Cybersecurity expert: CCP provides technology to the Myanmar military to push cyber censorship law

News (1)

Cybersecurity expert: CCP provides technology to the Myanmar military to push cyber censorship law

Reporter : Liming / Editor: Mei Lan / https://www.ntdtv.com/gb/2021/02/12/a103052995.html / Direct translation

Image : On February 12, 2021, Burmese people held up slogans in front of the CCP’s embassy in Yangon to protest the CCP’s assistance to the Burmese military government to conduct online censorship. (Sai Aung Main/AFP via Getty Images)

The Myanmar military is preparing to pass a bill on network censorship, granting the country's telecommunications authority the power to monitor network data access, online content and services. Myanmar cyber security experts said that the Chinese government is helping the Myanmar military build a firewall to implement the bill, and Chinese IT technicians and hardware equipment have arrived in Myanmar.

According to a report by Nikkei on Friday (February 12), the draft "Cyber ​​Security Bill" to be passed by the Myanmar military shows that the bill requires Myanmar's network service providers and telecom operators to be designated by the government. The location stores user data for three years and allows the government to access personal information of netizens "for security reasons."

The draft also requires service providers to "block, delete, destroy and stop" the illegal content on their platforms in a timely manner, including content that "incites hatred, undermines unity, destabilizes or peace", and any "written or oral statements that violate the law" ". The bill also gives the government the power to monitor or shut down the online services of network providers for various reasons.

According to Reuters, according to this bill, if an online provider is convicted for failing to manage data in accordance with the law, individuals may be sentenced to up to 3 years in prison, or a fine of up to 10 million kyats (US$7,500), or both are fined.

The strict Internet censorship bill proposed by the Myanmar military has met with widespread opposition from all sectors of the Myanmar society. A cybersecurity expert in Yangon told VOA recently that the Chinese Communist government has provided important technical assistance to the Myanmar military to build a cyber firewall.

The cyber security expert said that the cyber department cooperated with the military to implement its cyber censorship system as soon as possible. Chinese IT technicians and hardware equipment have arrived locally at the request of the Myanmar military government. These technologies and equipment will be used to suppress the Internet. Dissent and democratic protests.

"These are firewall equipment from China. These firewall equipment have been delivered to network service providers and telecom operators such as Ooredoo and Telenor in the past two days." Voice of America quoted the interviewee as saying, "All these ( Firewall equipment) was instructed to be put into use before February 15".

The interviewee said, "The latest technology firewall has a feature called deep packet inspection. They can access this traffic. You can start to see what data is being transmitted. So I think they want to use the latest technology to control the Internet."

After the contents of the bill introduced by the Myanmar military came out, it quickly aroused strong opposition. Approximately 150 civil society groups in Myanmar issued a joint statement on Wednesday, stating that this bill proposed by the military government includes many provisions that violate human rights and violates the rights of freedom of speech, data protection and privacy, as well as other democratic principles and human rights. .

The statement also emphasized that since the new bill was drafted by the military to suppress those who oppose its rule and limit the momentum of mobilization and cyber resistance, “we strongly condemn this action by the military based on our democratic principles. ".

Previously, the Myanmar military ordered on February 4 that Internet service providers block Facebook in Myanmar; the next day the military ordered that mobile operators and Internet service providers to stop providing access to Twitter and Instagram in Myanmar service.

News (2) 17/02/21

5 CCP planes arrived in Myanmar quietly

Reporter : Jing Zhongming  / Editor: Mei Lan / https://www.ntdtv.com/gb/2021/02/16/a103055761.html / Direct translation

The Myanmar military launched a coup and is suspected of being supported by the CCP. Recently, a number of planes were found to have quietly arrived in Yangon, Myanmar from Yunnan, China, which once again triggered suspicion among netizens. The Chinese Embassy in Myanmar denied supporting the Burmese military government and claimed that the plane was "carrying seafood." Netizens ridiculed that they "do not understand common sense."

At night of 16 February, the official website of the embassy released the content of the interview with Myanmar media on the 15th by the Chinese Communist Party’s Ambassador to Myanmar Chen Hai. During the interview, Chen Hai once again denied that the CCP manipulated and supported this "Myanmar political situation change", but still did not mention the word "coup" and avoided condemning the Myanmar military.

Chen Hai also said that the recently exposed aircraft voyage was a "normal cargo flight between China and Myanmar", carrying "Myanmar exports of seafood and other goods to China", and said that "China has always been an important export market for Myanmar's agricultural and aquatic products."

This is the second time that the Chinese Embassy has responded to the aircraft incident and has partially "fixed" the previous statement.

Last week, a Myanmar media published a document stating that after the Myanmar military government closed international flights, five cargo planes from Kunming, Yunnan, arrived at Yangon International Airport on the same day. Netizens have speculated whether these planes are transporting IT personnel to help Myanmar to block the Internet, or whether they are weapons or military police to suppress the people.

Photos circulating on social media showed workers unloading several boxes of goods from the plane landing in Myanmar. The Burmese people suspect that this may be the Chinese technical equipment used to assist the Burmese military government in disconnecting the network.

When the Myanmar military launched a military coup on February 1, it announced the closure of international flights. Prior to this, the CCP had closed all passenger flights from China to Myanmar on the grounds of "epidemic prevention".

After the news of the Chinese plane’s quiet arrival in Myanmar came to light last week, the Chinese Embassy in Myanmar immediately forwarded a statement from the “Myanmar Chinese Enterprise Chamber of Commerce” on Facebook, claiming that “the so-called round-trip plane between China and Myanmar is a normal cargo flight, carrying import and export goods such as seafood".

Because of this statement, "Chinese seafood" or "seafood" immediately became the object of joking among Myanmar netizens.

Some netizens questioned that the person who made the statement did not even understand the basic national conditions of Myanmar. The coastline of Myanmar is 2832 kilometers long, and its fishery resources are very rich. Seafood is the country’s main export earning industry. It is impossible to import seafood from China for no reason.

Some netizens joked, interpreting the English "seafood" of the term seafood as an abbreviation of "Software Engineering Approach For Offshore and Outsourced Development" (offshore and outsourced development software engineering methods).

After the Burmese coup, the CCP has always avoided mentioning the word "coup" and refused to condemn the Burmese military, which caused dissatisfaction among the Burmese people. The Burmese military government has recently resorted to disconnecting the Internet, and it is also suspected of receiving technical support from the CCP.

Last week, the Burmese people gathered in front of the Chinese Communist Embassy in Myanmar for several days to protest the Beijing government’s support for the Burmese military government and interference in Burmese national affairs.

News (3)

Aung San Suu Kyi charged with second count, U.S. calls on Beijing to condemn coup

Reporter : Fei Zhen / Editor : Song Yue / https://www.soundofhope.org/post/475175 / Direct translation

Aung San Suu Kyi, the substantive leader of Myanmar who was arrested after the "military coup" in Myanmar, was charged with a second count on Tuesday (16th) and may face indefinite detention. US State Department spokesperson Price said on the 16th that the US is uneasy about this and called on the Myanmar military to immediately release detained political leaders. He also hopes to see Beijing condemn the coup.

According to a report by the Associated Press on the 16th, Aung San Suu Kyi (also known as Aung San Suu Kyi, Aung San Suu Kyi) briefly appeared in court on Tuesday via video to answer questions about legal arrangements. Her lawyer, Khin Maung Zaw (Khin Maung Zaw) pointed out that the police charged Aung San Suu Kyi for violating Article 25 of the Myanmar Disaster Management Act, with a maximum penalty of 3 years in prison.

Kim Meng Shao said that the Myanmar Disaster Management Law was used to prosecute those who violated epidemic prevention restrictions, but after the military government revised the criminal law on its own last week, Aung San Suu Kyi may be detained indefinitely without court approval. Myanmar President Win Myint was also charged with the same charges. The court will hold the relevant trial on March 1.

In the military coup in early February, Aung San Suu Kyi was charged with the first crime of illegal possession of a radio walkie-talkie in his home, and Aung San Suu Kyi was charged with violating the national import and export law.

Kim Meng Shao said that after Aung San Suu Kyi was arrested, he had never seen her. It was only when the court heard that the judge was holding a video conference with her.

In response, US State Department spokesperson Ned Price (Ned Price) stated at a media briefing on the 16th that the US is disturbed by the charges against Aung San Suu Kyi and called on the Burmese military to immediately release the general public, Political leaders, journalists, rights defenders and other members of civil society, and restore Myanmar’s original democratically elected government.

Price also mentioned that President Joe Biden said that the military's seizure of power is a direct attack on Myanmar's democratic transformation and the rule of law. Price said that he is very happy to see many partners and allies with similar ideas in the world, condemning the non-democratic military coup in Myanmar with the United States.

With regard to the Chinese side that has not expressed any position so far, Price said that the US side has made it clear that it hopes Beijing can play a constructive role in this incident. He pointed out that the United States has communicated this message to Beijing both publicly and privately. "We will continue to communicate this message until Beijing publicly condemns this coup."

After the military coup erupted in Myanmar, it caused repeated condemnations from various democratic countries, but the CCP’s attitude was low-key and avoided mentioning the word "coup". It is rumored that it even dispatched technicians to Myanmar to help Myanmar build a firewall, etc., so it was questioned by the outside world. The Burmese coup may be secretly manipulated by the CCP.

Hundreds of Myanmar people gathered in front of the Chinese Embassy in Myanmar on the 11th to protest, demanding that the Beijing government not support the dictator and interfere in Myanmar's national affairs.

Regarding external voices, Chen Hai, the Chinese Communist Party’s ambassador to Myanmar, denied China’s involvement in assisting the Myanmar military. He retorted that the rumours that Chinese aircraft transported technicians to Myanmar, helped Myanmar build a firewall, and Chinese soldiers appeared on the streets of Myanmar were completely "nonsense and very ridiculous." This is the first time the Chinese Embassy has officially responded to this since the Myanmar military launched the coup.