Min Aung Hlaing to make first visit to China since 2021 coup
Regime leader Min Aung Hlaing will travel to Kunming, China this week to attend regional summits, in what will be his first visit to the country since the 2021 military coup. He is scheduled to attend the summits of the Greater Mekong Subregion, Cambodia-Lao PDR-Myanmar-Vietnam, and the Ayeyawady-Chao Phraya-Mekong Economic Cooperation Strategy from Nov. 6-7.
“He will meet with Chinese government officials during his visit and discuss ways to advance economic growth, strengthen ties between the two governments and people, and collaborate in other sectors,” regime media reported. His visit comes after China’s consulate in Mandalay was attacked by unknown assailants last month.
Since August, Beijing has sent two of its diplomats to meet with Min Aung Hlaing in Naypyidaw. Regime media added that Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi endorsed the regime’s election plans, which are tentatively scheduled for November 2025. Min Aung Hlaing visited Moscow, a close ally to Naypyidaw, and met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2022.
Military killing political prisoners, rights group claims
The Political Prisoners Network Myanmar (PPNM) stated that the regime has arrested pro-democracy activists since the 2021 military coup and has since issued arbitary orders allowing prison authorities to torture and kill political prisoners.
“We had confirmed that a prison official in Myaungmya Prison verbally ordered an inmate to beat two political prisoners and promised that no action would be taken against him if he did. None of the prison authorities took effective action against him after he conducted the attack,” a PPNM spokesperson told DVB on the condition of anonymity.
Authorities at Myaungmya Prison allegedly did not provide medical treatment to the political prisoners that were injured by their attackers. The PPNM called for regime authorities to be held accountable for human rights violations that take place inside Burma’s prisons. It stated that it will continue to advocate for the rights of political prisoners.
Wa State using Thai banks to launder money, parliamentarian says
Rangsiman Rome, a member of Thailand’s House of Representatives and chair of the parliamentary committee on national security and border affairs, told DVB that officials from the United Wa State Army (UWSA) are using Thai bank accounts to launder revenue generated from the narcotics trade.
This includes using the funds to pay for electricity to its territory that is produced in Mae Sai, Thailand across the border from Tachilek, Burma. “This kind of problem is not just happening in Mae Sai. It’s happened in many places that is why Thailand is now the battery of illegal activity in the world,” said Rangsiman Rome. “In Myanmar, we are the battery of scam compounds and drug dealers.”
The UWSA administers Wa State – officially known as the Wa Self-Administered Division – an autonomous territory that exists along Burma’s borders with China and Thailand. Thailand’s Office of the Narcotics Control Board stated last month the number of narcotics seized in Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai and Mae Hong Son provinces, which are located along the Burma border, has increased by 172 percent this year compared to 2023.
News by Region
YANGON—Hlaingthayar Township residents said that an administrator was killed and two others, including a relative of a military officer, were injured in an explosion at a gas stove shop on Sunday. A resistance group calling itself Mission R claimed responsibility for the blast.
“The shop is owned by the family of a major stationed at the Meiktila Air Force base. We strongly warned them to stop conducting airstrikes against civilians,” a spokesperson of the group told DVB. Pro-military social media channels claimed that the explosion was an accident that occurred after a gas cylinder ruptured.
SAGAING—The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) stated that more than 400 civilians have been killed by the military in Sagaing Region since January. It added that 129 people died in military custody and 119 others, including 50 children, were killed by airstrikes.
A total of 5,914 people, including pro-democracy activists, have been killed nationwide since the 2021 coup, according to AAPP data. It has documented that a total of 27,628 people have been arrested for political reasons and 21,078 remain behind bars.
SHAN—Pinlaung Township residents claimed that five members of the pro-military Pa-O National Organisation (PNO), including a captain, were killed during fighting with resistance forces in Naungwo and Bamauk villages, located in the Pa-O Self-Administered Zone, on Nov. 2.
“[The captain] forced young Pa-O people to join the PNO and sent them to the frontline,” a Pinlaung resident told DVB. The four others killed were civilians who were forcefully recruited. Aid workers told DVB that more than 30,000 civilians have been displaced from their homes since pro-military forces launched an offensive against resistance groups in Pinlaung in September.
(Exchange rate: $1 USD = 4,520 kyat)
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