top of page
Writer's pictureManushya Foundation
Feb 13, 2023

#FreeMuay Did you know that Muay also denounced the negative impacts of zero-dollar tourism in Laos?









#FreeMuay ⚖️ Did you know that Muay also denounced the negative impacts of zero-dollar tourism in Laos?


📍While working in the tourism industry, Muay witnessed how some Chinese investors would control the whole supply chain of the tourism industry by setting up their own companies, hiring their own people and building their own venues where Chinese tourists would spend most of their money, only leaving crumbs for local businesses.


🚨As a result of the unfair competition created by Chinese investments that took over the tourism industry in Laos, many local businesses were put out of business or had to sell their activity to Chinese investors. Zero-dollar tourism is further exacerbated by the lack of proper tourism governance and endemic corruption.


📢Muay’s human rights work included denouncing the adverse impacts resulting from the unfair Chinese investments and businesses in Laos. Despite the risks of being a WHRD in Laos, Muay continued her human rights activities which ultimately resulted in her being arbitrarily jailed by the Lao government since 2019.


#WeAreManushyan ♾ Equal Human Beings


✊Manushya reiterates its call on the Lao government to release Muay and to drop all charges against her. By denouncing the unfair competition created by Chinese investors in the tourism industry in Laos, Muay was simply telling the truth. The Lao government must uphold its international commitments in regard to freedom of expression! Telling the truth IS NOT a crime!


👉 Donate to Muay's family as Muay was the main breadwinner for her daughter and retired parents by clicking here: https://www.manushyafoundation.org/free-muay-from-jail-in-laos

👉 Sign our CHANGE.ORG PETITION: chng.it/cPNjbLGhBN to #FreeMuay from jail in Laos!

👉 Share this post with your network and denounce the injustice!

👉 Use #FreeMuay to join the campaign and express your support for her. There is power in numbers!


References

RFA, Chinese Tourism Benefits Few in Laos, Sources Say, (15 October 2018), available at: https://www.rfa.org/english/news/laos/benefits-10152018150003.html

AFR, Bali cracks down on zero-dollar package tourism from China, (3 December 2019), available at: https://www.afr.com/world/asia/bali-cracks-down-on-zero-dollar-package-tourism-from-china-20191203-p53gfx


While you are here...

➡️ Find out more about Manushya Foundation’s our campaign to #FreeMuay from jail:

➡️ Find out more about Manushya Foundation’s previous work on Laos:

  • News release: Nam Theun 1 Dam: Responsible Govts & Companies Must Ensure Safety of Communities living nearby!, 22 August 2022;

  • Manushya’s Foundation UPR Factsheet to inform Lao PDR’s Third UPR: Overview of the Human Rights Situation in Lao PDR - Legal Framework, Challenges, Case Studies & Community-led UPR Recommendations, January 2020;

  • Joint Statement: One year after Xe Pian-Xe Namnoy dam collapse, civil society from Korea and the Mekong call for immediate accountability and redress, 23 July 2019;

  • Joint Submission with the Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact (AIPP) to the UN Universal Periodic Review (UPR) for Lao PDR Third UPR Cycle, 21 July 2019;

  • Manushya Foundation's Submission to the UN Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights on the situation in Lao People’s Democratic Republic (PDR), March 2019;

  • Statement of the Thai Business & Human Rights Network on the Lao Dam Collapse, 20 August 2018;

  • News release: Laos must undertake transparent and independent investigations to ensure effective remedies for the victims of the am collapse – and Thailand should also bear responsibility, 20 August 2018.


Comments

bottom of page