The Irrawaddy Magazine

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• Most Student Demands Unmet as MPs Pass Amended Education Law
• Mixed Bag in Information Ministry’s New Media Regulations
• Burma Deports Another 37 Boat People to Bangladesh
• Privatization of Transmitter Site Stirs Passions in Parliament
• Innovation Competition to Promote Tourism Shakeup
• 2 Police Injured by Bomb Blast in Hpakant
• Suu Kyi Calls for ‘Clean Politics’ in 70th Birthday Message
• Hijacked Orkim Harmony Tanker Released, Pirates Escape
• Keeping the Flame Alive
• Thailand Confirms First MERS Case: Health Ministry
• China State Media Calls HK Opposition ‘Destroyers’ After Electoral Reform Vetoed
• Trekking in Kyaingtong

Most Student Demands Unmet as MPs Pass Amended Education Law Posted: 19 Jun 2015 07:43 AM PDT A student holds a sign in protest against the National Education Law near Shwedagon Pagoda in Rangoon on Nov. 16, 2014. (Photo: Steve Tickner / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — Burma's Union Parliament passed a controversial bill amending the National Education Law on Thursday but failed to honor several commitments that lawmakers had made with student activists earlier this year. The amendment bill cleared the combined legislature after 51 disagreements between lawmakers in the Upper and Lower chambers of Parliament were bridged. Student groups, teachers' federations and a group of pro-reform advocates known as the National Network for Education Reform (NNER) had all opposed a first iteration of the National Education Law, which was passed by Parliament on Sept. 30, 2014. In the months since, students and education reform advocates have railed against the legislation, which they say gives the central government too much control over the nation's education system. A series of protests across Burma in support of amending the law ended in violence on March 10 when about 200 student activists and their supporters became victims of a brutal police crackdown in Letpadan, Pegu Division. Some 80 students and supporters remain in jail awaiting the verdict of an ongoing trial for illegally protesting at Letpadan. Less than a month prior, student leaders pushing for education reform and backed by the NNER met with lawmakers and the government to negotiate amendments to the law. That meeting ended with the students ostensibly emerging victorious in their reform push, winning agreement on all 11 demands they presented. However, Parliament's amendments to the law have not met several of the students' demands, which broadly called for a more democratic education system, stronger protections for student unions and a guarantee of greater state spending on education. Some amendments are likely to get at least tepid approval from reformists, such as a budget provision that was included in the Lower House's version of the law. It states that the government is "to set a target to use 20 percent of the state budget for education spending," while no timeframe was given for reaching that figure. The outcome of the four-party negotiations was to achieve the one-fifth of total spending allocation within five years. The provision in the Upper House amendment bill was "to annually increase the state's education spending to a suitable percentage within five years." Thein Lwin of the NNER said the amended law had failed to honor nearly all of the agreements that were reached when the four-party dialogue was convened in February to discuss the issue. "…Our conference has pointed out that education reform must continue," Thein Lwin said on Friday, a day after the NNER's second annual national conference on education, which issued a call for the immediate release of the 80 detained students and their supporters and implementation of the 11 demands agreed at the four-party dialogue. "What we, the NNER and students, have asked for is to let student union representatives be involved in university councils. Also to include the right to freely form student unions in the Education Law." Under the law passed Thursday, student unions' rights and restrictions are to be determined by individual universities' charters, according to lawmaker Mya Oo, secretary of Parliament's Education Upgrading Committee. Thein Lwin argued for broader certainty for student unions nationwide. "Considering Burma's university history, we need to enhance the role of student unions, which had exists until 1962," he said. "And student unions' representatives were involved in university administrative councils. After the military coup in 1962, the role of student unions was revoked." Aung Nay Paing, a member of the Democracy Education Initiative Committee, which acted as reformist students' voice at the negotiating table, said the amendment bill had laid bare a domineering approach to governance by Parliament and the administration of President Thein Sein. "I can certainly say that this is not the law that resulted from the 11 demands of students. … Parliament's action in neglecting students' demands is an action lacking in human dignity," he said. Another demand, free compulsory education through year nine of study, also went unmet. Free compulsory education applies through grade four under the new provision, which pledges a "step by step extension" of that grade level. Thein Lwin said the law as such conflicts with a commitment to compulsory education through grade nine made by Education Minister Khin San Yi at the World Education Forum last month. Advocates of mother-tongue instruction will also be disappointed with the outcome of Parliament's amendment debate. Under the current system of "English and Burmese as the medium instruction," students are taught almost exclusively in Burmese at government schools, a system that does not look likely to change under the amended law. By a vote of 394 to 98, lawmakers voted against a provision granting "the right to use concerned ethnic languages as a medium of instruction beginning with early childhood education," along with English and Burmese. A more progressive proposal by the NNER for "mother tongue-based multilingual education" never made it into either house's amendment bill. The nearly 400 lawmakers supporting the provision appeared to be aligning with the Ministry of Education, which said a stronger guarantee of the right to mother tongue instruction was unnecessary because ethnic language teaching was allowed as a medium of instruction at the basic education level. Khin Maung Yi, a lawmaker from Irrawaddy Division on the losing side of the debate, said during parliamentary deliberations on Thursday that "an ethnic child, once arrived to school, is surely able to speak neither English nor Burmese, but only one's own ethnic language. Both English and Burmese are new to the child. … It's easier if the [native] ethnic language is used." In one victory for reformists, students will be able to apply to the university of their choice by sitting an entrance system set by each individual university, without their matriculation marks determining their subject of study. Aung Nay Paing said the beleaguered student movement's push for reforms would continue. "We will keep fighting and boycott this education bill because it hasn't turned out as we demanded," he told The Irrawaddy. The post Most Student Demands Unmet as MPs Pass Amended Education Law appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Mixed Bag in Information Ministry’s New Media Regulations Posted: 19 Jun 2015 07:31 AM PDT A woman sells newspapers at a stand in downtown Rangoon. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — More than a year after the passage of Burma's Media Law, the Ministry of Information has finalized new regulations for news organizations that will on paper give journalists greater access to information, but which may leave authorities with significant leverage over the reporting of contentious issues. State-run media announced on Friday that the ministry had adopted the bylaws, which cover rights to information, the process for electing the Myanmar Press Council, remediation processes through the council for disputes, and the coverage of protests and armed conflict. Myint Kyaw, secretary of the Myanmar Journalist Network and a member of the interim Myanmar Press Council, said new procedures for access to information from government departments would come into effect in the coming weeks. "The regulations say that from now on, government departments, ministries and public organizations need to reply within 24 working hours for inquiries on present events, and for past occurrences, need to reply within 15 working days," he said. The new bylaws set out provisions for journalists to file complaints if public bodies refuse to give information without a compelling reason. Clarifying the law's position on reporting on conflicts and protests, bylaw 32(a) states that reporters can seek advance permission from authorities, receiving protection in return provided that journalists obey existing laws. At the moment it is unclear whether seeking permission to cover such news reports is as a result a formal prerequisite set out by the regulations. The regulations also formalize procedures for civil action against news organizations by government authorities or private interests, giving stakeholders the right to file complaints against journalists and media proprietors for breaching the Media Law. "We need to wait and see in practice whether the ministries apply [to pursue civil action], and how the complaints will be accepted and acted upon. That is only my concern about the law," Myint Kyaw said. "Since now the bylaws have been announced, we can stand the law. But it is still not the case that media freedoms have been assured. There are many other laws which are still being used to prosecute and imprison journalists." Burma's Media Law, drafted by the interim Myanmar Press Council, was enacted in March 2014, officially bringing to an end the draconian 1962 Printers and Publishers Registration Act of the Ne Win era. While the new law granted more freedom to journalists and proprietors, numerous critics have warned that the new framework falls far short of guaranteeing media freedom. An Amnesty International report on Wednesday noted that many journalists had been prosecuted under the Penal Code or unlawfully threatened by authorities in the time since the law was passed. UK-based freedom of expression advocacy group Article 19 said last July that it remained seriously concerned by shortcomings in the law. "The safeguards for media freedom are heavily qualified and insufficient to meet international standards," it reported at the time. Eleven reporters and publishers were imprisoned in 2014, in addition to the death of freelance journalist Par Gyi while in military custody. The post Mixed Bag in Information Ministry's New Media Regulations appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Burma Deports Another 37 Boat People to Bangladesh Posted: 19 Jun 2015 05:03 AM PDT A Burmese military officer, right, looks on from a Navy ship behind a boat packed with migrants off Leik Island in the Andaman Sea on May 31, 2015. (Photo: Reuters) RANGOON — Thirty-seven migrants were deported from western Burma to Bangladesh on Friday, as nearly 600 others remain in shelters near the border, according to officials. The migrants were among 208 aboard a boat found by the Burma Navy in the Bay of Bengal in late May. Burmese authorities determined that 200 had originated in Bangladesh, and transported them to Taung Pyo Let Wai village in Arakan State's Maungdaw Township to be scrutinized and deported. An initial batch of 150 people were deported on June 8, 13 others who were among the group are still being assessed, officials said.| Another boat, crammed with more than 733 people, was found on May 29 off the coast of Irrawaddy Division. The boat was held offshore for several days before being towed to Maungdaw, where passengers were transferred to border holding facilities and scrutinized to determine their origins. Local immigration officials told The Irrawaddy that 546 were found to be Bangladeshi and will be deported "soonest." The remaining 187 passengers, including 43 children and 62 women, were found to be from Burma. An immigration officer in the Arakan State capital Sittwe confirmed the deportations and said that Bangladesh has also scrutinized the migrants to determined that those who have been deported are Bangladeshi citizens. "On the side of the Bangladeshi government, they have checked their citizenship already," immigration official Khin Soe told The Irrawaddy. "They checked them one by one, and even requested an investigation report at their embassy in Rangoon to be sent to their foreign ministry." "They [the government of Bagladesh] told us that they will bring their citizens back as soon as possible," he said. Migrants from Bangladesh and refugees from Burma's Arakan State have been boarding boats in droves to seek work or refuge in neighboring countries, many ending up in the hands of human traffickers. Those who fled from Burma are predominantly Rohingya Muslims, a mostly stateless minority that largely lives in apartheid-like conditions since deadly inter-communal violence erupted in the coastal state in 2012. A Thai crackdown on the trade last month left thousands stranded at sea as traffickers abandoned their human cargo, leading to a regional crisis that has directly affected Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Burma and Bangladesh.%MCEPASTEBIN% The post Burma Deports Another 37 Boat People to Bangladesh appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Privatization of Transmitter Site Stirs Passions in Parliament Posted: 19 Jun 2015 03:06 AM PDT Information Minister Ye Htut is seen in this file photo. (Photo: The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — The Union Parliament chamber hosted an unusually lively legislative session on Thursday as Information Minister Ye Htut sparred with lawmakers and faced threats of impeachment over privatization of the Yegu transmitter at the corner of Gandamar and Wai Za Yan Tar roads in northwestern Rangoon. In May, the Information Ministry invited tenders for turning over 90 out of 120 acres of the former site of a state broadcasting station in Rangoon's Mayangon Township, seeking development proposals. An Eleven Media report accused the ministry of conducting the tendering process in a turbid fashion, saying the brief window for bidders—just over a month—was not enough for most companies to submit proposals. The report claimed that the tender excludes all but a handful of well-connected media companies. According to the tender invitation, bidders were to submit detailed development plans for the site by a June 19 deadline, including zoning plans for each portion of the project, implementation programs with detailed methodology, cost estimates and work schedules. The tender was issued on May 15. Lawmaker Aung Thein Lin from the South Okkalapa Township constituency submitted an urgent proposal to the Union parliament seeking suspension of the project. Legislators approved the proposal on May 27, but the Union government sent a letter to Parliament dated June 4 indicating that it would "consider" the project to ensure state losses were not incurred as a result of the privatization. The information minister then submitted a list of six bidders during Thursday's session of the Union Parliament, riling lawmakers. A number of parliamentarians spoke against Ye Htut's attempt to push the project forward, with some saying he could be impeached if he did not respect Parliament's decision, which they said would be in violation of the Constitution. Article 228 of the Constitution states that the Union government must "implement the administrative resolutions passed occasionally by the Union Parliament and report back the actions which have been taken to the Union Parliament." "A parliamentary session already decided to suspend privatization on May 27. But then, Information Minister U Ye Htut even accepted a bid submitted on June 3," said Phone Myint Aung, a lawmaker from the Lower House with the New National Democracy Party. "Parliament has told him to stop, but he continues and even said at the Parliament that he would continue. It is defying the Parliament. I have submitted [a motion] to impeach U Ye Htut. There will be a series of consequences. You wait and see," he said. Ye Htut said he is ready to face any impeachment proceedings brought by lawmakers. He said he would make sure the state does not suffer losses in the course of the Yegu site's privatization and denied having any vested interest in the project. "My decisions may be right or wrong in handling the functions of the Information Ministry. There may be weaknesses," Ye Htut told lawmakers. "But one thing I am sure of is that I have no personal interests, nothing at all [in the project]. My wife and my children do not operate media agencies and they do not supply anything to the Information Ministry. I may make wrong decisions because of my nascent experiences, but when it comes to morality and personal interests, I dare to be tested." According to Ye Htut, the six bidders for the project are Auspicious Millennium Trading Group, Yangon Engineering Group, Global Technology, Shwe Than Lwin Media, Thein Kyaw Kyaw and Myanmar Media United. The fate of the tender remains unclear. The post Privatization of Transmitter Site Stirs Passions in Parliament appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Innovation Competition to Promote Tourism Shakeup Posted: 19 Jun 2015 03:01 AM PDT A group of tourists at the summit of a pagoda in Bagan. (Photo: The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — The UK government is funding an innovation competition for Burma's burgeoning tourism industry, hoping to assist hoteliers and other local operators will develop new ways of catering for an increasing number of foreign travelers. Funded by the UK's Business Innovation Facility and managed by local consulting firm HamsaHub, the competition winner will receive up to $20,000 to meet half the cost of setting up new domestic destination tourism packages. At a launch event on Friday, competition manager Thar Lin Htet said that Burma's tourism sector had been stifled by low arrival numbers and it was time for new approaches to revitalize the industry. "Any hoteliers and tour companies can compete in this competition," he said. "We'll be consulting these candidates during the competition period to see whether or not their ideas are practical. Candidates will have to submit their proposal by the end of September, and then we will announce the winners in October." The award's winner will be judged by financial benefits for local communities, commercial viability, sustainability and environmental impact. Business Innovation Facility country manager Thuta Aung said that interested parties will have until July 17 to submit a proposal, and another competition will be held next year. Dr Aung Myat Kyaw, chairman of the Union of Myanmar Travel Association (UMTA), said that innovation was sorely needed in Burma's tourism market, but that new directions must be informed by the profile of foreign arrivals. "There are many tourists are coming here and we must know that how to handle them," he said. "There are many things they want here, and businesses must know how to meet these wants." According to UMTA data, there were more than 3 million tourists visiting Burma last year. The government has projected 5 million arrivals for 2015, and more than 1.5 million tourists visited during the first four months of the year. The post Innovation Competition to Promote Tourism Shakeup appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

2 Police Injured by Bomb Blast in Hpakant Posted: 19 Jun 2015 02:56 AM PDT Villagers flee with their belongings after conflict in Hpakant, Kachin State. (Photo: Kachin Baptist Convention) MANDALAY — Two police officers were injured by a bomb blast in Hpakant on Wednesday night, following renewed conflict in the jade-rich area of northern Burma's Kachin State. Police said three blasts were reported; one in downtown Hpakant and two in the outlying villages. "There was a blast near the Jade Bridge [in downtown Hpakant] and one at Nant Maw, which left two police officers with minor injuries," said Aung Myint, a spokesman for the Hpakant Police. The third explosion took place near a military security office in Sint Mu, another village on the outskirts of town, he said, adding that it was "too early to say who is responsible." The two injured officers have been taken to Hpakant General Hospital for treatment and calm has been restored to the town amid heightened security, the spokesman said. Locals are concerned, however, that conflict between the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) and the Burma Army will intensify, causing villagers to flee, local businesses to fold and political rights to be withheld. Residents worry that elections expected to take place in early November could be cancelled in the area if fighting continues. Hpakant's electorate was not allowed to vote during the 2012 by-elections because conflict made the area inaccessible to poll workers. "During the by-election, we couldn't participate for security reasons, so we worry that we will be excluded again," said La Moung, a local villager. Others, such as jade mine operator Rwae Jar, expressed concern that the conflict could damage the local economy. "We just worry about our own security, and we also worry that the situation will pressure the mining business to shut down," she said, fearing a repeat of a previous hiatus from which local businesses have just begun to recoup. Mining was stalled for two years by a government order following a flare-up of conflict in the region, but resumed in September of last year despite security warnings from local officials and industry experts. Conflict erupted again within months of restarting operations, leading many local operators to voluntarily stop working their mines for months. Clashes between government troops and the KIA have flared intermittently since a ceasefire broke down in mid-2011, with an estimated 100,000 people having been displaced by the violence. About 100 villagers are believed to have fled after fighting broke out about 20 miles east of Hpakant on Monday. Local sources said they are believed to be hiding in the nearby jungles, and are likely difficult for relief workers to access. The KIA is one of the only major ethnic armed groups in Burma that has not reached a bilateral ceasefire with the government as negotiators continue their push for a nationwide peace pact. Kachin State is among the world's last remaining sources of jade, and is also rich in other gems, minerals and valuable timber. Resource extraction has long been both a major cause and source of revenue for conflict in the remote ethnic state bordering China. The post 2 Police Injured by Bomb Blast in Hpakant appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Suu Kyi Calls for ‘Clean Politics’ in 70th Birthday Message Posted: 18 Jun 2015 11:37 PM PDT Burmese democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who turns 70 today, at a Rangoon press conference in 1997. (Photo: Patrick De Noirmont / Reuters) RANGOON—Burma's opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has used a video message recorded for her 70th birthday on Friday to call for 'clean politics' ahead of the general election this year. In the 10-minute, Burmese language message posted on the National League for Democracy Facebook page, Suu Kyi thanked the public for their support and urged them to act lawfully and in unity to ensure Burma's stability and development. "Please don't cheat people. Please avoid dishonest means for your party's success. This year is very important," she said. The Nobel laureate said that the poll would determine the future of the country for the years to come and the country was at a crossroads on par with that of 1947's independence declaration. "How the election will be held, what the results will be and what Burma will look like after the elections will decide Burma's future for years to come, not only for this year," she said. "People will have to decide which road they want Burma to take. Please take a long view, whatever you do." She added that she has learned after near 30 years on the political stage that every person had an ability to make a contribution to their country and the world. "Whether you are in a humble or high position, please think seriously about what you could do for the country. Don't think about what you need. Think about the people around you, the world and mankind. We can't be isolated from the outside world," she said. "If I get the chance to live for another 20 years, I want to see Burma developed and I want the Burmese people to be respected by the world." Suu Kyi will celebrate her birthday in Naypyidaw today before traveling to Rangoon for a meeting of the NLD central executive committee on Saturday. The post Suu Kyi Calls for 'Clean Politics' in 70th Birthday Message appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Hijacked Orkim Harmony Tanker Released, Pirates Escape Posted: 18 Jun 2015 10:33 PM PDT An oil tanker off the coast of Kuala Lumpur. (Photo: Samsul Said / Reuters) KUALA LUMPUR — The hijacked oil tanker Orkim Harmony has been released by pirates, who fled in the ship’s rescue boat, Malaysian navy and maritime officials said on Friday. The Orkim Harmony, hijacked on June 11 off the Malaysian coast by pirates reportedly armed with pistols and machetes, was now being escorted by the navy to Malaysia’s Kuantan Port. Officials said only one member of the 22 crew was injured, suffering a gunshot wound to the thigh. Three Malaysian navy ships and two aircraft were hunting the fleeing pirates. The hijacking is the second seizure of a tanker by pirates in Southeast Asia this month, raising further concerns over piracy in the region. The 7,300 deadweight tonne Orkim Harmony was hijacked about 30 nautical miles from the Malaysian port of Tanjung Sedili carrying around 50,000 barrels of RON95 gasoline. The Malaysia Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) said the gasoline on the ship was owned by state-controlled oil and gas company Petronas. The Orkim Harmony is operated by Malaysia’s Orkim Ship Management. On board is a crew of 22, including 16 Malaysians, five Indonesians and one Myanmar national. After the tanker was hijacked, the pirates repainted the ship and changed the name to Kim Harmon. Malaysia’s Chief of Navy Admiral Abdul Aziz Jaafar says eight pirates were involved. The Malaysian naval vessel shadowing the tanker in Vietnamese waters on Thursday was trying to persuade the hijackers to surrender, says Jaafar. Early on Friday, Malaysia said the hijacked ship was still being shadowed by a navy ship and had been redirected to Indonesia’s Natuna Island, where it was expected to arrive on Saturday. A subsequent MMEA report said the pirates had fled the ship. Earlier this month, a 7,100 DWT oil tanker, Orkim Victory, carrying diesel loaded from Petronas was hijacked on June 4 in the same area and on the same route. The Orkim Victory was later released by the hijackers after about 770 metric tonnes (6,000 barrels) of its cargo had been siphoned off. The post Hijacked Orkim Harmony Tanker Released, Pirates Escape appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Keeping the Flame Alive Posted: 18 Jun 2015 10:16 PM PDT Keeping the Flame Alive The post Keeping the Flame Alive appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Thailand Confirms First MERS Case: Health Ministry Posted: 18 Jun 2015 09:55 PM PDT A Thai Airways worker cleans the cabin of an aircraft of the national carrier at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi International Airport, Thailand, June 18, 2015. (Photo: Reuters) BANGKOK — Thailand confirmed its first case of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) on Thursday, becoming the fourth Asian country to register the deadly virus this year. Public Health Minister Rajata Rajatanavin told a news conference that a 75-year-old businessman from Oman had tested positive for MERS. "From two lab tests we can confirm that the MERS virus was found," Rajata said, adding the man had travelled to Bangkok for medical treatment for a heart condition. "The first day he came he was checked for the virus. The patient … contracted the MERS virus." The health minister said 59 others were being monitored for the virus, including three of the man's relatives who travelled with him to Bangkok. MERS is caused by a coronavirus from the same family as the one that triggered China's deadly 2003 outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). The vast majority of MERS infections and deaths have been in Saudi Arabia, where more than 1,000 people have been infected since 2012, and about 454 have died. Last month, a MERS outbreak erupted in South Korea resulting in 23 deaths so far. A total of 165 people have been infected and 6,700 people are in quarantine. But there have been signs that the outbreak, the largest outside of Saudi Arabia, may be slowing in South Korea. The daily number of new cases has dropped to single digits this week compared to as many as 23 last week. Three were reported on Thursday—the lowest number since June 1. All of the infections known to have occurred in South Korea have taken place in healthcare facilities. Three hospitals have been at least partially shut and two have been locked down with patients and medical staff inside. China and the Philippines have also reported one MERS case this year. Earlier, Thailand's Disease Control Department said it was screening travelers at 67 points of entry. "We are checking 67 ports including land, sea and air," said Sophon Mekthon, secretary-general of Thailand's Disease Control Department. "We've told all hospitals in Thailand to be on alert. Those who come back from the Middle East and South Korea must be checked thoroughly." The post Thailand Confirms First MERS Case: Health Ministry appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

China State Media Calls HK Opposition ‘Destroyers’ After Electoral Reform Vetoed Posted: 18 Jun 2015 09:51 PM PDT Pro-democracy lawmakers chant slogans after voting at Legislative Council in Hong Kong, China, on June 18, 2015. (Photo: Reuters) BEIJING — Chinese state media lashed out at Hong Kong's opposition pro-democracy lawmakers on Friday after the legislature in the financial hub vetoed a Beijing-backed electoral reform package. The rejection was a rare instance of Hong Kong, the former British colony that reverted to Chinese rule in 1997, voting so heavily against a proposal endorsed by China's central legislature. The largely rubber-stamp regional legislatures around China would likely never reject an order from Beijing to pass a bill, so the Hong Kong veto is both a setback and an embarrassment for the ruling Communist Party. Beijing had pressured and cajoled the city's pro-democracy lawmakers to back the blueprint that would have allowed a direct vote for the city's next chief executive in 2017, but only among pre-screened, pro-Beijing candidates. It had been feared before the vote that there could be a repeat of pro-democracy protests that shut down key areas of the city late last year in what became one of the biggest political challenges Communist Party leaders had faced in decades. "The conduct and deeds of the opposition faction show that they are disturbers and destroyers in the process of the democratization of Hong Kong," the party's official People's Daily newspaper wrote in a commentary in its overseas edition. "The goal of their veto of the universal suffrage bill is to contest the governance of Hong Kong by the central government, conspiring to turn Hong Kong into an independent political entity," it wrote, referring to the 28 lawmakers who voted against the proposal. Hong Kong's pro-democracy opposition calls Beijing's proposal a "fake" democratic model. "All those who voted against the blueprint might be cocky today, but they will face the judgment of history and shoulder the responsibility eventually," influential tabloid The Global Times, published by the People's Daily, said in an editorial in its English-language edition. "We are concerned that a Pandora's box is being opened in Hong Kong and various devils are released to ruin the region's future," it said, warning that Hong Kong could "degenerate from the capital of finance and fashion to a total mess." Hong Kong returned to China under a "one country, two systems" formula that gives it a separate legal system and greater freedoms than the party-ruled mainland—and the promise of eventual universal suffrage. Thousands of pro-democracy activists blockaded major roads across Hong Kong for 79 days late last year, defying tear gas and pepper spray. The post China State Media Calls HK Opposition 'Destroyers' After Electoral Reform Vetoed appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Trekking in Kyaingtong Posted: 18 Jun 2015 05:00 PM PDT Akha people from Wenpin village in Shan State. (Photo: Whitney Light) KYAINGTONG, Shan State — As we passed through the small village of Wenpin in eastern Shan State, girls decked out in sparkling pink modern skirts and tops scampered up the hillside. A few feet back, men prodded a fat, squealing hog into following. "He doesn't want to go," said Sai Win. "He knows he will die." The Shan guide and I revised our day's trekking route to watch the proceedings. A few hours later, we were sitting by a mountain stream watching Akha villagers prepare a feast—grilled pork, pork stew, pork-rice congee, roasted pork skin and spiced blood. Meanwhile, a man split bamboo into fine ribbons and wove them into "thousand eye" motifs to mount on auspicious trees. Male elders gathered in a circle to drink a toast of rice whiskey and eat from a ritual round of dishes. There had been no way of knowing that this day was an occasion for worshipping ancestors and appeasing forest spirits. In the Akha belief system, ancestors oversee health, wealth and fertility, while spirits can wreak havoc on human life. Their rites and offerings number nine or twelve a year, although some sources say that sacrifices are made as often as once a week. Welcomed to sit in on the event, we were privy to unique traditions in the way some "hill-tribe trekkers" probably hope for but don't often get in tourist hotspots. I spotted fewer than five foreign tourists (alongside busloads of Chinese visitors) in town over the course of a week. At present, Kyaingtong (also known as Kengtung and Chiang Tung, reflecting its history as a former city state of the Lanna kingdom) has the charm of a seemingly remote outpost, but it has the potential to grow into a much bigger visitor spot. Many tourists today probably can't help but wonder, with premature nostalgia, what will development look like? Can it be done ethically and sustainably? Or will it end up with gawkers parading through "human zoos," as critics call some tourist villages of northern Thailand, while poorer and more remote villages get no attention? The only foreigner I spoke with during my stay was a Czech man at the bus station. We'd both just arrived after a five hour un-airconditioned journey on coaches packed with shoppers returning from Tachileik, "City of the Golden Triangle." He wore a technical backpack complete with a tent. In contravention of, or oblivious to, the authorities' ban on overnight trekking, he said he was going camping in the woods but wanted a cheap guesthouse for the night. As elsewhere in Myanmar, however, there isn't any truly budget accommodation in Kyaingtong. The Chinese family-run Law Yee Chain Hotel where I stayed starts at US$30 per night. The carpet throughout is threadbare and nothing has been replaced in perhaps 20 years. However, the staff are diligent, the rooms are spacious and the pastel pink walls hung with faded posters of wild horses and cherubs lend a certain aesthetic. Although you are limited by what you can do in a day, routes for a combination of travel by motorbike and on foot fan out in all directions from the city center, encompassing Aeng, Akha, Akhu, Khun and Lawa villages, stunning views of valleys and rice terraces and the sleepy old British hill station of Loimwe. It's enough to keep you occupied for at least four days, with some time left for exploring the city. A mountain bike would be ideal for venturing down the maze of small roads outside of town, but you would have to bring your own, as no one appears to be in the bike rental business yet. For trekking, small groups can expect to pay a flat day-rate of about 80,000 kyat (US$72) for a knowledgeable guide. Win Trekking is excellent, with 20 years of experience and sensitivity to the hill tribe cultures, including proficiency in multiple local languages. In Sai Win's company we were welcomed everywhere for tea and chitchat. In one Aeng village, we used the local chairman's house—a wood and bamboo box, with a porch, raised on stilts—to rest and cook lunch. Here, while Sai Win and his students (young guides-in-training) prepared a simple feast of soup, salads and omelets, I sat with the chairman and his wife, who was suffering from a skin infection just below her right eye. The skin was black and puffed like a small balloon and she used a tissue to wipe her reddened sclera. A surgeon in Kyaingtong had tried to operate once already, Sai Win translated, and was unwilling to try again. She retrieved a tiny box of handmade items, and I bought a headscarf, wishing her robust future sales. She was one of the few elderly women I met that week. At the Akha feast, small children and young women surrounded me. Few appeared over the age of 40. Some women lightly boasted of having raised between 8 and 15 children, their culture's norm, and teased when they heard my answers to the usual polite questions. "Only one?" a few asked, meaning "Where is your family?" The demographic reflected what the Akha Women's Foundation reports: average life expectancy for villagers is only 43 years, on account of low access to medical care, malnutrition and harsh lives of manual labor, with few opportunities in the modern world. This description rang true in eastern Shan State, where many Akha have remained in farming villages through thick and thin, including periods soon after Myanmar's independence when the Kuomintang and later the Communist Party of Burma were ascendant in the area. The number of men also struck me as low, though several who had been hunting to supplement the feast emerged from the bush later on, evidently a bit downcast at returning empty-handed. Still, there was plenty to go around. Notably, no one was dressed in the traditional Akha garb of indigo jackets and, for women, elaborate headdresses of beads and silver discs. All wore cheap, practical clothes, easily procured from Kyaingtong markets: t-shirts, cotton-print longyis for women, and trousers for men. The scene pointed to the ridiculousness of tourists who complain to each other and in online trip forums that evidence of modernity or modified traditions is "inauthentic." Of course, the style of tourism that develops in eastern Shan State depends as much or more on the behavior and expectations of the people who visit (and the tour providers who indulge them), as on villagers themselves. Getting there Buses leave from Tachileik daily at 8:00 am and noon. Tickets cost 10,000 kyat (or 400 baht). There are also a few airlines flying between Tachileik or Heho and Kyaingtong, for about $50 one way. Check Air KBZ and Myanmar National Airlines for schedules. Currently, foreigners are not permitted to travel beyond Kyaingtong overland. Eating Kyaingtong cuisine is above average in Myanmar. For breakfast, don't miss the central morning market for a steaming bowl of soup with fresh wheat noodles or wontons, pancakes, paratha and more. For lunch or dinner, Lod Htin Lu restaurant serves wholesome Chinese food. Or, grab a fresh fruit smoothie or ice cream at Don't Forget restaurant on the east side of Naung Tung Lake. Sleeping For centrally located, clean, low-cost rooms try Law Yee Chain Hotel (+95 84 21 114) or the Sam Yweat Hotel (+95 842 1235). Expect to pay $20-50 per night depending on the season. Sam Yweat Guesthouse (+95 84 21643) rooms can be had for $15, but it's outside the downtown area, on Airport Road. The Princess Hotel (+95 84 21 319) is a step up, with rooms starting at $40 per night. This article originally appeared in the June 2015 issue of The Irrawaddy magazine. The post Trekking in Kyaingtong appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

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