• Burmese
Friday, July 11, 2025
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
The Irrawaddy
26 °c
Yangon
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
No Result
View All Result
The Irrawaddy
No Result
View All Result
Home Opinion Analysis

Myanmar Military Chief Makes Life Awkward for Chinese Foreign Minister

Kyaw Phyo Tha by Kyaw Phyo Tha
January 14, 2021
in Analysis
Reading Time: 3 mins read
0 0
A A
Myanmar military chief Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi meet in Naypyitaw on Tuesday. / Tatmadaw Information Team

Myanmar military chief Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi meet in Naypyitaw on Tuesday. / Tatmadaw Information Team

9.9k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

It seems the Myanmar military doesn’t like to be idle. Having implemented an informal ceasefire with the country’s most active rebels in Rakhine State in November, the men in green found themselves with too much time on their hands. So they decided to move into uncharted territory, rechecking the voter lists for Myanmar’s general election, which was held two months ago. The final results of the polls showed conclusively that the military’s nemesis, the Daw Aung San Suu Kyi-led National League for Democracy, achieved a huge victory for the second time in a row, and the voting was declared “free and fair” by international observers, including the Carter Center.

Finding it hard to face this reality was the military proxy Union Solidarity and Development party, which won a mere 71 of the 1,117 constituencies contested. Rather than conceding defeat, they claimed the poll was marred by fraud and voter-list irregularities. The military joined in, questioning the credibility and performance of the country’s electoral body, the Union Election Commission (UEC), and taking it upon themselves to scrutinize the lists. Despite the UEC’s repeated denials of any wrongdoing, the military publicly claimed to have found more than 4 million irregularities as of early this week.

Then, on Tuesday, military chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing raised the issue at his meeting with visiting Chinese Foreign Minister and State Councillor Wang Yi during a discussion that was supposed to be devoted to issues of bilateral interest, including capacity building for Myanmar’s armed forces. It must have been an awkward moment for Wang, who only the day before met with Myanmar President U Win Myint and State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and announced proudly that he was “the first foreign minister to visit Myanmar after the country’s general election,” and that his visit was “aimed at demonstrating China’s anticipation and support for the successful formation of Myanmar’s new government.”

RelatedPosts

KIA Denies Rumor Chief Under House Arrest in China

KIA Denies Rumor Chief Under House Arrest in China

July 11, 2025
170
Chinese Investment Reshapes Myanmar’s N. Shan as MNDAA Consolidates Power

Chinese Investment Reshapes Myanmar’s N. Shan as MNDAA Consolidates Power

July 10, 2025
2k
China’s Surveillance State Watches Everyone, Everywhere

China’s Surveillance State Watches Everyone, Everywhere

July 8, 2025
874

The senior general compounded the torture for his honored guest by sharing the military’s “findings” in its examination of the voter lists, saying it had uncovered mistakes and inaccuracies that could have led to opportunities to vote “more than once” and “voting malpractice”. It is hard to know whether this all came as a revelation to—or simply mystified—the visiting minister from China, which has long been under the exclusive rule of the Chinese Communist Party and where general elections are unheard of.

The Myanmar military claimed it embarked on the task to ensure that the country’s democracy is not harmed. During Tuesday’s meeting, the senior general said the military would continue its effort in accordance with regulations and laws. It is not known how Wang responded to the claims. One hopes he was not overly embarrassed about being confronted with an issue he is not familiar with and about which it would be difficult for him to comment.

The military chief’s complaint about the alleged voter list errors to the Chinese minister turned out to be the joke of the day when the news circulated hours later. Myanmar netizens took to Facebook to ridicule the senior general for complaining to a foreigner from a country where voting is non-existent. Some braver souls went further, saying, “Oppose those relying on external elements, acting as stooges,” echoing a line from the “People’s Desire” slogan from the military era in the late 1990s and early 2000s, when the regime denounced Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and her party for enjoying support from the West. Now, the military chief himself appears to have fallen afoul of the junta’s one-time slogan. History repeats quite quickly in Myanmar.

You may also like these stories:

China Inks Economic Agreements With Myanmar, Promising COVID-19 Vaccine Donation

Pro-Myanmar Policies Must Guide Govt’s Handling of China’s BRI Projects

Your Thoughts …
Tags: ChinaChinese Communist PartyCommander-in-ChiefElectionForeign Minister Wang YiInvestigationMyanmar MilitaryNational League for DemocracySenior General Min Aung Hlaingvoter irregularities
Kyaw Phyo Tha

Kyaw Phyo Tha

The Irrawaddy

Similar Picks:

Exodus: Tens of Thousands Flee as Myanmar Junta Troops Face Last Stand in Kokang
Burma

Exodus: Tens of Thousands Flee as Myanmar Junta Troops Face Last Stand in Kokang

by Hein Htoo Zan
November 28, 2023
98.5k

Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army troops are opening roads and pathways through forests for people to flee Kokang’s capital as...

Read moreDetails
Drone Attack at Myanmar-China Border Gate Causes Over $14m in Losses
Business

Drone Attack at Myanmar-China Border Gate Causes Over $14m in Losses

by The Irrawaddy
November 27, 2023
38.6k

Jin San Jiao is latest northern Shan State trade hub in crosshairs of ethnic Brotherhood Alliance.

Read moreDetails
Brotherhood Alliance Marching Towards Capital of Myanmar’s Kokang Region
Burma

Brotherhood Alliance Marching Towards Capital of Myanmar’s Kokang Region

by The Irrawaddy
November 25, 2023
31k

Chinese embassy urges citizens to flee Laukkai Town as ethnic armies prepare to drive Myanmar junta troops from Kokang’s capital.

Read moreDetails
China-Backed Illegal Rare Earth Mining Surging in Northern Myanmar
Burma

China-Backed Illegal Rare Earth Mining Surging in Northern Myanmar

by Yan Naing
July 15, 2022
34.8k

A Myanmar military-backed militia in Kachin State is protecting Chinese-run mines that produce coveted rare earth minerals used in hi-tech...

Read moreDetails
Junta Battalion Controlling Myanmar-China Trade Route Surrenders to KIA 
Burma

Junta Battalion Controlling Myanmar-China Trade Route Surrenders to KIA 

by Saw Reh
January 26, 2024
22.6k

Kachin Independence Army seizes another base in northern Shan State, cutting off regime troops in the border trade town of...

Read moreDetails
Has China Lost Control of Ethnic Armies in Myanmar’s War-Torn Borderland?
Guest Column

Has China Lost Control of Ethnic Armies in Myanmar’s War-Torn Borderland?

by Bertil Lintner
November 6, 2023
21.4k

The Brotherhood Alliance’s offensive against the junta in northern Shan has shut down trade and resource access, but Beijing still...

Read moreDetails
Load More
Next Post
PNO leaders after their meeting with an NLD delegation at the ruling party’s office in Taunggyi on Tuesday. / National League for Democracy Shan State

Myanmar’s Ruling NLD Holds Talks With Three Ethnic Parties in Shan State

A team of experts from the World Health Organization arrive in Wuhan, China, by air on Jan. 14, 2021, to investigate the origins of the novel coronavirus. / Kyodo

WHO Experts Arrive in Wuhan to Study Origins of Coronavirus Outbreak

No Result
View All Result

Recommended

‘Reforms Are Not Optional’: Prominent Activist Urges NUG to Act Before It’s Too Late

‘Reforms Are Not Optional’: Prominent Activist Urges NUG to Act Before It’s Too Late

2 days ago
963
Trump’s Tariffs to Hit Myanmar’s Garment Manufacturers Hard

Trump’s Tariffs to Hit Myanmar’s Garment Manufacturers Hard

2 days ago
963

Most Read

  • Chinese Investment Reshapes Myanmar’s N. Shan as MNDAA Consolidates Power

    Chinese Investment Reshapes Myanmar’s N. Shan as MNDAA Consolidates Power

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Myanmar Junta Deploying Conscripts in Major Push to Reclaim Lost Territory

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Junta Bombing of Resistance-Held Areas in Mandalay, Karenni Kills Seven Civilians

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Two Prominent Myanmar Ex-Political Prisoners Die Hours Apart in Yangon

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • ‘Reforms Are Not Optional’: Prominent Activist Urges NUG to Act Before It’s Too Late

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0

Newsletter

Get The Irrawaddy’s latest news, analyses and opinion pieces on Myanmar in your inbox.

Subscribe here for daily updates.

Contents

  • News
  • Politics
  • War Against the Junta
  • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
  • Conflicts In Numbers
  • Junta Crony
  • Ethnic Issues
  • Asia
  • World
  • Business
  • Economy
  • Election 2020
  • Elections in History
  • Cartoons
  • Features
  • Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Commentary
  • Guest Column
  • Analysis
  • Letters
  • In Person
  • Interview
  • Profile
  • Dateline
  • Specials
  • Myanmar Diary
  • Women & Gender
  • Places in History
  • On This Day
  • From the Archive
  • Myanmar & COVID-19
  • Intelligence
  • Myanmar-China Watch
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Food
  • Fashion & Design
  • Videos
  • Photos
  • Photo Essay
  • Donation

About The Irrawaddy

Founded in 1993 by a group of Myanmar journalists living in exile in Thailand, The Irrawaddy is a leading source of reliable news, information, and analysis on Burma/Myanmar and the Southeast Asian region. From its inception, The Irrawaddy has been an independent news media group, unaffiliated with any political party, organization or government. We believe that media must be free and independent and we strive to preserve press freedom.

  • Copyright
  • Code of Ethics
  • Privacy Policy
  • Team
  • About Us
  • Careers
  • Contact
  • Burmese

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Business
    • Economy
    • Business Roundup
  • Books
  • Donation

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.