The ‘Belt and Road’ projects China doesn’t want anyone talking about
Yunnan authorities obscure location of refinery at end of pipeline from Myanmar and order media to stop mentioning ‘Trans-Asia Railway’
Kunming, Yunnan’s provincial capital, occupies a key place in China’s economic diplomacy efforts as the terminus of oil and gas pipelines from the Bay of Bengal and the starting point of a planned railway network winding through Indo-China to Singapore.
But the provincial authorities have obscured the location of a brand new, 29.2 billion yuan (US$4.27 billion) oil refinery that sits at the end of the 2,500km pipeline and made talk about the rail network taboo.
The refinery is not marked on online maps, but its outline is visible in satellite images of the area.
The two projects, linked to China’s ambitious “Belt and Road” trade-development scheme, have sparked protests, quarrels and suspicions in Yunnan and in neighbouring countries before delivering on promises of peace and prosperity.
Kunming taxi drivers complain that major Chinese online map apps do not show the location of the refinery, which has been a controversial project ever since huge protests against it in 2013.
“Last time, I lost my way and ran into many dead-end roads when trying to get close to the project,” taxi driver Ge Changshui said. “It’s easy to see the brand-new smokestacks, towering high in the air, from very far away. But it’s also easy to get lost when approaching the refinery for the first time.”