring cartoon strips that indirectly criticize the government and its policies.

The website We Believe In Second Chances, launched by an anonymous youth group, is trying to raise awareness about the mandatory death penalty in Singapore.

A major event in Singapore's alternative online-based media landscape was the June 2013 launch of the Independent Singapore, which aims to professionalize independent online media, according to the website's legal advisor, Alfred Dodwell.

Opposition parties have also been actively using cyberspace, particularly Facebook and YouTube, to reach out to voters and sidestep government control of mainstream media.

The Internet has been a welcomed development for opposition parties in a country where election rallies are limited to government-designated areas over a nine-day period.

Unlike in the past, when even a little-known candidate put up by the ruling party had an easy walk-in to Parliament, vigilant netizens have raised the bar on the acceptability of lawmaker aspirants. In his book, Prof. George tells how the PAP bid to woo young voters with a little-known 27-year-old woman candidate backfired when a Facebook photo of her holding a new designer handbag in "girlish glee" went "viral" with commentators describing her as an "immature social climber."

Cyberspace has also been used to mock self-censorship by the mainstream press such as by the defunct website Sintercom's "Not The Straits Times" section, which formerly published letters "mysteriously rejected" by Singapore's leading newspaper The Straits Times.

On July 27 this year, the Facebook page "Fabrications by the PAP," with more than 1,000 "likes," posted excerpts from Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's 2004 oath-taking speech in which he emphasized an "open and inclusive Singapore" where people should "feel free to express diverse views, pursue unconventional ideas, or simply be different."

The posting drew sharply critical comments with one visitor writing, "I think he has forgotten what he said." Others labeled PAP as "cold and heartless" and wondered why, despite the prime minister's failure to keep to his promise, "a significant number of Singaporeans still refuse to wake up."

"Cyberspace has provided the third dimension to information sharing. We used to only read from one source, but now there are variant sources to read, which enhances one's knowledge and perspective of what is right and wrong," said Gilbert Goh, a TR Emeritus columnist blogger. "When you only read from one controlled source, after a while you get sick and realize that they are all half-truths."

Wendy, the hospitality trainee in the Chinatown tourist hostel, says social media has indeed changed ordinary Singaporeans' lives, as it enables people to "share ideas and their feelings and your response as well."

Youth Standing Up to State Regulation

Wendy's frankness on freedom-of-expression issues in Singapore gives rise to hopes that the country's youth may be beginning to shed fear of state regulation.

A recent survey by a government-led public outreach committee known as Our Singapore Conversation, which queried 4,000 citizens, found that a majority of Singaporeans prefer some media censorship in the public interest and rejected gay lifestyles, although the younger generation tends to be more liberal when it comes to freedom of expression.

In recent years, Singapore youths have been getting active in advocacy of the right to free speech. In 2008, student journalists at Nanyang Technological University (NTU), working on the campus newspaper Nanyang Chronicle, staged a public protest on the campus after the university president ordered the paper to censor a news report on the visit of key opposition leader Chee Soon Juan to the campus.

The Chronicle editor also expressed his protest against censorship by setting up an independent NTU students-run website Enquirer.Sg. "On its first anniversary, he penned a stinging rebuke of the culture of censorship and self-censorship that he claimed had routinely neutered the Chronicle even before the Chee Soon Juan case," Prof. George wrote in his book.

Fast forward to Aug. 9, 2013. Twenty-one-year-old Han Hui Hui who is facing a charge of defamation over emailed remarks to the Council for Private Education (CPE), Singapore's statutory private sector education regulator, appeared at the Singapore National Day celebration in Hong Lim Park with thousands of others to share her views and make a demand for free speech in the country.

Unlike senior journalists, the young woman has courageously answered charges against her in court and has stood up to political pressure to apologize. "I was only 21 years old and I was puzzled. How can the CPE, a government body threaten to sue me, a Singaporean citizen, for defamation? How is asking questions defamatory? Where is our freedom of speech?" Han said boldly during her speech, much to the audience's applause.

The video recording of her speech, uploaded to YouTube has been viewed 5,865 times. Viewers' comments praise her courage: "We need more people like her" and "Seeing the video, you made me feel there is still hope for Singapore. I'm impressed by your courageous stand against the Goliath threat."

Two weeks after the Hong Lim Park speech, Hui Hui lambasted Prime Minister Hsien Loong on her Facebook page for his remarks that he was "flame proof" when it came to nasty online comments against him. Made during an interaction with students after his Aug. 18 National Day Rally speech, the prime minister's remarks were widely reported in mainstream media.

"Then why am I being sued for defamation by the Singaporean government?" asked Hui Hui on her Facebook page.

Xi of The Online Citizen says the fact that Singapore is a "very materialistic society" makes people wonder whether this creates an environment where citizens are apathetic and not willing enough to assert their right to free speech.

For hospitality trainee Wendy, the choice seems easy. Asked if she would have the "freedom to shop" or "freedom of expression," she answers, after a short pause and with a giggle, "Shopping!" But she quickly adds that she has changed her mind and will go with the other option. "If the government will only listen to us, yes, I'll choose the other one to be able to voice out. I just wish that the government would be more responsive," she says.

This article was produced for the 2013 Southeast Asian Press Alliance (Seapa) fellowship program. Marlon Alexander, an editorial director for the Filipino Connection, is one of the 2013 fellows. This year's theme is Freedom of Expression Challenges to Internet Government in Southeast Asia.

No Jobs at Home for Burmese Facing Expulsion From Thailand

Posted: 04 Sep 2013 01:25 AM PDT

Burmese migrant workers stand in line on the Mae Sot-Myawaddy Friendship Bridge. (Photo: The Irrawaddy)

Desperate behind-the-scenes diplomatic efforts by the government in Naypidaw to resolve the continuing migrant labour mess with Thailand "highlights the truly critical issue of the lack of employment opportunities in Burma," a noted economist said.

Four-year work visas held by up to 100,000 Burmese migrant workers in Thailand have expired or are close to ending, and the Bangkok government has sent confused signals about the workers' fate. Tens of thousands more visas will expire during 2014.

The visas were issued in administratively confused circumstances in 2009 and 2010, and Thai Ministry of Labour officials in Bangkok contacted by The Irrawaddy this week were unable to say exactly how many migrant workers were involved.

At present, Thai rules stipulate that workers whose visas expire must return to Burma and they cannot return to Thailand for three years, the Thailand-based Migrant Worker Rights Network (MWRN) said.

The number of people facing the four-year visa expiry deadline is growing, the Democratic Voice of Burma website quoted Kyaw Kyaw Lwin, labour attaché at the Burmese Embassy in Bangkok, as saying. "There will be nearly 100,000 workers whose visas will expire at the end of this year," Kyaw Kyaw Lwin said.

Some Burmese workers whose visas have expired are choosing to remain in Thailand illegally. Others are being duped into paying money to Thai and Burmese middlemen and agencies claiming to offer them visa extensions, alleged MWRN.

It's not hard to see why they want to stay in Thailand.

Despite all the international media talk of Burma becoming Asia's 'last economic frontier' fuelled by an investment and growth boom, job opportunities "are insufficient for the present working-age population, even before contemplating the issue of the returnees," economist and a co-editor of Burma Economic Watch Sean Turnell told The Irrawaddy.

If Burma's economy was making more progress in overall growth, rather than primarily in consumer and service areas such as telecommunications, vehicles and tourism, the country would be welcoming the migrant workers home, he said.

"Given their acquired skills and the like, the returnees could present a significant upside for Burma since precisely the same industries in which they have been working in Thailand will be critical for Burma’s economic future," Turnell said.

But as things stand, returning migrants are likely to be unemployed or reduced to scratching a living on farms.

Diplomats privately think that Thailand will eventually reach a compromise which does not force tens of thousands of Burmese workers back home, for long periods anyway — if only because Thailand is desperately short of manual, unskilled labour.

Despite there being an estimated three million foreign workers in Thailand, many of them illegal and most of them Burmese, the strong Thai economy still faces a labour shortage.

Only in July it was reported in Bangkok that the Thai Ministry of Labour was looking into the possibility of bringing in up to 50,000 Bangladeshis to keep Thailand's fishing industry afloat.

Even desperate-for-work illegal Burmese are increasingly shying away from Thailand's fishing sector — which supplies a huge, global tinned fish market — because of appalling working conditions.

Migrant workers employed in seafood processing factories in Thailand are subject to exploitative subcontractors often used by the factory owners as go-betweens in dealings with non-Thai employees, human rights groups have said.

Some large Thai companies that currently employ Burmese in Thailand are planning to establish factories and other businesses in Burma — a move which some observers think is aimed at both cutting costs and coping with the worsening labour shortage in Thailand.

The Thai government this year increased the minimum national daily wage in Thailand to the equivalent of about US$10, although many illegal Burmese working there are still paid less.

The MWRN told The Irrawaddy earlier this week that the Thai government was about to change its rules to reduce the length of time a migrant worker must return home after his or her visa has expired.

The rights group quoted Thailand's Department of Employment as saying that the stay-away period could be reduced to just one month from three years. However, at the time of writing this had not been officially confirmed.

And it remains to be seen how it would be administered.

If large numbers of Burmese are forced home, Thailand will be inconvenienced as much as Burma, said Turnell.

"Possibly it is Thailand that will be the real loser here, since [Burmese] workers play a critical role in the competitiveness of Thailand’s export sector, especially with respect to agricultural commodities," said Turnell, who works at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia.

"If Burma can get the broad settings right, [a mass labour return] could be a real boost. Will it get policy, infrastructure right? Will it lift education sufficiently that Burma’s workers start to become equipped for the demands of a modern economy?" he said.

Days Not Numbered for Burma’s Lottery, Chief Says

Posted: 04 Sep 2013 12:53 AM PDT

A lottery shop is pictured in central Rangoon. (Photo: Steve Tickner / The Irrawaddy)

RANGOON — When Burma's former Ministry of Finance and Revenue was rehatted earlier this year, minus the revenue label, it didn't make much difference to Thein Naing, the head of the state lottery.

The lottery remains under the Finance Ministry, the tickets are still printed in Magwe—the same place where Burma's passports and kyat notes are run off the presses—and once a month, the lottery, called Aung Bar Lay in Burmese, sells around 30 million tickets priced at 200 kyats (US 20 cents) each.

Forty percent of the takings go to the government, with the rest given as prize money, Thein Naing says, a fan whirring overhead in his downtown Rangoon office to beat back the late afternoon monsoon season clamminess. In other words, the lottery is worth about US$6 million each month, of which about $2 million goes to government coffers.

To attract more Burmese to play the state lottery, the winnings were increased in 2012, with the top prize raised to 150 million kyats, or around $150,000.

But despite the greater spoils, the lottery faces a struggle against Burma's massive off-the-books gambling sector.

Playing the lottery is a once-every-four-weeks game. The rest of the time, millions of Burmese break the law by betting on European football and gambling on the numbers coming up in Bangkok's stock exchange and Thailand's own lottery.

Those games are known popularly as "two digit" and "three digit," respectively, and Thein Naing acknowledges their popularity, describing gambling as "very common." It's an interest that likely pre-dates the introduction of an official lottery back in 1938, when Burma was under British rule. That came 39 years after the British banned gambling in Burma.

One estimate—from a Burmese involved in the illegal gambling business and referenced in a 2005 US Embassy cable from Rangoon—estimated that around 70 percent of the adult population in Burma gambles.

"Businesspeople and others with whom we spoke see such gambling as a serious social and economic issue. They say that poor people will spend their last kyats trying to 'hit' the numbers, while middle-class participants often neglect their families and businesses to focus on picking the right numbers," the cable read.

With such widespread interest in gambling, does the head of the state lottery think that the government should take a second look at prohibition—to try curbing a vast black market and tap a potential revenue source? Or does he agree with the prohibitionist line that gambling is addictive and ruinous, and should be stamped out?

He doesn't say no or yes to any of the above, but adds that for one, Burma's lawmakers are too busy these days with more pressing reforms to think about addressing the gambling ban. Compared with some of the other issues up for deliberation in Burma's Parliament, "gambling laws are a very small matter," he says.

The lottery chief cites Burma's dilapidated communications infrastructure as another de facto hurdle to overcome, if the status of gambling in the country is to change. "For example, the Internet is not widespread here; other countries have online gambling, but here we cannot." That said, there is an app, for those Burmese with Android smartphones, to check whether their numbers come up.

There's a proposal—in the country's tourism master plan released in June during the World Economic Forum in Naypyidaw—to hold a discussion about allowing casinos in resorts to draw tourists keen to roll some dice, part of the government's hopes to attract around 7 million visitors a year by 2020. But that's as far as it's gone—a proposal in a policy paper about holding a discussion.

For now, Thein Naing is keen to promote the official lottery, which has a wider national reach than some of the country's more pressing needs, such as clean running water and electricity, the latter of which reaches only a quarter of the population.

Those statistics mean that in all likelihood, more Burmese play the state lottery (let alone the more popular illegal wagers on the Thai stock exchange and European football) than are connected to the country's power grid. "We sell [tickets] all over the country," Thein Naing says. "And it's not just for Myanmar citizens, foreigners can buy too."

Sri Lanka Sees New Threats of Terrorism, Muslim Extremism

Posted: 03 Sep 2013 10:49 PM PDT

A Sri Lankan Muslim stands next to a police officer during a protest against the government in Colombo on April 27, 2012. (Photo: Reuters / Dinuka Liyanawatte)

COLOMBO — Sri Lanka, under heavy pressure to end human rights abuses four years after the end of a brutal civil war with Tamil Tiger rebels, said on Tuesday it faced a new threat of terrorism and Muslim extremism.

The comments came three days after UN Rights Commissioner Navi Pillay said people were still suffering amid signs the country was becoming more authoritarian.

Defense Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa, younger brother of President Mahinda Rajapaksa, said groups linked to the Liberation of Tamil Tiger rebels had been trying to undermine government reconciliation and development efforts.

"These include winning of international opinion for the separatist cause… and pushing for the resumption of conflict through reorganizing of local militant activities in Sri Lanka," Rajapaksa told a defense seminar.

Rajapaksa said Pillay's visit was mostly due to pro-rebel linked groups. He also said there had also been Muslim extremist elements found in transit in Sri Lanka.

"The possibility that such extremist elements may try to promote Muslim extremism in Sri Lanka is a cause for concern," he said.

Rajapaksa said Buddhist-majority Sri Lanka faced possible threats from groups involved in previous insurgencies, trying to mobilize people to once again take up extreme left-wing causes.

The Tamils, mostly Hindu with some Christians, are the largest minority in Sri Lanka, followed by Muslims.

Marxist rebels of the Janatha Vimukthi Peremuna (JVP), or People's Liberation Front, launched the second phase of an insurrection in the late 1980s.

Security forces responded ruthlessly and many rebels were killed or disappeared. The JVP later transformed itself from a rebel group into a political party.

More recently, there has been increasing violence against Muslims, mirroring events in Buddhist-majority Burma.

The government battled separatist Tamil guerrillas from 1983 to 2009. Tens of thousands of civilians were killed in the final months of the war, according to a UN report, as government troops advanced on the rebels' last stronghold and many hundreds of people, most of them Tamils, simply disappeared.

The United Nations has urged Sri Lanka to carry out credible investigations into the killings and disappearances.

Pillay, after ending her controversial visit, raised concerns about the degree to which the military has been involved with civilian activities and said she was surprised at the government downplaying violence against religious minorities, including attacks on churches and mosques.

China Says It Wants South China Sea Solution But Manila Sees Worrying Signs

Posted: 03 Sep 2013 10:44 PM PDT

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, right, shakes hands with Philippine Foreign Secretary Albert Del Rosario during the Asean-China foreign ministers meeting at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Aug. 29, 2013. (Photo: Reuters / Adrian Bradshaw)

BEIJING — China is serious about wanting a peaceful resolution to the bitter dispute over the South China Sea, Premier Li Keqiang told Southeast Asian leaders on Tuesday, but he signaled it was in no rush to sign a long-mooted accord.

After years of resisting efforts by the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) to start talks on an agreement on maritime rules governing behavior in the region, the so-called Code of Conduct, China has said it would host talks between senior officials this month.

Friction over the South China Sea, one of the world's most important waterways, has surged as China uses its growing naval might to assert its vast claims over the oil- and gas-rich sea more forcefully, raising fears of a military clash.

Four Asean nations, including Vietnam and the Philippines, have overlapping claims with China. Taiwan also claims parts of the sea and its numerous islets.

China and the Philippines accuse each other of violating the Declaration of Conduct (DoC), a non-binding confidence-building agreement on maritime conduct signed by China and Asean in 2002.

Separately to Li's comments, Philippines Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin accused China of violating the informal DoC by building new structures in the Scarborough Shoal, part of the area disputed by Beijing and Manila.

"We have … sighted concrete blocks inside the shoal which are a prelude to construction," Gazmin told a congressional budget hearing in Manila, displaying air surveillance photos of the group of rocks in the South China Sea.

He said the photos were taken on Saturday, describing them as a worrying pattern of construction that would be similar to the building of a garrison on Mischief Reef in the late 1990s.

Li, speaking at the opening of a China-Asean trade fair in the southern Chinese city of Nanning, said China had always advocated talks on the dispute on the basis of "respecting historical reality and international law."

"The Chinese government is willing and ready to assume a policy of seeking an appropriate resolution through friendly consultations," Li told the audience, which included Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra.

China would "proceed systematically and soundly push forward talks on the Code of Conduct for the South China Sea," Li said without elaborating in comments aired live on state television.

He also repeated that talks on the dispute should only be carried out between the parties directly concerned, Beijing's standard line which rejects the involvement of outside parties such as the United States or multilateral forums.

Washington has not taken sides, but Secretary of State John Kerry reiterated in Brunei in July the US strategic interest in freedom of navigation through the busy sea and its desire to see a Code of Conduct signed quickly.

Differences such as those between China and the Philippines could be another obstacle to agreeing on a more comprehensive pact because China has stressed that countries must first show good faith by abiding by the DoC.

Critics say China is intent on cementing its claims over the sea through its superior and growing naval might, and has little interest in rushing to agree to a code of conduct.

Divisions among Asean over the maritime dispute burst into the open a year ago when a summit chaired by Chinese ally Cambodia failed to issue a closing communique for the first time in the group's 45-year history.

Additional reporting by Manuel Mogato in Manila.

Thai Rubber Protest Spreads to More Provinces

Posted: 03 Sep 2013 10:40 PM PDT

Rubber farmers sit on tires as they block a road during a protest in Surat Thani, Thailand, on Sept. 3, 2013. (Photo: Reuters / Athit Perawongmetha)

SURAT THANI, Thailand — More than 12,000 rubber farmers protested and blocked roads Tuesday in Thailand's south to demand that the government boost declining rubber prices, police said.

Farmers from several provinces in the south, where most of Thailand's rubber plantations are located, were blocking a main highway near an agricultural cooperative office in Surat Thani province, 640 kilometers (400 miles) south of Bangkok, police Maj. Gen. Kiattipong Khaosam-ang said.

Demonstrations have spread to at least three other provinces from a weeks-long protest in Nakhon Si Thammarat province, where a main highway and a railway have been blocked by protesters for more than a week. One protester was killed by gunfire at the blockade site, although police believe it was triggered by infighting among the demonstrators.

Kiattipong said about 300 riot police were deployed near the protest site in Surat Thani over concerns that the demonstrators might attempt to break into a nearby airport.

The farmers are calling on the government to guarantee the price of rubber.

In failed negotiations in Bangkok last week, representatives of the farmers demanded that the government fix a price of 120 baht ($3.70) per kilogram (2.2 pounds) for rubber products, but the Agriculture Ministry made an offer of 80 baht ($2.50).

This week, the farmers lowered their demand to 101 baht ($3.14), but the government said price intervention was not the answer to the declining prices. The current price is 86.15 baht ($2.68).

"The government doesn't believe this measure would improve rubber prices because the price guarantee might lead to weaker market prices," Deputy Prime Minister Kittirat Na Ranong told reporters in Bangkok on Tuesday.

Thailand is the world's top producer and exporter of natural rubber, which is used in products from condoms to car tires.

Rubber prices in Thailand have steadily dropped since peaking in 2011 due to weaker demand in a sluggish global economy.

The government currently subsidizes rice growers by paying them above-market prices, a scheme that has accumulated losses of at least $4 billion since its inception two years ago and has resulted in Thailand losing its spot as the world's No. 1 rice exporter.

China’s Top Restaurants Reeling Over New Austerity

Posted: 03 Sep 2013 10:36 PM PDT

Cooks gather for a meeting outside a restaurant in Beijing June 4, 2010. (Photo: Reuters)

BEIJING — The shark's fin, bird's nest and abalone are gone from the offerings at Beijing's Xiang E Qing restaurant—a favorite of Communist Party cadres just months ago. Diners are now left with less exotic fare such as shredded beef, pickled turnip and fried peanuts.

China's high-end restaurants have gone into crisis under leader Xi Jinping's campaign to crack down on the kinds of party extravagances that have angered ordinary Chinese, such as dining on the public dime. To stem big losses and avoid the now-tarnished image of VIP banquet halls, these restaurants have been busy reinventing themselves.

"We don't do high-end! We just serve family-style food!" a jittery manager at Xiang E Qing told a visitor who wanted to see the dramatic, near-overnight transformation of one of the capital's most prestigious eateries.

The Xiang E Qing restaurant in downtown Beijing—part of a national chain that has been among the hardest hit—no longer has the expensive liquors, minimum spending requirements or special fees for the private banquet rooms where government officials and business executives once gathered in seclusion. Its calling cards have been rewritten to promote a joyful, family atmosphere.

Restaurants serving exquisite delicacies in banquet rooms long flourished under the lavish spending habits among all levels of public officials, who spent about 300 billion yuan ($50 billion) a year on food and drinks in recent years, according to state media. But new party rules since the beginning of this year curb spending on food and drink, and Xi himself has set the example by having a work meal of four simple dishes and one soup.

Some of that wining and dining has gone underground, with officials sprucing up private clubs and government canteens with pricey booze and fancy meals or ducking into secluded locales to avoid detection, according to state media who have sent undercover reporters.

Even so, China's dining market has hit its lowest point in more than two decades—barring a brief industry collapse related to the 2003 SARS epidemic—and the high-end market had suffered the most, Commerce Ministry spokesman Yao Jian said last week.

To cope with the new reality, high-end restaurants are diversifying services to include fast food and take-out, or offering modestly priced homestyle dishes and hot pots with wider, common-folk appeal.

The anti-waste campaign promoted in state media has not been aimed solely at party cadres, but also at members of the public, urging them not to over-order and to clean their plates.

"We are all remaking ourselves," said Han Fang, a manager at another high-end restaurant in Beijing. "We need to adjust to whatever the policies the country has."

The Xiao Nan Guo restaurant in downtown Beijing specializes in elaborate Shanghai-style cuisine on white tablecloths with floral arrangements in private rooms behind thick, carved wooden doors. To attract more customers, it has revamped its menu to include new dishes priced under $15, said Zheng Yuming, the restaurant's general manager.

Its parent company, national chain Xiao Nan Guo Restaurant Holdings Ltd. Group, reported a 43.3 percent decline in profits for the first six months of 2013, citing a slowing economy, bird flu and "the prolonged curb in lavish spending by Chinese government officials."

At least Xiao Nan Guo stayed in the black.

Xiang E Qing fared much worse. The national chain reported a loss of $35 million for the first six months of the year, a steep plunge from a net profit of $12 million for the same period in 2012. It cited "national policies" and the downturn in high-end banqueting in its financial report, while noting that the "mass market is stable and rising."

"The weakening business of the high-end restaurants is for sure related to the new rules, and at least in the next year, that won't change or ease," said Peng Xizhe, dean for the School of Social Development and Public Policy at Shanghai-based Fudan University. "The high-end restaurants which rely on public money have to find some other ways to work it out."
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