"Dozens of newly built villas line a street as concrete skeletons of what may become hotels or casinos stand half-finished nearby. A new paved roadway allows access to more than a dozen boxy two-story buildings still under construction opposite plots of cleared land streaked with muddy tire tracks. Farther along the road, about 30 warehouse-type buildings with blue roofs stand at attention beside a river, while in the distance villagers’ small homes dot lush green fields. The Chinese-backed U.S. $15 billion real estate mega-project along the Thaungyin River in southeastern Myanmar’s Kayin state has been dubbed Shwe Kokko “Chinatown” by locals. It sits about 12 miles away from the state capital Myawaddy, and a 10-minute drive to the Thai town of Mae Sot. Shwe Kokko is the latest manifestation of China’s growing presence in the Southeast Asian country through its Belt and Road Initiative to connect the country with the rest of the region and beyond. And it's moving ahead at full throttle despite heavy criticism from ethnic Karen locals who object to what they see as Chinese encroachment upon their land, livelihoods, and culture..."