The Atlantic
A relationship decades in the making is now in jeopardy.
Protesters gather in front of the Chinese Embassy in Yangon, Myanmar.Hkun Lat / Getty
Protesters in Yangon have in recent days gathered near the imposing red doors of the Chinese embassy in the city, denouncing China for what they say is its support of this month’s military coup in Myanmar. Conspiracy theories have swirled about the arrival of Chinese technicians to help Myanmar’s new junta build its own “firewall” to control the internet. Rumors abound about what is being transported on nightly flights between Yangon and the southern Chinese city of Kunming. Online, amateur sleuths have pored over photos of the protests, looking for Chinese military insignia on uniforms and even fair-skinned soldiers among the armed forces that have been deployed to the streets.
Norway condemns Laureate’s arrest
February 1, 2021
Norway, the country where Myanmar’s democratically elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi won her Nobel Peace Prize, was quick to condemn her arrest during the night. The Nobel Laureate’s arrest came, ironically enough, just as nominations closed for this year’s Peace Prize, putting it back in the news, too.
Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi speaking from the Nobel podium inside the Oslo City Hall, 21 years after she actually won the Nobel Peace Prize. PHOTO: Utenriksdepartementet
The Norwegian Nobel Committee is independent from the Norwegian government, but winners are generally hailed by Norwegian politicians. Foreign Minister Ine Eriksen Søreide wasted no time in joining other world leaders in blasting a new military coup in Myanmar and demanding the release of Suu Kyi, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1990 for promoting democracy in the country then still known as Burma.