{"id":1861,"date":"2020-03-05T09:01:07","date_gmt":"2020-03-05T09:01:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/shanhumanrights.org\/?p=1861"},"modified":"2022-05-31T03:51:56","modified_gmt":"2022-05-31T03:51:56","slug":"hundreds-of-kunhing-villagers-hold-blessing-ceremony-for-salween-river-and-historic-ho-leung-stupa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/shanhumanrights.org\/?p=1861","title":{"rendered":"Hundreds of Kunhing villagers hold blessing ceremony for Salween river and historic Ho Leung stupa"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Press release by Kunhing villagers<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">March 5, 2020<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Hundreds of Kunhing villagers hold blessing ceremony for Salween river and historic Ho Leung stupa<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Today hundreds of local villagers in Kunhing township, southern Shan State, are holding a blessing ceremony on the banks of the Salween River so that it may flow freely forever, and will make merit at the well-known Ho Leung stupa to pray for its longevity. This is to mark the International Day of Action for Rivers on March 14.<\/p>\n<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1869\" src=\"https:\/\/shanhumanrights.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/3-5-2020-KunHeng_People-7.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"700\" height=\"1047\" srcset=\"https:\/\/shanhumanrights.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/3-5-2020-KunHeng_People-7.jpeg 700w, https:\/\/shanhumanrights.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/3-5-2020-KunHeng_People-7-201x300.jpeg 201w, https:\/\/shanhumanrights.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/3-5-2020-KunHeng_People-7-685x1024.jpeg 685w, https:\/\/shanhumanrights.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/3-5-2020-KunHeng_People-7-696x1041.jpeg 696w, https:\/\/shanhumanrights.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/3-5-2020-KunHeng_People-7-281x420.jpeg 281w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">About 400 local villagers from Ho Pang village tract, Phang Lang village tract, Keng Lom village tract, Wan Tong village tract, Hsai Mong village tract, Weing Phui village tract, Wan Pang village tract, Wan Lao village tract, and Wan Phai village tract, including youth, farmers and monks, are gathering today at Ta Ho Kaw, north of the Ta Kaw bridge, with banners to protect the environment and rivers, and will float a raft bearing that message.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-1866 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/shanhumanrights.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/3-5-2020-KunHeng_People-3-1024x501.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"696\" height=\"341\" srcset=\"https:\/\/shanhumanrights.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/3-5-2020-KunHeng_People-3-1024x501.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/shanhumanrights.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/3-5-2020-KunHeng_People-3-300x147.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/shanhumanrights.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/3-5-2020-KunHeng_People-3-768x376.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/shanhumanrights.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/3-5-2020-KunHeng_People-3-696x341.jpeg 696w, https:\/\/shanhumanrights.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/3-5-2020-KunHeng_People-3-1068x523.jpeg 1068w, https:\/\/shanhumanrights.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/3-5-2020-KunHeng_People-3-858x420.jpeg 858w, https:\/\/shanhumanrights.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/3-5-2020-KunHeng_People-3-324x160.jpeg 324w, https:\/\/shanhumanrights.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/3-5-2020-KunHeng_People-3-533x261.jpeg 533w, https:\/\/shanhumanrights.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/3-5-2020-KunHeng_People-3.jpeg 1455w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 696px) 100vw, 696px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">After that, the group will head by boat north to the ancient Ho Leung stupa, built over 700 years ago, and famous for the miraculous self-opening and closing of the stupa door on the Full Moon of the 4<sup>th<\/sup> Lunar month of the traditional Shan calendar, which falls in March. The group will make merit at the stupa and pray for its longevity, and will distribute leaflets to the thousands of pilgrims from all over the country who attend this event.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-1867\" src=\"https:\/\/shanhumanrights.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/3-5-2020-KunHeng_People-4.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"700\" height=\"407\" srcset=\"https:\/\/shanhumanrights.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/3-5-2020-KunHeng_People-4.jpeg 700w, https:\/\/shanhumanrights.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/3-5-2020-KunHeng_People-4-300x174.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/shanhumanrights.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/3-5-2020-KunHeng_People-4-696x405.jpeg 696w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Large areas of Kunhing township will be submerged by the reservoir of the planned Mong Ton dam on the Salween river, including the numerous islands in the Pang river tributary, which give Kunhing (meaning \u201cThousand Islands\u201d in Shan) its name. The historic Ho Leung stupa in Mong Paeng township will also go underwater.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u201cWe are gathering to bless our beloved Salween river, so it may flow freely forever and continue to nourish our lands, livelihoods and cultural heritage,\u201d said Nang Jeng Kham, one of the leading organizers.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-1868\" src=\"https:\/\/shanhumanrights.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/3-5-2020-KunHeng_People-6.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"700\" height=\"468\" srcset=\"https:\/\/shanhumanrights.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/3-5-2020-KunHeng_People-6.jpeg 700w, https:\/\/shanhumanrights.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/3-5-2020-KunHeng_People-6-300x201.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/shanhumanrights.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/3-5-2020-KunHeng_People-6-696x465.jpeg 696w, https:\/\/shanhumanrights.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/3-5-2020-KunHeng_People-6-628x420.jpeg 628w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Mong Ton dam is a joint project between the Burmese government, the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand, and China\u2019s Three Gorges Corporation. The giant dam is planned to produce 7,000 megawatts of power, mostly for export to neighbouring countries.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u201cThe government must not sell off our precious river,\u201d said one of the youth organizing the event. \u201cIn this time of climate crisis, we should be preserving our natural resources, not destroying them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Contact:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Sai Aung Kyaw Oo \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 +95 942 837 5113\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 (Burmese)<\/p>\n<p>Sai Tun Aung\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 +95 \u00a0978 175 2576\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 (Burmese)<\/p>\n<p>Nang Hla Yen \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 +95 925 319 0536\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 (Shan)<\/p>\n<p>Nang Jeng Kham\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 +95 944 447 0883\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 (Shan)<\/p>\n<p>Sai Khur Hseng\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 +95 926 436 2973\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 (Burmese\u104a English)<\/p>\n<p>Nang Charm Tong\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 +66 816 036 655\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 (Thai, English)<\/p>\n<p>Sai Hor Hseng\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 +66 947 286 696\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 (Shan, English)<\/p>\n<p><strong>PDF files: &gt;&gt;\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<span class='maxbutton-1-container mb-container'><a class=\"maxbutton-1 maxbutton maxbutton-shan\" href=\"https:\/\/shanhumanrights.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/3-5-2020_Kali-KunHeng_people_press_release-Shan.pdf\"><span class='mb-text'>Shan<\/span><\/a><\/span>\n<span class='maxbutton-2-container mb-container'><a class=\"maxbutton-2 maxbutton maxbutton-burmese\" href=\"https:\/\/shanhumanrights.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/3-5-2020_Kali-KunHeng_people_press_release-Burmese.pdf\"><span class='mb-text'>Burmese<\/span><\/a><\/span>\n<p><span class='maxbutton-4-container mb-container'><a class=\"maxbutton-4 maxbutton maxbutton-thai\" href=\"https:\/\/shanhumanrights.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/3-5-2020_Kali-KunHeng_people_press_release-Thai.pdf\"><span class='mb-text'>Thai<\/span><\/a><\/span> <span class='maxbutton-3-container mb-container'><a class=\"maxbutton-3 maxbutton maxbutton-english\" href=\"https:\/\/shanhumanrights.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/3-5-2020-Kali-KunHeng-people-press-release-Eng.pdf\"><span class='mb-text'>English<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Press release by Kunhing villagers March 5, 2020 Hundreds of Kunhing villagers hold blessing ceremony for Salween river and historic Ho Leung stupa Today hundreds of local villagers in Kunhing township, southern Shan State, are holding a blessing ceremony on the banks of the Salween River so that it may flow freely forever, and will make merit at the well-known Ho Leung stupa to pray for its longevity. This is to mark the International Day of Action for Rivers on March 14. About 400 local villagers from Ho Pang village tract, Phang Lang village tract, Keng Lom village tract, Wan<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":1870,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"cybocfi_hide_featured_image":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[319,320,317,316,318,315,296,256],"class_list":["post-1861","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-updates","tag-ho-leung","tag-jeng-kham","tag-kali","tag-keng-lom","tag-kunhain","tag-salween","tag-ts13","tag-ts19"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/shanhumanrights.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1861","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/shanhumanrights.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/shanhumanrights.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shanhumanrights.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shanhumanrights.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1861"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/shanhumanrights.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1861\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3109,"href":"https:\/\/shanhumanrights.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1861\/revisions\/3109"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shanhumanrights.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1870"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/shanhumanrights.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1861"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shanhumanrights.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1861"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shanhumanrights.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1861"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}