Irrawaddy-Oct 22
The attack on the Chinese Consulate in Mandalay on Oct. 18 was the second on a representative office of the Chinese government in Myanmar in their 74 years of diplomatic relations. The first took place 57 years ago, when the embassy in Yangon was attacked during anti-Chinese riots in 1967. The 1967 riots started as clashes between Burmese and ethnic Chinese students, who were influenced by China’s Cultural Revolution that began in 1966 and defied a government ban on wearing Mao Zedong badges or carrying copies of Mao’s “Little Red Book” to schools and universities. The Chinese Embassy in Yangon has been the site of anti-China protests since 2014, when Myanmar people rallied against controversial China-backed projects like the Myitsone and Letpadaung Copper Mine. When the military staged its coup in 2021 and China failed to denounce it, anti-coup protesters staged demonstrations in front of the embassy. Since then, anti-Chinese sentiment has been on the rise in Myanmar as a result of Beijing’s support for the regime on the international stage, and its cooperation with the regime in diplomatic, defense and economic areas. One of the junta’s key arms suppliers, China has publicly warned ethnic armed organizations (EAOs) based in northeastern Myanmar to halt their offensives against the regime or face harsher punitive actions. But junta supporters and nationalist organizations also often accuse Beijing of backing those same EAOs in northeastern Myanmar, claiming that their military victory in northern Shan State would not have been possible without Chinese support. No group has yet claimed responsibility. The civilian National Unity Government, the military regime, and Beijing have all condemned the attack. Read more at:
