Civil society groups gathered in protest outside the Chinese embassy in Bangkok today, July 8, to demand accountability from Beijing over cross-border river pollution linked to Chinese-backed mining in Myanmar.
The rally was organised by the NGO Coordinating Committee on Development (NGO-COD) together with civil society networks.
Demonstrators held a symbolic ceremony in which organisers poured water, said to have been collected from affected areas, onto a map of Thailand and Myanmar to represent environmental damage in the Kok, Sai, Ruak, and Mekong river basins.
Some participants wore masks depicting Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Lertsak Kamkongsak, chairperson of NGO-COD, read a statement calling on the Chinese government to address cross-border pollution, citing findings of contaminants detected in local waterways.
The statement called for accountability from operators linked to mining projects in Shan State, Myanmar, and urged that cross-border investment be accompanied by environmental and community responsibility.
Police Colonel Sonsak Thongmee of Huai Khwang Police Station, who oversaw the gathering, said officers had acted in accordance with the law and used appropriate crowd management measures, and the rally ended peacefully.
The network reiterated four demands directed at the Chinese government:
- Oversight of Chinese companies and investors operating mines in Myanmar
- Traceability checks on minerals, including antimony, tungsten, tin, lead, copper, and manganese, imported through Thailand
- A visit to the affected communities along the river network
- A joint inspection team, including Thai representatives, to visit the mining sites in Myanmar
After the protest, the Chinese embassy in Bangkok closed for half a day and increased security measures around the compound during the demonstration, officials said.
The protest is the latest development in an ongoing dispute over contamination in the Kok, Sai, Ruak, and Mekong rivers, which campaigners say originates from gold and rare earth mining operations in Myanmar’s Shan State backed by Chinese investment.
Thai health officials have previously reported finding arsenic in residents living near the Kok River, and heavy metals have been detected in water and fish samples from the affected rivers.
A similar protest was held outside the Chinese consulate in Chiang Mai on July 6, where demonstrators from the People’s Network to Protect the Kok, Sai, Ruak, and Mekong Rivers said they were confronted by police while attempting to submit a petition.
Two protesters were reportedly injured, including one who underwent surgery for a broken arm, though Chiang Mai police maintained that officers “followed standard procedure” and denied any intention to use force against demonstrators.
This prompted a Bangkok protester to hold up a sign which said: “This is Thailand, not Tiananmen.”
The story Chinese embassy protest in Bangkok links Myanmar mines to polluted Thai rivers as seen on Thaiger News.
