Angry villagers turn back Chinese border incursion

04 April 2015
Angry villagers turn back Chinese border incursion

A group of 20 nationals from China were turned away by hundreds of angry villagers in northeastern Myanmar’s Shan State on April 3 after crossing the border and attempting to plant a flag declaring the area to be Chinese territory, reports Radio Free Asia on April 4.
Shan Nationalities Democratic Party secretary Sai Tun Hle said the incident occurred when the Chinese nationals, including armed border guards, crossed into the area near Muse town from China’s Yunnan province and declared their intention to build a bridge across the Shweli [in Chinese, Ruili] river.
“They did not send any advance notice, they simply came over the border with several armed guards—around 20 in all,” he told RFA’s Myanmar Service.
He said the villagers from Muse were angry, so around 500 of them went to the area and rejected their demand. A letter was provided by the Muse authorities and given to the intruders, who then left the area.
Last year, villagers in the same area were angered when officials from both sides of the border jointly placed demarcation posts outlining the national boundaries, saying China had encroached on Myanmar territory.