“The Shan people should receive a certain lifestyle. We hope they can hold traditional festivals like other ethnic people. I want to let the whole country know about the existence of Shan people in the Kayin State,” Sai San, also known as Sai Kaung Thet San, leader of the Shan population survey team, told KIC News on January 9.

He continued that the Shan people have not been able to hold the Shan New Year Festival on the state-level and the Shan Literature and Culture Committee has been opened in only Hpa-pun Township and he expects support from the state government.

According to the population survey, Hpa-an Township has 2,303 [Shan] people, Hpa-pun Township has 8,474 people, Kawkareik Township has 13,964 people, Kyain-seikgyi Township has 13,033 people, and Myawaddy Township has 17,970 people. The survey team was unable to collect the surveys in the areas controlled by ethnic armed groups.

The 2008 Constitution states that other ethnic groups have the right to elect ethnic affairs ministers if the population of each group is above 0.1 percent of the total population in the state or region.

“The state hasn’t released a separate population list for each ethnic race. The ministry from Naypyidaw issues it. The population list [of the state] has already been released,” said U Yin Htwe, state head of the Kayin State’s Department of Immigration and Manpower.

Kway Shan people from Thailand migrated to Thingan Nyi Naung area in Myawaddy, Kayin State in 1882. After the country became independent, they started settling in Hpa-pun and Kyain-seikgyi townships, according to Shan people living in the Kayin State.

According to the 2014 census, over 1.5 million people live in the Kayin State and the population list for each ethnic race has not been released.