The Chinese textile industry in Myanmar has long been a source of pride for the Burmese people.
Since the late 1990s, Myanmar has witnessed a surge in Chinese investment in its domestic textile industry and is home to a number of large manufacturing facilities, including one employing thousands of Chinese nationals.
This year, however, China announced plans to close the country’s largest textile factory, the Kaman textile factory in Maungdaw, leaving behind only a small number of workers.
Why are so many Chinese workers in Myanmar?
The answer lies in the countrys labor laws, which allow foreign workers to work for up to three years, while domestic workers can only work for two years.
Since many workers in the textile industry are foreign-born, many locals work at Kaman to support their families.
The BurmESE government, however has yet to make it mandatory for domestic workers to join the industry.
According to some local media reports, workers from other countries have been allowed to join, but not as many as the Chinese, and some are being punished for doing so.
The local media report stated that while most Chinese workers are from China, the local authorities did not give a reason why they were allowed to work in Kaman.
However, a few Chinese workers have been detained in Myanmar and faced up to one year in prison.
Chinese textile workers are considered a cheap and reliable source of labor, and they are able to pay off their debts while working as low-skilled laborers.
Some Chinese workers also work as part-time domestic workers, with the majority of them working from 5am to 5pm, and even from 9pm to 9am, according to the Burma Times.
According to the United Nations, there are currently around 1.4 million Chinese workers, and of them, about 70 percent are working in the domestic textile sector.
The Chinese industry is particularly well-known in the United States and Europe, where it employs thousands of workers from across the globe.
Although some workers from China may have worked at Koman before, it is unclear how many have now been working in Myanmar, as the government has yet set a timeline for its closure.
What do the Burmans say about the closure?
The Burmans have said they would fight for the closure of Kaman, even if the government were to do it.
“If Kaman was shut down, we would not let it happen, we will fight against it,” Burmarian President Maung Maungtai said in April.
But many are worried that the situation in Koman will deteriorate if the closure is imposed.
In May, Burmama-based journalist Tawang said that if the factory were to close, there would be a huge impact on the livelihoods of the Burman people.
“If the factory is closed, it would be the end of Burman culture, which is based on traditional values and a very simple life.
This means that we would lose our livelihoods and our culture,” he told the New York Times.
“And I fear that if this happens, the Burmen people will not be able to rebuild the traditional way of life that we had before.”
While the Burmens have expressed their opposition to the closure, the government is reportedly determined to make sure that the factory does not reopen, and has promised to investigate the matter if the workers from abroad do not agree to join their families and go back to China.
If the Burmontese government is willing to open Kaman again, they may well be able do so, as it has the ability to control where workers from all over the world will go to work, and how they will be treated if they do not return.
While China has a large population of Chinese citizens in its borders, the majority have been living in Myanmar for centuries.
China has not only been able to maintain its dominance in the Burmunese economy, but it has also been able maintain its influence over the local Burmans.
China’s presence in the region has led to the rise of the country as a major player in the world’s second largest economy, with a significant portion of its exports going to the region.
This has led many Burmais to question whether their culture, traditions and traditional ways of life will be protected by the government’s strict restrictions on migration and trade.