Burmese military junta authorities are said to be issuing national identity (ID) cards to Chinese citizens naming them the Lisu national race, to fill the 0.1 per cent population quota as is mandatory by the junta-drawn constitution for the forthcoming general elections, according to sources from the Sino-Burma border.

Lisu residents in Shan State North’s Namkham and Muse townships reportedly want to have a representative in the Shan State legislature. But the group’s population is still less than 59,000 said a source from Namkham. (Burma’s total population is 59 million, according to latest official figures.)

The elected representative will also be eligible to become a minister of the state/regional government.

Therefore, in order to fulfill the quota, Panhsay Kyaw Myint, well-known militia chief from Namkham together with officials from Namkham immigration have been cooperating and providing ID cards to ethnic Chinese in Namkham and Muse and naming them as the Lisu nationality, the source said.

If Lisu fill the quota, Sai Kyaw Myint’s relative, Sai Htun Maung, would be chosen as a representative of the Lisu nationality and could also become a Lisu minister.

According to the election laws, there will be five ballot boxes in each polling station: one for the upper house, one for the lower house, two for state/region legislature and another one for minority candidates representing communities with at least 0.1 per cent of the total population.

“Thousands of Chinese citizens across Muse District have received the cards,” the source said.

At the same time, all Lisu people living in Muse District were also said to have been ordered to become members of the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP).

Kyaw Myint is an executive member of the Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA) of Muse District. He had attended the National Convention, and is known for his drug business.

“The Burmese military is going through the same activities as it did during the referendum,” another source from Muse said.

During the 2008 referendum, thousands of Chinese citizens were offered temporary cards by the military junta to support its 2008 constitution, which was officially declared to have been approved by more than 90 per cent of eligible voters.

The election date is yet to be announced.