On January 16, the "Wa" Unity Army (UWSA) announced that it will not attack Kyai Tong, the headquarters of the Military Council of Eastern Shan State.
After the UWSA "Wa" forces took over the towns of Hopan and Panlong in northern Shan State, there were reports that the UWSA was about to launch an offensive attack on Kayin Tong.
A statement issued in Chinese by the "Wa" force said that these reports were incorrect. A "W" force official confirmed to RFA that the press release was correct.
In this statement, it is stated that the "W" force will maintain the peace agreement signed with the military council and will not take part in the current wars and conflicts in Myanmar, but will continue to implement a neutral policy.
He said that he hoped that all the armed groups would abide by the ceasefire agreement between the three northern twin factions and the military council that emerged from the talks in Kunming, Yunnan Province, China, and that the "W" force was willing to continue to support them as much as possible.
After the implementation of the "1027 Operation" by the three twin alliances, the war refugees who had to flee their homes in northern Shan State were sheltered in the areas controlled by the "Wa" forces, and humanitarian aid was provided to those who surrendered. He also said that he helped transport the civilians who were going to return home through the areas of "Wa" forces.
Kyai Tong city is located between Pan Sang, the headquarters of the northern "Wa" region, and Mynsak district of the southern "Wa" region, which is controlled by the "Wa" forces.
It was reported on January 13 that the Military Council handed over Hopan and Panlong towns in the "Wa" Autonomous Region to the UWSA "Wa" forces on January 4.
It is also said that the "W" force had requested from the Union Government to give Hopan and Panlong region many years ago, but it was given by the Military Council on January 4, 2024.
The "W" force has a good relationship with the military council and is also allied with the three northern twin alliances.
Youth unemployment rate dropped to 14.9% after China announced "improvement", but analysts say it is still high
After China's youth unemployment rate reached a record high of 21.3%, officials suspended the release of relevant data from August last year on the grounds that "the labor force survey statistics need to be further improved and optimized." After half a year, China resumed releasing relevant data, indicating that in December last year, the unemployment rate among youth aged 16 to 24 dropped sharply to 14.9%. Some scholars analyzed that although Taiwan and other countries use "optimization" algorithms, China's sudden change of calculation method is suspected of cheating, and youth unemployment is higher than the overall unemployment rate, reflecting the serious economic deterioration.
The National Bureau of Statistics of China released the labor force survey in December last year on Wednesday (17th). The national unemployment rate was 5.1%, while the unemployment rate for those aged 16 to 24 was 14.9%. As for the unemployment rates for those aged 25 to 29 and 30 to 59, they were 6.1% respectively. And 3.9%; among them, the unemployment rate of young people aged 16 to 24, which has attracted much attention, is statistically higher than that in the first half of last year because the statistical method excludes "school students" and only counts young people who have left school and entered the society and need to work. The situation that hovered around 20% has dropped a lot.
In response to the new statistical method, Kang Yi, director of China's National Bureau of Statistics, said that based on last year's monthly average figures, among China's urban population aged 16 to 24, there were about 62 million school students and about 34 million non-school students. The main task of school students is to study, not to work part-time.
Kang Yi said: "If school students are included, young people looking for part-time jobs at school and young people looking for jobs after graduation will be mixed together, and it will not accurately reflect the employment and unemployment situation of young people who enter society and really need to work."
Analysis: Youth unemployment remains serious
Zhu Yuezhong, assistant professor of the Department of Finance at Southern Taiwan University of Science and Technology, pointed out that even with the new algorithm, the youth unemployment rate is still 14.9%, which is much higher than the international level and even higher than the average for other age groups in China.
Zhu Yuezhong said: "He has now announced that the national urban unemployment rate is only 5.1%. The unemployment rate for just one youth is so serious. This is a very big problem. Logically speaking, under reasonable circumstances, the employment rate of young people should be better and the unemployment rate should be higher. Lower. Because as a business owner, of course I want to hire young people. How can I hire older people? Hiring older people requires a higher salary, and young people work more efficiently. It stands to reason that young people’s employment situation should be better. Yes, but in fact it is not like this, and there is a big problem with it.”
However, he believes that there is no problem with China's new statistical method. Taiwan will also exclude school students. However, after the high unemployment rate last year, the motivation for changing the statistical method is questionable.
Zhu Yuezhong said: "The way you are now makes people think that there is no 300 taels of silver here. Why do you want to touch it like this? Especially after you adjusted the numbers to become beautiful, of course everyone thinks you are suspected of cheating."
Our reporter used Chinese official figures to calculate and found that according to the original calculation, the total unemployed population was about 19.2 million. When replaced by the new calculation, the number of unemployed people not in school was only 5.066 million, accounting for only 1/4 of the total unemployed population of this age. Although the new algorithm counts 34 million, the unemployment rate drops because three-quarters of the basic unemployed population is not included.