Junta authorities in Laukkai on the Chinese border have urged Chinese nationals to leave for their safety as the area is under siege from an ethnic alliance offensive in northern Shan State.
A Nov. 3 public notice issued by the administration body of Kokang Self-Administered Zone says Laukkai is now in a state of chaos as companies, businesses, and hotels and restaurants have shut down.
“Chinese citizens trading, working and living in our area may return to China as of today for their safety via the Yanlongzhai Bridge,” the notice says.
Laukkai, a nest of gambling and telecom scams, is currently controlled by the junta-affiliated Kokang Border Guard Force.
A Myanmar migrant working in Laukkai said: “Most of the hotels and companies operating gambling businesses have shut down. Some gambling dens are however still operating. Some companies are preventing their employees from leaving by threatening to withhold or slash their salaries.”
Residents say companies with suspected links to online scams have reinforced their buildings and built bunkers.
A notice issued by No. 1 Police Station in Laukkai on Sunday ordered businesses and companies in the region to shut down and keep their gates open so that employees can leave. The order also instructed businesses not to use violence or threats against employees, warning of legal action against managers who fail to comply.
The Kokang administration body said it had opened a refugee camp near the Yanlongzhai Bridge border crossing in the east of Laukkai, and around 1,200 people are currently taking shelter there.
A spokesman for an ethnic armed organization besieging the town said Chinese citizens operating telecom scams can’t return to China amid a crackdown there and are instead being evacuated by the junta.
“None of those being sent back is a boss or owner. Only employees are being sent back [to China]. Bosses and owners have been evacuated daily by helicopter since early November,” said Ko Yang Yang, from the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA).
Chinese police on October 1 detained 11 business owners from Laukkai including Maung Maung, director of Fully Light Co, the biggest conglomerate in Laukkai.
Maung Maung is also a member of the junta-appointed Konekyan Township administration body and was a candidate for the military’s proxy Union Solidarity and Development Party in the 2020 general election.
Myanmar workers trapped in Laukkai are having difficulties leaving the town, a migrant worker said.
“We want [authorities] to appoint a date and open the road for people who have lost their jobs and are trapped in Laukkai. Burmese-speaking people are being turned back on the road, and Myanmar people are going to die here. I heard that people who can speak Chinese well are allowed to pass. Food prices are high here, and we are going to starve. What’s worse, phone lines are down, and we have lost contact [with our families],” he said.
The ethnic Brotherhood Alliance now controls routes to Laukkai and is battling with junta forces outside the town. Phone connections are also down in the town, where people are now reliant on Chinese internet coverage, said residents.
