On December 29, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning held a regular press conference.
After the meeting, a reporter asked: It is understood that on the afternoon of December 25, Beijing time, an exchange of fire broke out near the Crown Hotel in Dongcheng District, Kokang Old Street, Myanmar, resulting in many deaths and injuries, including Chinese. The Myanmar government is urging Chinese nationals in the Kokang Lao Cai area to leave the country on their own. The Chinese Embassy and Consulates in Myanmar have issued consular reminders in this regard. Do you have any comment?
Source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs website
Mao Ning said that China is highly concerned about the fighting in northern Myanmar, expresses strong dissatisfaction with the casualties caused by the armed conflict, and has lodged a solemn protest with relevant parties. China once again demands that all parties to the conflict in northern Myanmar immediately cease fire and cease hostilities, take concrete measures to ensure the safety of Chinese personnel and projects in Myanmar, and prevent the recurrence of any incidents that endanger the safety of Chinese personnel and property.
Mao Ning stressed that at present, the security situation in the Kokang Autonomous Region of Myanmar is grim and complex. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs reminded Chinese citizens not to travel to northern Myanmar for the time being, and called on Chinese citizens in the region to take safety precautions.
A reporter asked: It is more likely that the people still stranded in Lao Cai are involved in telecom fraudsters, how will China deal with these people?
Mao Ning said that the Chinese government adheres to the principle of putting people and lives first, and has the responsibility and obligation to protect the lives and legitimate rights and interests of Chinese citizens overseas. It is hoped that all relevant parties in Myanmar will pay attention to China's concerns and take concrete measures to ensure the safety of Chinese project personnel in Myanmar. We call on the Chinese people involved in fraud in Lao Cai to return to China as soon as possible and turn themselves in to seek leniency.
Residents of small towns in Myanmar complain that the fees for ID cards are too high!
Chinese friends: Give me this price, I can wake up with a smile
Whenever the ID card (Ma Bang Ting) is mentioned, the Chinese in Myanmar are very angry, especially the Chinese in Shan State, due to the incomplete materials required, many native Chinese have not yet obtained the ID card. Although the government has been working hard to solve the problem of ID cards in recent years, at present, some Chinese people will still be asked for high sums of money when applying for ID cards, and the inconsistent fees have also become the focus of everyone's complaints.
Many friends complained that because of ethnic and language differences, although they "broke their legs" and said all the good things to the staff of the immigration bureau, it was still more difficult to get an ID card. Even if you have all the documents, sometimes you will be harassed by some staff, and it is common to ask for tips.
A Chinese friend said: Give me this price, I can wake up with a smile
Myanmar media reported that in the town of Mawlamyine, Ayeyarwady Province, people need to pay a fee of 70,000 to 100,000 kyats when applying for an ID card, which is very difficult.
A local said that because the local authorities issued a notice saying that those who are over 16 years old need to apply for an ID card, and if they do not do so, they will be held responsible. Therefore, we went to handle it, but the process was not smooth, and we need to pay a lot of fees to handle it smoothly. We gave 70,000 yuan, and if we don't, it will be delayed for various reasons. Later, when I asked other people to apply for ID cards, some even gave 100,000 kyats.
He said that in the past, when the NLD was in power, it only cost 4,500 kyats to rent an ID card, but now it has risen to 70,000~190,000 kyats.
Another local said that if you apply for an ID card when you reach the age of 16, you only need to bring the original/copy of your household registration book, blood type certificate and neighborhood certificate. If you don't have all the documents, you won't be able to handle it. If you lose your ID card and need to reissue it, you need to bring a police certificate, a work certificate, and a certificate issued by the administrator. Sometimes it's not tightly controlled.
For two weeks at the end of December, administrators used loudspeakers to publicize people who were over the age and needed to change their ID cards, and people whose ID card information did not match the information in the 66/6 household registration book. People who have extra ID cards, people who have reached the age of 16 but have not yet applied for an ID card, or whose ID cards are lost or damaged, need to go to the nearest immigration office immediately.
Locals said that during the period when the NLD was in power, there was also the phenomenon of collecting money and holding accountable for ID cards, but not as much as now.
For the villagers to spend about 100,000 yuan to get an ID card, some Chinese expressed envy, if they can do it at this price, they will wake up in a dream. Because they can't provide sufficient documents to prove it, even after spending millions of kyats, there are still people who can't get their ID cards.