SAN FRANCISCO—Over 400 Burmese people gathered in front of the Chinese Consulate in San Francisco on Feb. 20 to protest against this month’s military coup in Burma (also known as Myanmar), as well as the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) support of the coup leaders.
The protesters held signs that read “Save Myanmar democracy” and “Myanmar military dictatorship is made in China.”
“We love Chinese people, we love Chinese food, but … we’re against the Chinese government policy toward our Burmese military regime,” Koko Ley, the protest organizer, told The Epoch Times.
Similar to the protesters in Hong Kong, they have made several demands. They want the CCP to acknowledge the 2020 election results in Burma, help seek and release all detainees (including the country’s elected leader, Aung San Suu Kyi), stop the military coup violence committed against peaceful protesters, suspend China’s support for the Burmese military, and restore democracy to Burma.
“[We want] the Chinese to stop helping the military. We want our democracy back. China is a communist country. … We don’t want to become like China again,” protester Nay Naign told The Epoch Times.
During protests in 1988 in Burma, the military released convicts to carry out violence and cause chaos. Thousands of pro-democracy activists were killed.
The protesters dread the lifestyle that Burmese would have if their country were to become communist.
Naign described the situation of Chinese living under the CCP: “There’s no human rights … and right now, the military people are killing people on the street, shooting people. They are arresting people at night.”
Ley said they want the CCP to stop providing “military support, [economic] support, diplomatic support, including technical assistance.”
“We don’t want them to cooperate with the Burmese military regime. It is unlawful, unlawful [to] take over the power. This is a military coup. That’s why [the] people of Burma [don’t] want it,” said Ley.
