|
Chinese businessmen abandon Sino-Burmese border town |
 |
 |
 |
|
by Solomon
|
|
Thursday, 12 February 2009 22:52 |
New Delhi (Mizzima) – Chinese authorities have cut off electricity supply and disconnected telephone lines in the Burmese town of Maija Yang on the Sino-Burmese border, compelling thousands of Chinese businessmen to abandon the town and leave for mainland China, local residents said.
A local youth said thousands of Chinese businessmen were moving away from the town to other parts of China, after electricity and telephone lines were cut off in the town since early February.
Maija Yang, a border town in Burma's northern Kachin state, is a commercial hub filled with Chinese-owned casinos, restaurants and other commercial activities, according to the youth. And it was impossible for businessmen to live without electricity and telephone lines.
Mya Maung, a Sino-Burmese border-based analyst said, "At least 7000 Chinese people have moved out of the town to mainland China since February 5."
He said, while several small businesses faced difficulties without electricity and telephone lines, the hardest hit were the Chinese-owned casinos. The closure of the casinos has had an adverse impact on the commercial aspect of the town, he added.
"There is no electricity, phone connections and the casinos have stopped functioning and other businesses cannot run, that's why people are leaving the place," he suggested.
Sources in the border area said, the border town of Maija Yang is under the control of ethnic Kachin rebels – the Kachin Independence Organization. However, the KIO, which has a ceasefire agreement with Burma's military rulers, had signed a contract with Chinese businessmen, to allow them free business operations in the town including running casinos.
The source said, the KIO annually receives not less than 6 million Chinese Yuan (approximately USD 877, 205) from Chinese businessmen for allowing them business operations in Maija Yang.
In the early 1990s, Maija Yang, a small village with an approximate population of about 1000 people, was a remote and under-developed area controlled by the KIO. But following the KIO's ceasefire agreement with the ruling junta in 1994, the village transformed into a border commercial hub, filled with casinos and other businesses.
"Casino gambling began in Maija Yang 6 to 7 years ago," said Mya Maung.
Meanwhile, it is still unclear why the Chinese authorities have shut down electricity supply and telephone lines in the town. According to Mya Maung, it might be due to the news of Chinese children being kidnapped and taken to Kachin state.
Earlier, Chinese newspapers reported that a number of Chinese youth were being kidnapped and taken to Burma for ransom. The information, however, could not be independently verified.
|
