Letpadoung Copper Mine Ground Breaking Ceremony. |
It will be
a lose-lose situation for China and Myanmar if the project is halted. Only
third parties, including some Western forces, will be glad to see this result.
Protesters first asked for more compensation, but now want to stop this project and are demanding that the Chinese company leave. There are definitely some Westerners and NGOs instigating these protesters. More importantly, however, Myanmar's political climate has changed and the government cannot control public opinion.
Protesters first asked for more compensation, but now want to stop this project and are demanding that the Chinese company leave. There are definitely some Westerners and NGOs instigating these protesters. More importantly, however, Myanmar's political climate has changed and the government cannot control public opinion.
(The whispers in Rangoon are that the American INGO “Save the Children” is very active in the Monywa Copper Mines area just recently.)
Similarly,
some big projects have been halted due to public protests in Shifang, Qidong,
and Ningbo in China. Companies cannot get their initial investment back.
However, in Myanmar, people have much less ability to identify information than
Chinese people.
Chinese
companies' investments in Myanmar are facing huge challenges. They need support
from the country. China is able to exert some influence. We must not give up on
the project. Even if it is eventually stopped, Chinese companies should receive
compensation according to the contract and international practice.
Regardless
of the result, China need not lose confidence in its peripheral diplomacy due
to the failure of its investments in Myanmar. What we see in the country is the
inevitable impact of its democratization.
Some
Chinese people are gloating over the plight that Chinese companies are facing
in Myanmar and claim that it is retribution for China cooperating with a
"dictatorship." This argument is a result of their ignorance of the
real situation in Myanmar. Of course, Chinese companies should focus more on
the people of the countries they invest in. It is the objective requirement of
the wave of democratization that has swept over poor countries.
The Letpadaung copper mine crisis has drawn Chinese people's attention to Myanmar. Democracy has brought hope there, but it has also blocked a major construction project instead of liberating productive forces.
The Letpadaung copper mine crisis has drawn Chinese people's attention to Myanmar. Democracy has brought hope there, but it has also blocked a major construction project instead of liberating productive forces.
This kind of democracy can neither bring high growth for the Myanmar economy nor result in tangible benefits for the people. Western countries' lifting of sanctions cannot bring wealth. The prosperity of Myanmar ultimately depends on its people's efforts.
China's per
capita GDP is about one-eighth of the US's. China is to the US what Myanmar is
to China. China has great comprehensive national strength. However, per capita
wealth is the most useful standard for people's actual lives.
Democracy
promises to give everyone in the world equal rights, but this is only an
illusion. Development is the last word, as Deng Xiaoping asserted more
than 20 years ago. It is a value that applies to everyone in the world.
(The Global Times is a daily Chinese tabloid controlled by
the Peoples’ Daily newspaper owned by the Communist Party of China. The Global
times, mainly focusing on international issues related to China’s interests, differentiates
itself from other Chinese newspapers in part through its more populist approach
to journalism, coupled with a tendency to court controversy.)
------December 4 Updates (AP Photos of protests at Rangoon Chinese Embassy) -----
------December 4 Updates (AP Photos of protests at Rangoon Chinese Embassy) -----