BANGKOK , Nov. 6 (Xinhua) -- Thousands of Myanmar migrant workers have departed Thailand for their homeland with intent to go to the polls on the upcoming Sunday elections, police said on Friday.
The Myanmar migrants, currently hired as workers in Thai territory, have left for home fr om across Thai border areas such as those in Ranong province in southern Thailand, Prachuab Kirikan province in the western region of the country and Chiang Rai province in the northern part of the country.
Boats shuttled the Myanmar migrants fr om Ranong to Victory Point township in a southern coastal strip of Myanmar and those in Prachuab Kirikan traveled via Singkorn border checkpoint to Mergui township and Tanintharyi region while those in Chiang Rai crossed Maesai checkpoint into Tachilek township in Shan state. The Myanmar nationals have left for their homeland since the last few days and are expected to return to Thailand wh ere they are employed as working migrants.
Most were said to have intended to cast their votes in Myanmar's election and have taken varied goods such as food, toys and electric appliances to give to their relatives in the neighboring country.
Nevertheless , only few Myanmar migrants in Samut Sakorn province, on the southwestern outskirts of the Thai capital, were reported to have departed for Myanmar only to go to the polls, the police said.
Travels on a 300-plus-kilometers route between Samut Sakorn and the nearest Thai-Myanmar border in Kanchanaburi province might be quite costly and take several days off from work.
Zaw Myint, a 34-year-old Myanmar migrant employed at a seafood processing factory in Samut Sakorn, said he had earlier planned to go to the polls and visit his family in Tanintharyi but could not make it without a few days off besides Sunday.
"The factory manager did not allow me to take a few days off after Sunday. Not only I but many of my colleagues wanted to leave if they could ," he said.
He believed candidates running under the tickets of the opposition National League for Democracy party led by Nobel Peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi would win seats in his native Mandalay region.
"I'd certainly vote for Aung San's party only if I went to the polls," the migrant worker said.
An estimated two million Myanmar migrants are currently employed, either in legal or illegal fashion, in Samut Sakorn and nearby areas. Most are hired in Thai fishing industry such as crewmembers for fishing trawlers and workers in seafood storage houses and seafood processing factories.
In 2012, Suu Kyi visited Samut Sakorn, which locates Thailand's largest fishing industry , wh ere she was warmly received by tens of thousands of Myanmar migrants, most of whom including Zaw Myint appeared loyal to her.
In Sunday's election, the NLD is contesting against the ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party headed by Myanmar president Thein Sein.
Though Suu Kyi is barred by the Myanmar constitution from running for president, she has mustered solid support from among constituents in Naypyidaw, Yangon and Mandalay for NLD candidates.
BEIJING, Nov. 11 (Xinhua) -- This year's Singles' Day (Nov. 11) saw China's e-commerce industry set another stunning sales record - sending shivers through China's thousands of malls and department stores.
In Zhuangsheng Sogo , a high-end department store in central Beijing's Xicheng District, the promotion posters hang on the walls and windows. A few customers wander among the ground floor stands, outnumbered by the shop assistants, who chat or play with their smart phones. Floors two to four are closed for refurbishment.
This year has seen a growing number of conventional retailers retreat from market. As of June 30, nine major retailers, including Dalian Wanda , Parkson, and Marks & Spencer, shut down at least 25 stores in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and other cities.
Commerce Ministry spokesman Shen Danyang said in a news briefing on Nov. 4 that retail stores face increasing pressure from the booming online shopping sector, with some stores closing or canceling their leases.
According to National Bureau of Statistics , total retail sales of consumer goods in first nine months of 2015 totaled 21.6 trillion yuan (about 3.4 trillion U.S. dollars), up 10.5 percent year on year. The value of online sales in the same period reached 2.6 trillion yuan, up 36.2 percent and accounting for 12 percent of total retail sales of consumer goods.
Starting as an excuse for the unattached to celebrate -- or poke fun at -- their status in the 1990s, Singles' Day has evolved into an online shopping frenzy for all, as e-vendors tap into the buying potential of bargain-savvy netizens. For e-commerce giant Alibaba alone, sales of domestic and overseas outlets have rocketed from 50 million yuan in 2009 to 57.1 billion yuan in 2014.
Nielsen's Global E-commerce and the New Retail Survey in April said several factors are at play. Rapid urbanization and high population density make the home delivery model economically viable , particularly when coupled with low labor costs. In addition, booming smartphone ownership and usage have created huge mobile commerce opportunities.
To cope with the challenge of online shopping, many department stores launched promotions one week before Singles' Day. Some offered big discounts; others welcomed customers to try on clothes and shoes even if they buy them online. Suning, one of biggest home appliance retailers in China, has joined the online promotions in partnership with Alibaba.
Analysts say online shopping has disrupted the conventional come-buy-go mode for goods such as home appliances, electronics and off-the-rack clothes. Shoppers no longer need to go to the store if an online service can deliver the goods to their home for the same or less cost.
In Zhuangsheng Sogo , floor six is the most crowded area, with bar
By Le Phuong
HO.
The Myanmar migrants, currently hired as workers in Thai territory, have left for home fr om across Thai border areas such as those in Ranong province in southern Thailand, Prachuab Kirikan province in the western region of the country and Chiang Rai province in the northern part of the country.
Boats shuttled the Myanmar migrants fr om Ranong to Victory Point township in a southern coastal strip of Myanmar and those in Prachuab Kirikan traveled via Singkorn border checkpoint to Mergui township and Tanintharyi region while those in Chiang Rai crossed Maesai checkpoint into Tachilek township in Shan state. The Myanmar nationals have left for their homeland since the last few days and are expected to return to Thailand wh ere they are employed as working migrants.
Most were said to have intended to cast their votes in Myanmar's election and have taken varied goods such as food, toys and electric appliances to give to their relatives in the neighboring country.
Nevertheless , only few Myanmar migrants in Samut Sakorn province, on the southwestern outskirts of the Thai capital, were reported to have departed for Myanmar only to go to the polls, the police said.
Travels on a 300-plus-kilometers route between Samut Sakorn and the nearest Thai-Myanmar border in Kanchanaburi province might be quite costly and take several days off from work.
Zaw Myint, a 34-year-old Myanmar migrant employed at a seafood processing factory in Samut Sakorn, said he had earlier planned to go to the polls and visit his family in Tanintharyi but could not make it without a few days off besides Sunday.
"The factory manager did not allow me to take a few days off after Sunday. Not only I but many of my colleagues wanted to leave if they could ," he said.
He believed candidates running under the tickets of the opposition National League for Democracy party led by Nobel Peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi would win seats in his native Mandalay region.
"I'd certainly vote for Aung San's party only if I went to the polls," the migrant worker said.
An estimated two million Myanmar migrants are currently employed, either in legal or illegal fashion, in Samut Sakorn and nearby areas. Most are hired in Thai fishing industry such as crewmembers for fishing trawlers and workers in seafood storage houses and seafood processing factories.
In 2012, Suu Kyi visited Samut Sakorn, which locates Thailand's largest fishing industry , wh ere she was warmly received by tens of thousands of Myanmar migrants, most of whom including Zaw Myint appeared loyal to her.
In Sunday's election, the NLD is contesting against the ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party headed by Myanmar president Thein Sein.
Though Suu Kyi is barred by the Myanmar constitution from running for president, she has mustered solid support from among constituents in Naypyidaw, Yangon and Mandalay for NLD candidates.
BEIJING, Nov. 11 (Xinhua) -- This year's Singles' Day (Nov. 11) saw China's e-commerce industry set another stunning sales record - sending shivers through China's thousands of malls and department stores.
In Zhuangsheng Sogo , a high-end department store in central Beijing's Xicheng District, the promotion posters hang on the walls and windows. A few customers wander among the ground floor stands, outnumbered by the shop assistants, who chat or play with their smart phones. Floors two to four are closed for refurbishment.
This year has seen a growing number of conventional retailers retreat from market. As of June 30, nine major retailers, including Dalian Wanda , Parkson, and Marks & Spencer, shut down at least 25 stores in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and other cities.
Commerce Ministry spokesman Shen Danyang said in a news briefing on Nov. 4 that retail stores face increasing pressure from the booming online shopping sector, with some stores closing or canceling their leases.
According to National Bureau of Statistics , total retail sales of consumer goods in first nine months of 2015 totaled 21.6 trillion yuan (about 3.4 trillion U.S. dollars), up 10.5 percent year on year. The value of online sales in the same period reached 2.6 trillion yuan, up 36.2 percent and accounting for 12 percent of total retail sales of consumer goods.
Starting as an excuse for the unattached to celebrate -- or poke fun at -- their status in the 1990s, Singles' Day has evolved into an online shopping frenzy for all, as e-vendors tap into the buying potential of bargain-savvy netizens. For e-commerce giant Alibaba alone, sales of domestic and overseas outlets have rocketed from 50 million yuan in 2009 to 57.1 billion yuan in 2014.
Nielsen's Global E-commerce and the New Retail Survey in April said several factors are at play. Rapid urbanization and high population density make the home delivery model economically viable , particularly when coupled with low labor costs. In addition, booming smartphone ownership and usage have created huge mobile commerce opportunities.
To cope with the challenge of online shopping, many department stores launched promotions one week before Singles' Day. Some offered big discounts; others welcomed customers to try on clothes and shoes even if they buy them online. Suning, one of biggest home appliance retailers in China, has joined the online promotions in partnership with Alibaba.
Analysts say online shopping has disrupted the conventional come-buy-go mode for goods such as home appliances, electronics and off-the-rack clothes. Shoppers no longer need to go to the store if an online service can deliver the goods to their home for the same or less cost.
In Zhuangsheng Sogo , floor six is the most crowded area, with bar
By Le Phuong
HO.