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Digital Democracy
Empowering Civic Engagement Through Digital Technologies
China-Burma Border Research 2008
Digital Democracy
Empowering Civic Engagement Through Digital Technologies
Regional Snapshot
!
Ruili is a small city on the Western edge of China
ʼ
s Yunnan province. Itis the largest border crossing between China and Burma/Myanmar andis a major conduit for trade between the two countries. Essentially allconsumer items from simple clothes and plastic furniture to complexgoods such as electronics and motorcycles flow from China into Burma.This trade represents one of the few sources of such goods for thoseliving on the Burmese side. In the other direction go raw materials fromNorthern Burma
ʼ
s mines and forests: timber, gold, metal ores and,perhaps most importantly, jade, extremely high-quality examples ofwhich are mined in Northern Burma
ʼ
s Kachin State.In addition to this legal commercial exchange, there is significant illegaltrafficking of drugs, particularly heroin, and people - often sold into sexwork - from Burma into China. This part of Yunnan borders the infamous“Golden Triangle” of opium production with Northern Thailand and Laosand Northeastern Burma. These activities have given Ruili a reputationas a lawless border town where anything goes. For much of the lasttwo decades the governments of China, Thailand and Laos, withsupport from the United Nations and other international organizationshave combated this trade with greatsuccess though opium cultivation stillpersists in Burma.
1
Demographically Ruili and its environsare ethnically diverse. It is situated inthe Dai and Jingpo AutonomousPrefecture. “Dai” and “Jingpo” are theChinese names of ethnic minoritiesknown in Burma as the Shan andKachin, respectively. While anestimated 91% of China
ʼ
s overallpopulation is ethnically Han, in thisprefecture the Dai and Jingpocomprise most of the population.
2
These groups have lived in theregions on both sides of the modernborder for centuries. Official business
Kachin on the China-Burma Border
Why We Went
In August 2008 Dd sent a researchteam to the Chinese city of Ruili onthe Burmese/Myanmar border.While a great deal of internationalattention has been focused onBeijing
ʼ
s material and diplomaticsupport of the Burmese junta, thereis relatively little understanding ofthe border region between the twocountries. This research was aninitial survey of the region and itspopulation, in particular the Kachinethnic group. We were particularlyinterested in seeing what effectextraordinary circumstances had onthe border, such as the OlympicGames which were being held inBeijing at the time of this research.Specific goals of this research were:1) To gain an understanding of thepopulation and movements ofBurmese ethnic minority peoples inNorthern Burma and on the China-Burma border.2) To assess the penetration ofinformation and communicationstechnologies (ICTs) in the regionand the availability and accessibilityof ICTs and ICT networks.3) To assess the nature of civilsociety organizations (CSOs) andcommunity based organizations(CBOs) in the region with specialattention to youth participation andtechnology usage.
Highlighted area: Burma/ Myanmar border with China
Digital Democracy
is a non-profit organization using digital technologies to empower civic engagement. Wework with local partners to develop tools that help community organizations promote human rights and build localcapacity. Emphasizing the need for new media literacy, we prepare youth and communities with the tools theyneed to be informed and engaged citizens in the 21
st
century.
Between a Rock and a Hard Place
Digital Democracy
is conducted in Mandarin but at least a dozen other local languages and dialects are also spoken.The “autonomous” label in the prefecture
ʼ
s title should not be interpreted to mean true political autonomy.There are many such “autonomous” ethnic administrative regions in China and they are all strictly subjectto the authority of the Communist Party. However, the designation does reflect and acknowledge thetraditional ethnic make up of these areas as distinct from the rest of the country.On the Burma side of the border Ruili is the gateway to Kachin and Shan States. Both of these regions arepopulated primarily by the ethnic nationalities of the same namesalong with smaller ethnicities and sub-groups. Like many ofBurma
ʼ
s other ethnic nationalities, the Kachin and Shan havebeen waging a long-standing armed independence struggleagainst the ruling Burmese government and the Burman ethnicmajority. In fact, these are two of the states where the strongestand most persistent resistance remains. In the past year theBurmese military has led campaigns to try to bring these groupsinto line.
3
Kachin State itself is divided into territory controlled by the Burmese military and territory controlled by anindependent Kachin political body, the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) and its military wing, theKachin Independence Army (KIA). While technically able to move around the country, it is only within KIO-held territories that Kachin people are free to organize and participate in politically or culturally sensitiveorganizations or activities
.
What We Did
Empowering Civic Engagement Through Digital Technologies
Community Interviews
Met with Kachin Community BasedOrganizations for a
communityneeds analysis
and a look at
technical
capacity
. Topics rangedfrom life on the border,connections to greater democracymovement, contrast betweenChina and Burma/Myanmar,technology access, access toinformation, migrant labor,language barriers, economics andhealth. A particular focus was on
mobile phone
access and network“spillover” on the border.
New Media Profiles
!
Digital Democracyconducted
interviews
withcommunity leaders. A
digitalmedia training
took place with10 youth leaders from localKachin community basedorganizations. Several cameraswere used as part of a newmedia literacy training coveringvarious aspects of citizen journalism, including storytellingand strategies for transport,display and dissemination ofwork.
Government slogan in Ruili: “SpeakCivilized, Act Civilized, Be Civilized.”
“I think, to me, the Chinaweb is totally free.”- Kachin male, 26
1
UN News Service, October 16, 2006,
Opium cultivation in Asia
ʼ
s Golden Triangle falls significantly, UN drug agency reports
2
CIA (2009),
CIA: World Factbook: China
3
Fuller, Thomas,
The New York Times,
August 28, 2009,
Fleeing Battle Myanmar Refugees Head for China
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