A 12-member delegation from Myanmar’s opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) left for a 10-day trip to Beijing on Wednesday at the invitation of the Chinese Communist Party, NLD spokesman Nyan Win told Mizzima.
He said the reason for the visit is to build an understanding and develop mutual respect between the two parties.
The trip is led by two main central executive committee members, Nyi Pu and Nan Khin Htwe Myint, but notably absent is party leader Aung San Suu Kyi who apparently was not invited because Beijing only chose to request representatives who are under 60 years of age. Suu Kyi is now 67.
In late April, Beijing also hosted several other Myanmar parties—the National Democratic Force (NDF), Shan Nationals Democratic Party (White Tiger Party), National Unity Party (NUP), Rakhine Nationalities Development Party (RNDP), and All Mon Regions Democracy Party (AMRDP)—for a four-day visit in Kunming, followed by four days in the capital.
Dr. Aye Maung, chairman of the RNDP, said that he believed Beijing was building relationships with Myanmar’s opposition parties and ethnic parties, and was anticipating the role of those parties, particularly the NLD, after elections in 2015.
