China restricts Myanmar citizens entering the Muse border

Burmese people who will come to work in Shweli will stay for six nights. Border Pass Permit (TBP) valid for seven days; health recommendation; Burmese nationals in Yeng Gon said they were allowed to enter only if they could show a QR code sheet with a photo attached to endorsements from employment agencies.

"Contracts concluded after taking advantage of the employer's side"

Since the beginning of March, Burmese workers whose border passes have expired and who cannot show QR cards have been sent back to the Muse border, said a Burmese man who works as a day laborer in Shwe Li.

"After the war, they said and went back. Some police can't take anything. Took immediately. I have to face difficulties. There is not much to go out. Even if you go to work, you have to keep your eyes open. Good rich people also provide insurance. Some rich people just don't know. I work during the day, so when I go to work, When I go back to work, I have to avoid seeing the police."

Workers with the approval of a Chinese employer can enter and work in Shwe Li, but it is not easy for those who come to look for work to even get a QR code sheet.

"Shwe Lee is very busy. The output is also tight. If there is direct contact with the workshop boss, if the workshop boss guarantees it, QR I got an admission ticket. The boss didn't come. If it's a visit form, I don't ask you to do QR. We are extra. There is only money to pay."

According to Burmese workers in Shweli, most Burmese workers work in restaurants, clothing store factory workshop Day meals in plantations and construction works. They are working as mercenaries.

It is said that there are at least 200 Myanmar nationals who are arrested by the Chinese police and sent back to the Muse border these days.

Muse within Muse district for permission to cross the Chinese border. Namkham, Kukkot (pansai), Those who live in the township of Kut Khaing will stay for six nights. A red book with a validity of seven days is issued.

Those who come from other provinces will stay for six nights. The TBP, a single-use border pass valid for seven days, is issued by the border authorities of the two countries.

The border crossing permit is issued only for crossing the border between the two countries, and does not allow working within China.

Previously, I only had to pay 2,000 Burmese kyats for the TBP border crossing permit, but starting from the 5th of this month, it will cost 200 Chinese yuan to get a QR paper approved by the Chinese Labor Agency. Those who experienced it said that they had to pay more than 80,000 Myanmar kyats to China.

Those who are allowed to hold the red book will be allowed to enter only if they can show the exact place where they will stay for more than 1,000 Chinese yuan, he said.

Since last August 2023, thousands of Myanmar nationals have been trying to enter and work in China from the Muse border.

Burmese workers in Shweli said that due to this influx, Burmese workers have become abundant in China and wages have decreased.

Businesses that previously set a salary of 3,000 yuan are 1,500,000 yuan. Burmese workers who have experienced it themselves told RFA that it has been reduced to two thousand, and day laborers have also had their wages deducted.

A resident of Muse said that there are nearly a thousand Myanmar nationals waiting in line every day to be allowed to enter China again at the Muse border.

"A catch is a catch. one day We have about 800 views a day. Sometimes thousands. Lower Myanmar is worse. I have paid all the travel expenses, but I can't get into the class. After sleeping at the inn, when should I check in? Is it ten days a week? Some late people take twenty days."

RFA contacted the officials of the Chinese Embassy in Yangon and the Myanmar Consulate in Yunnan State via email and phone regarding China's restriction of access to Shweli, but there was no response.

In the same way, RFA contacted Shan State Spokesperson for Economy Minister U Khun Thein Maung by phone, but he did not receive an answer.

Since the two governments of China and Myanmar have not signed an official agreement on the dispatch of workers, Myanmar nationals who seek work in China with single-use border passes have been arrested by the Chinese authorities for ages. Those who study and monitor Burmese labor affairs on the border point out that they are facing difficulties such as exploitation by employers.

An observer of Burmese labor issues on the Chinese border pointed out that Myanmar workers should be more careful because the Chinese side currently has opened Myanmar labor offices with the QR system.

"The purpose of the single-use card is to stay for six nights; Only seven days. If you go to China, no matter who the boss is, both countries guarantee that you are going for a year, and neither the Myanmar government nor the Chinese government has allowed it. You can catch them at any time. You can be jailed. You can send it back. Like a chicken out of a basket. Like a frog in a plain. What they are signing now is to include only the things they want. How many hours will we ask our workers to work? How to pay overtime How is the salary? There is no such thing as a bonus. Only the contracts concluded after taking advantage of the employer's side."

Palace gate from Muse into China Entrance and exit are allowed through Sin Phu Gate, and Mont Wayne Gate allows trucks and drivers to enter.

It is said that only between 500 and 1,000 people are allowed in and out of these three gates a day. During the 1027 operation of the three northern brothers, the MNDAA was able to capture the 105-mile trade post on the Muse border, but the town of Muse was still under the control of the Military Council.

Shan State's northern Chinese border gates such as Chin Shwe Hao, hold MNDAA has occupied the gates of Krukot (Pansai). On the 11th of this month, the MNDAA reopened the Khuk Kok (Pan Sai) and Chin Shwe Ha border gates.