Panic has led to a mass exodus of Chinese from Maijayang (Mai Ja Yang) business centre, Kachin State where casinos abound. Over 1,500 people, almost entirely Chinese nationals from the casino-based Maijayang (Mai Ja Yang) in the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) controlled areas on the Sino-Burma border fled on February 7 and 8, said local sources.
Chinese gamblers, traders, workers and different food and commodity shop owners started to flee their homes by crossing the border gates on February 7 night from 10 p.m. after a series of negotiations broke down between the KIO and the Chinese authorities over missing and kidnapped Chinese gamblers from Chinese-owned casinos in the KIO's Maijayang, said a local eyewitness.
On February 8 at about 7 a.m. local time, the KIO distributed a three-point announcement paper relating to residential permits for Chinese people. It warned Chinese people in Maijayang that firstly, the KIO would arrest every Chinese national who do not have immigration documents; secondly, the KIO stopped issuing new residential permits to Chinese citizens and finally, Chinese nationals were told that they can continue to stay in Maijayang till their residential permits expire, said residents of Maijayang.
According to Kachin residents in Maijayang, the Chinese community misinterpreted the KIO's announcement and both legal and illegal Chinese residents fled back home post haste. They thought that the KIO's announcement meant the Burmese Army and Chinese policemen would enter Maijayang and investigate them once again.
Currently, about three Chinese-owned stores and no more than 50 Chinese people are left in Maijayang, added residents of Maijayang.
A Kachin Independence Army (KIA) soldier in Maijayang under KIO said, "It is good that the Chinese are fleeing. We can't sleep well because of them and the Chinese government still requests us to arrest its nationals. Now, we don't need to arrest the Chinese and explain to them."
Maijayang is situated opposite China's border town of Jiang Phong (Jiang Hkong) in Yunnan province and China provided tele-communication, internet service, water and electricity.
After the latest problems of missing and abducted Chinese gamblers in Maijayang casino, China has started to stop supplying these services in Maijayang since February 4 to mount pressure on the KIO. Now residents of Maijayang are living in darkness and are without telephone and internet services, added residents.
China had given a list of more than 50 Chinese citizens to KIO to be handed over but the KIO handed over about 40 persons, mainly teenagers to China recently, said KIO sources.
At the moment, Maijayang is a scary place to stay for people because there is total silence. There are no people on the roads and the area is in total darkness at night, said residents. KIA soldiers are taking up positions in Ja Leng Yang village on the road heading towards Lweje border town to stop Burmese troops from entering Maijayang.
