Fashion statement? Aung San Suu Kyi dons Kachin-style garment for China meet

Myanmar’s state counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi flew into Beijing on Wednesday for talks with Chinese president Xi Jinping.

Given the delicate relations between the two neighbors, the meet – Suu Kyi’s most high-profile overseas visit since her government formed in March – is highly significant. And given how reluctant Myanmar’s new government is to reveal policy publicly, it’s likely to be shrouded in some secrecy.

Fortunately, the Lady knows how to make a statement. Quietly, of course.

At her last meeting with Xi, she was reportedly 20 minutes late, prompting the Chinese premier to tell her she was the first leader to keep him waiting so long. And yesterday, she stepped off the plane in Beijing wearing a Kachin-style sarong, or htamein.

 

To those not familiar with Myanmar-China relations, that might mean nothing.

But Kachin state, which borders China, has been at the center of political and diplomatic strife for years over the planned Myitsone Dam, a Beijing-backed project that Myanmar put on hold back in 2011 over environmental concerns.

The dam is deeply unpopular in Kachin, where local populations fear damage and displacement in their communities.

It will be on the agenda during Suu Kyi’s tour.

“The intention of the five-day visit is to build better relationship, and of course China will definitely talk about continuing the dam project but it won’t be our priority of the visit,” Aye Aye Soe, deputy director of the Foreign Affairs and Political Department, told the New York Times.

Suu Kyi has not promised to stop the dam for good, though the government has hinted it will base its decision on the “people’s desire.” President Htin Kyaw recently set up a commission intended to review dam projects including Myitsone.

So what does the Kachin-style longi mean? Possibly nothing. Kachin fabrics are beautiful and popular among many in Myanmar. But we can’t help thinking of it as something of a salute from Suu Kyi to the people most affected by her choices in China.

Or, to put it another way, a quiet bit of sass in the face of Myanmar’s big brother.

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