Beijing has launched a diplomatic protest after Myanmar
handed down more than 150 life sentences to Chinese nationals for
illegal logging near the countries' shared border.
The mass
sentencing, which sparked outraged editorials in the Chinese media, came
after the loggers were arrested in January during a crackdown on
illegal forestry activities in northern Kachin state.
For years
China hoovered up Myanmar's once-abundant raw materials, spurring
popular anger in the former junta-ruled country which is set for a
general election later this year.
Beijing's foreign ministry
spokesman Lu Kang had asked its smaller neighbour to "deal with this
case in a lawful, reasonable and justified manner ... and return those
people to China as soon as possible".
But the Myanmar government said it would not interfere in the judicial process.
"When
our citizens break the law in other countries, [they] face sentence by
those countries' laws. We cannot use diplomacy to intervene. I think
China will understand," government spokesman Ye Htut said.
A
Myanmar court official in Kachin said 153 Chinese loggers had been
jailed for life, adding that a further two males under 18 were handed
reduced 10-year sentences without giving details.
Life imprisonment in Myanmar is equivalent to 20 years, according to legal experts.
A
statement from China's foreign ministry added that it had "lodged
multiple representations on different levels and through various
channels" since the arrests in January.
An editorial in China's
Global Times slammed the "severity" of the sentences, expressing hope
that intervention from Beijing could "reverse" the outcome.
"A few
cases of Chinese engaging in illegal business in Myanmar have been
scrutinised by public opinion, exaggerated as China's economic invasion
of the latter," it said, urging the Myanmar public "to look upon
China-Myanmar trade in a positive way".
It is the latest spat to sully ties between the two countries.
Source: +Reuters
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