Originally posted by LazerLordz:
[b]Beijing warns Burmese generals against repression
Rowan Callick, China correspondent | September 26, 2007
BURMA'S chief ally, China, has let Rangoon know that it cannot
provide even moral support for any repression of the wave of
protests led by Buddhist monks.
At the start of the year, China and Russia vetoed a UN Security
Council resolution directing the Secretary-General to open
negotiations with the Burmese regime, in part because of China's
longstanding opposition to international interference in "domestic
affairs".
Now, on the same principle, it is declining to offer public backing
for the generals.
However, the Chinese Government is also urging the regime to
resolve its challenges without resorting to force and thus risking
dragging the country and its neighbours - it shares a 1700km border
with China - into an imbroglio.
Much of the West applies diplomatic and political sanctions against
Burma's junta for its refusal to restore democracy, but Chinese aid
- along with oil and gas revenues it receives - undercuts any
leverage they might have had.
Burma has been moving handily within the Chinese sphere of
influence, providing it with a valuable route to the Indian Ocean
and thus to the energy flows from the Middle East.
A fortnight ago, former foreign minister and frequent presidential
envoy Tang Jiaxuan, besides urging Burma to "push forward a
democracy process that is appropriate for the country", also backed
the generals' plan to move towards a market economy - reinforcing
the influence of China as their key development model.
Large numbers of Chinese businesspeople, technicians and workers
have begun moving to Burma for lengthy periods. Three Burmese
cities, Lashio, Mandalay and Muse, have been described as
"virtually Chinese cities now", and China is building a tax-free
export zone for its own industries, next to the port of
Rangoon.
The Chinese media are handling the Burmese protests with great
caution, as they usually do when reporting movements against any
governments. But the Chinese official newsagency Xinhua reported
that the number of demonstrators has swollen over the past week,
and that monks, "joined by larger crowds of young civilians,
marched peacefully through Rangoon".
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,22481995-25837,00.html[/b]
China has to make a positive
public stand in line with the opinions of the other world
communities.
Not to do so will place them too closely with the Myanmar military
junta, and their ambition of hosting a successful Olympic in 2008
will be jeopardised.
Unfortunately, China will not put more weight behind the polite
words, and as matters have developed up till this hour, one monk
was 'accidentally' shot, and two other succumbed to the
beatings.
The methods used by the Myanmar Military Junta - in the name of
peace and order - is no different from our Singapore Government,
with both having serious self-interest to protect from any civilian
disobedience campaign.
