Tourism
China’s Expanding Footprint in Myanmar Slowly Destroying Mandalay’s Culture
MANDALAY – Myanmar’s last royal capital harbored the most learned Buddhist monks and exquisite artists, citizens speaking the most refined Burmese and cooks who prepared the best curries in the land. Mandalay was rhapsodized as the nation’s cultural core.
Today, along the grand moat of the former royal palace, Chinese music rings out as people perform tai chi exercises, a sign of an uneasy transformation taking place in Myanmar’s second-largest city. This once quintessential Burmese metropolis, residents say, is losing its traditions as a massive influx of Chinese migrants reshapes it in their own likeness.
“I feel that I am no longer a resident of Mandalay,” says Nyi Nyi Zaw, a 30-year-old journalist, adding that problems between Burmese and Chinese caused by the changing dynamics have become a staple of his reporting. “They (Chinese people) look like the residents. They have money, so they have the power.”
As China’s shadow grows in Southeast Asia, residents of Myanmar’s former royal capital are lamenting an influx of Chinese migrants.
This makeover of Mandalay — located about 300 kilometers (185 miles) from China’s Yunnan province and at the crossroads of trade, transport and smuggling routes — reflects a Chinese footprint across Southeast Asia that has grown alongside Beijing’s economic and military clout. And it is one that is expected to widen as China pushes forward with its One Belt, One Road initiative to link Eurasian nations via land and sea routes.
Propelled by Beijing’s policy of encouraging Chinese enterprises to expand abroad as well as official Chinese government investment in its neighbors’ infrastructure, the influx has sparked a measure of prosperity in some impoverished Southeast Asian regions. But along with it has come local resentment, sometimes anger, at perceived Chinese aggressiveness, cultural insensitivity and environmental damage.
Chinese have been drawn to Southeast Asia for centuries, with waves of migrants fleeing war, revolution and starvation in the first half of the 20th century. While most of them came with little more than the shirts on their backs, many of the latest migrants are arriving with cash and savvy.
The Burmese jade trade is dominated by the Chinese with large quantities sent to China where jade is highly valued.
“Out of the 10 top entrepreneurs in Mandalay, seven are Chinese,” says Win Htay, vice president of the Mandalay Region Chamber of Commerce and Industry. He says Chinese in the city own everything from small noodle shops to expensive commercial buildings.
He estimates some 60 percent of Mandalay’s economy, including the key industries, is now in Chinese hands.
Next to Laos’ capital, Vientiane, Chinese are building a virtually new city on more than 300 hectares (741 acres) of government-provided land that is expected to cater to an influx of migrants coming to work on Chinese-backed infrastructure projects reshaping the once sleepy town on the banks of the Mekong River.
Residents of Sihanoukville are calling Cambodia’s only seaport “China Town” as more Chinese corner real estate and settle in a country that has turned from the West toward Beijing, now its key political and economic supporter.
Spearheaded by a surge of Chinese tourists, condominiums and second homes marketed to mainlanders are sprouting in the northern Thailand hub of Chiang Mai, along with both legal and illegal businesses catering to their needs. A tourist with no knowledge of Thai or English can now hire an unlicensed Chinese taxi driver or even a bodyguard.
Chinese investment has increased sharply in Malaysia, sparking concerns over sovereignty. In addition to mega ventures including a $100 billion property development project, Chinese state-linked firms have also bought assets linked to the indebted 1MDB state fund, which was set up by Prime Minister Najib Razak and is being investigated by the U.S and other countries for embezzlement and money laundering. Opposition leaders have used the influx of Chinese money as an issue in the May 9 general election, warning that the government is selling off the country — a claim dismissed by Najib.
Anti-Chinese sentiment rises high in Myanmar, most of anti-Chinese protests occur about how China exploited its resources.
In Mandalay, anti-Chinese jibes have become a staple of workaday conversation. Cartoons, comedy routines and literature label the country the “Chinese Republic of the Union of Myanmar” and the city as “Mandalay, Yunnan.” A popular song — “The Death of Mandalay” — laments what Mandalay has become: “The city where I was born is no longer there/Who are these people in the city?”
While a Chinese community has long existed in Mandalay, a new wave flocked to snap up swaths of cheap vacant land following massive fires that tore through the city’s core in the 1980s. As isolationist Myanmar opened up in the 1990s, Chinese entrepreneurs also took advantage of low interest rates at home and high ones in Myanmar to invest in real estate. Others are involved in shadier areas such as the jade trade and narcotics trafficking.
Since foreigners are not allowed to own land or enjoy other privileges, a large but unknown number of Chinese have obtained Burmese citizenship through bribes to Myanmar immigration officials or outright forgery of documents, Burmese businessmen and local journalists say.
The result has been soaring real estate values that have forced many locals to move to the city’s outskirts.
“If we can’t enact laws and take effective action on immigration, we will see a continuation of the Chinese influx because this area is good for them,” says Win Htay, who also heads a large sugar company.
The ease with which Chinese are able to illegally obtain citizenship contrasts with the plight of the Rohingya, a Muslim minority group at the heart of an ongoing refugee crisis who despite having lived in Myanmar for generations are denied citizenship.
Over 50 per cent of Mandalay’s population of 16 lakh is of Chinese origin, and shop signs in the city centre are in Chinese as well as Burmese.
Some take a balanced view of the Chinese presence in Mandalay, frequently reported as high as 50 percent of the city’s 1.2 million inhabitants, although estimates are unreliable given the undocumented status of many and depending on how assimilated ethnic Chinese are counted.
“As a native I am not so concerned about Mandalay changing because of the Chinese. The world is becoming a global village,” said Tin Maung, managing director of the Royal Tun Thitsar Company. “Races mix all the time, but it is important that all are loyal to the country.”
The Chinese presence in Mandalay and Myanmar is simply a natural outcome of intensified and positive relations with Southeast Asia, said Zhu Xianghui, associate professor at the Institute of Myanmar Studies of Yunnan University.
He said concerns by Burmese nationalists that their country is under threat of Chinese expansionism is “an overreaction from a poor country.”
In response to questions about illegal immigration, the Foreign Affairs Office of Yunnan in China said it “always urged those going overseas to abide by local laws and customs.”
A group of Myanmar activists on Thursday staged a protest against the Myitsone hydroelectric power development project on the Irrawaddy River in the Myanmar’s northern state of Kachin. – Photo Bazuki Muhammad
While some of the regional migration is driven by Chinese government-backed policies, other migrants are aided by the age-old “guanxi,” the informal networks through which Chinese from a particular locality or clan have moved abroad. These networks aid and ease the entry of those following them into a foreign environment.
Some simply come on their own, seeking a better, freer life outside China.
Dai Qing, a prominent author and environmental activist who now calls Chiang Mai home, says she enjoys the absence of an internet firewall in Thailand, clean food and water, and being among “nice, peaceful people,” some of whom she helps through charities.
Living in a rural area outside the city, Dai says she has not yet encountered Thais averse to her countrymen.
“But when I travel here and there, I do see the impolite, following-no-rules, arrogant Chinese and I feel ashamed for that,” she says. “We have a long way to go before China’s true modernization is complete.”
Now that China has urged its citizens to go out into the world, it’s only natural that many will choose to “follow their dreams,” says Aranya Siriphon, an anthropologist at Chiang Mai University.
“That’s what we humans do,” she says. “But we have to be able to manage the negative aspects of these dreams.”
By Denis D. Gray
The Associated Press
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Associated Press researcher Yu Bing in Beijing and reporters Sopheng Cheang in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and Eileen Ng in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, contributed to this report.
People from more nations will be now able to enter Thailand without a visa beginning Monday. This is part of an effort to increase tourism and encourage visitors to stay longer, Interior Ministry spokeswoman Traisuree Taisaranakul said on Friday.
According to Ms. Traisuree, Interior Minister Anutin Charnvirakul has signed four documents that will make it easier for foreigners to travel. These modifications will all take effect on Monday, provided they are published in the Royal Gazette.
The instructions include 93 more nations on the list of individuals who can visit Thailand without a visa, up from 57 previously. People from these countries can stay for a maximum of 60 days. Additionally, from 19 to 31, nearly twice as many nations will be able to obtain visas on arrival in Thailand.
To attract digital nomads, artists, and tourists interested in learning or practicing skills such as cooking and Muay Thai, the country will also introduce the Destination Thailand Visa service.
The new form of visa, which is valid for five years, allows travelers to stay for up to 180 days.
According to Ms. Traisuree, students holding visas for master’s degrees or higher will not be required to leave Thailand immediately upon graduation. They will be able to stay for an additional year to hunt for work or vacation.
In order to enhance the economy and tourism, the cabinet took a general decision on these additional measures in May. The statement was meant to be released in June, but it was pushed back.
Ms. Traisuree believes that this is the greatest sort of visa for persons who want to work from home in the Land of Smiles and explore the nation without the various restrictions and complications that come with conventional tourist visas.
Getting a DTV will give you a 5-year multiple-entry visa that lets you stay in Thailand for a total of 180 days a year, with the opportunity to stay for another 180 days.
Ms. Traisuree said that the Destination Thailand Visa is great if you want to work from home in the Land of Smiles and see the sights without the many restrictions and problems that come with a regular tourist visa. The Destination Thailand Visa will cost 10,000 THB.
Qualifications for the Thailand Destination Visa (DTV)
According to Thai Embassy, to be eligible for the visa, you must fulfill the following conditions (which could change):
- You have to be 20 years of age or older
- You have to be able to afford the cost of the visa
- To sustain your stay in the nation, you must demonstrate that you have at least 500,000 THB in your bank account
- Proof of your employment with a recognized company is required.
For digital nomads or remote workers who want to make the most of their travels and yet have the opportunity to work while they’re there, the Destination Thailand Visa is designed just for you. Additionally, it is ideal if you are traveling to Thailand in order to partake in any of the following activities:
- Thai food prepared with Muay Thai
- Instruction and conferences
- Sports medicine therapy
- International talent International music and art events
Thailand DTV Visa Benefits
Additionally, there is uncertainty about these details and they could change:
- In comparison to other Southeast Asian nations that provide comparable visas, Thailand has less stringent income requirements and charges for the visa. For another 10,000 THB, you can extend the visa once, for a maximum of 180 days.
- There are ninety-three foreign nations that qualify for the Thailand DTV Visa.
- With this visa, you can lawfully operate remotely for foreign clients and companies while in Thailand.
- Your spouse and any children under the age of twenty may accompany you.
- You are exempt from paying taxes on your foreign income because the visa allows you to stay in Thailand for up to 180 days.
Drawbacks of a Thailand DTV Visa
You are unable to work for a Thai company that needs a Thai work visa, even though you are still able to engage in some activities and make money. Your DTV will end if you decide to change the kind of visa you are currently on.
Additional information on the visa’s release date and application process will be available in late June or early July of 2024. You will most likely be able to apply for it via the Thai immigration office, a Thai embassy, or a Royal Thai Consulate.
Thailand’s Hotels Association (THA) reports that another German tour operator has gone bankrupt, but that this will have a far less effect than the recent bankruptcy of FTI Touristik.
Following notification from the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), the Thai Hotels Association has now confirmed that the Cologne-based luxury tour operator Itravel Group has formally filed for bankruptcy.
Southern Thailand is home to numerous high-end resorts, which Itravel aims to attract, according to Thai Hotels Association president Thienprasit Chaiyapatranun.
As a result of Itravel’s bankruptcy, he said, the hotels association is currently collecting data from its members.
On Monday, the organization wrote to the TAT and the Foreign Ministry, requesting that they assist hotel operators in keeping up with legal developments surrounding the bankruptcy of the German tour operator FTI, which resulted in a loss of almost 111 million baht for hotels around the country.
Hotels having issues with Itravel
On Monday, during the THA monthly meeting, Mr. Thienprasit noted that they also emphasized the case’s urgency to Minister Sermsak Pongpanit of Tourism and Sports.
In response to allegations that hotel operators with business partnerships with Itravel were experiencing issues with financial transactions, the agency issued an alert to the industry, according to Siripakorn Cheawsamoot, TAT deputy governor for Europe, Africa, the Middle East and the Americas.
He speculated that the losses might be lower with Itravel, an online travel agency that focuses on the niche luxury market, than with FTI, the third operator.
According to the Bangkok Post, at Monday’s THA meeting, Mr. Sermsak stated that the ministry will look into measures to assist hotels, especially since the goal of 3.5 trillion baht in tourism earnings for this year is still very ambitious.
According to Mr. Thienprasit, the organization is opposed to the government’s plans to increase the legal foreign ownership of condominiums from 49% to 75%. This, he added, might lead to an increase in unlawful accommodations and make other condo residents feel uneasy about having more guests around the clock.
Unscrupulous investors
He said that some international investors are already breaking the law by renting out their rooms to day guests, even though the Hotel Act only permits rentals of at least 30 days.
An increase in the foreign ownership quota for condos, according to Mr. Thienprasit, could entice unscrupulous investors and lead to the construction of even more unlawful rooms, which now exceed the number of registered hotel rooms by a factor of two.
The success of Thailand’s hotel industry is highly dependent on the business of tour operators. These collaborations bring in a constant flow of visitors, particularly during busy seasons.
It is more convenient for passengers to book comprehensive packages offered by tour operators, which include hotel accommodations and activities. Because of this arrangement, hotels may anticipate a specific amount of bookings without having to spend a lot on advertising.
Additionally, hotels are able to provide more affordable rates, which appeals to guests who are mindful of their budget. But if tour operators go through slumps or start focusing on other places, this dependence might be disastrous.
Source: Bangkok Post, Thai PBS
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SEE ALSO: Thailand Named Top Spot for Most Popular Tourist Destination
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