"As buildings after buildings spring up in Shwe Kokko, a remote Karen border town bordering Thailand, many wonder if this mega-project real estate development is just an ordinary undertaking spearheaded by the Jilin Yatai Group of China, together with Colonel Saw Chit Thu, chief of the Karen Border Guard Force (BGF). The Jilin Yatai Group was registered with the Ministry of Planning and Finance under the name Myanmar Yatai International Trading Co Ltd in February 2017. Shwe Kokko, a former garrison town of Karen National Liberation Army formerly known as Kawmoora or Wangkha, is controlled by Saw Chit Thu, who is the chief of Karen BGF recognized by the government and affiliated to the Myanmar Army or the Tatmadaw. Myanmar Times of September 18, 2018 reported the signing of agreement between Saw Chit Thu and the Chinese company in September 2017, organized by the China Federation of Overseas Chinese Entrepreneurs. This project, dubbed as “Chinatown” by the locals is in fact so ambitious that it is touted as an equivalent of being second only to Hong Kong, China’s special administrative region under one country two system. Reportedly, a 70-year lease from the Myanmar government has been secured, which may be extended up to 99 years..."