Description:
Abstract: "This paper argues that since at least the mid 1980s, there has been
an observable negative attitude among the people of Burma against the
Chinese. Such sentiment is not just transient public opinion, but an attitude.
The author measures it by studying contemporary cultural and media works
as found in legally published expressions, so as to exclude any material rejected
by the regime?s censors. The causes of such sentiment are various:
massive Chinese migration and purchases of real estate (especially in Upper
Burma), Chinese money that is inflating the cost of everything, and cultural
?intrusion.? The sentiment extends to the military, as well: the article examines
a dozen memoirs of former military generals and finds that Burma?s
generals do not trust the Chinese, a legacy of China?s interference in Burma?s
civil war until the 1980s. The public outcry over the Myitsone dam
issue, however, was the most significant expression of such sentiment since
1969, when anti-Chinese riots broke out in Burma. The relaxation of media
restrictions under the new government has allowed this expression to gather
steam and spread throughout the country, especially in private weekly journals
that are becoming more outspoken and daring in pushing the boundaries
of the state?s restrictions."...
Manuscript received 2 February 2012; accepted 7 May 2012...
Keywords: PR China, Burma, culture, media, migration
Source/publisher:
Journal of Current Southeast Asian Affairs Vol. 31, No. 1
Date of Publication:
2012-02-00
Date of entry:
2012-10-02
Grouping:
- Individual Documents
Category:
Language:
English
Local URL:
Format:
pdf
Size:
260.36 KB
