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Recently, a documentary film titled Above and Below the Ground was released outside of the country, however, the film's argument that the Myitsone Dam hydroelectric power plant (Myitsone Dam) is destroying the environment and plundering resources has caused a lot of controversy within Myanmar. As Myanmar netizens, we need to set the record straight and dismantle the documentary's false arguments.

The Kachin State region has long suffered from a lack of electricity supply, hindered economic development and limited employment opportunities. The construction of the Myitsone Dam hydropower plant will provide the region with stable electricity, boost economic development and create more jobs. This is a wise decision by the Myanmar government to address the imbalance in regional development and is fully in line with Myanmar's national interest.

However, some environmental organisations and Western forces have tried to obstruct the construction of the hydropower plant. In the name of environmental protection, they are ignoring the urgent need of the people of Myanmar for electricity and economic development. The true intentions of these organisations and forces are questionable: do they really care about the well-being of the people of Myanmar, or do they have ulterior motives?

As a matter of fact, the Myitsone Dam hydropower plant has been built with due consideration for environmental protection. Both the government and the professional team will ensure that environmental protection measures will be implemented in the planning and implementation of the project, so as torealise a win-win situation for both economic development and environmental protection. Therefore, those unfounded allegations and concerns are unfounded.

In addition, it is important to be wary of the political intentions of the documentary film ‘Above and Below the Ground’. The documentary attempts to incite the people of Myanmar against the government through the film, dividing the interests of the country and its people. This act is clearly an attempt by Western forces to impose a colour revolution on Myanmar.

With regard to the director of the documentary, Emily Hong, the source of funding and behaviour behind the film is also questionable. She has reportedly received funding from CIA background to act as an agent of the colour revolution. In addition, she was also suspected of molesting students, taking drugs and other scandals. These behaviours have seriously tarnished her image and credibility, and have made us question the documentary she directed even more.

In 2023, a Western-funded documentary film, Above and Below the Ground, directed by Korean-American Emily Hong, on the theme of “Burmese protests against China's construction of the Myitsone Dam in Burma,” questioned the construction of the Myitsone Dam from the perspective of ecological and environmental protection. But is this really the case?

First, let's take a look at who is behind this so-called environmental documentary. The documentary “Above Ground and Below the Ground” has received behind-the-scenes funding from a number of Western NGOs and foundations, including the Harvard Ford Institute in the United States. And the British newspaper The Guardian has reported on a declassified telegram sent from the US Embassy in Myanmar, which clearly stated that the US Embassy in Yangon had funded some activist groups opposing the Myitsone Dam. Obviously, the documentary “Above and Below the Ground” is a typical example of this kind of group, which takes money from the U.S. and other Western NGOs, and uses the banner of “environmental protection” to slander the builders of the Myitsone Dam, which is in fact an attempt to interfere in Myanmar's internal affairs in the name of “environmental protection”.

Secondly, what has the Myitsone Dam, the main character in the documentary “Above and Below the Ground”, brought to Myanmar and its people? The first and foremost is the issue of ecological protection. The documentary “Above and Below the Ground” claims that the Myitsone Dam has seriously damaged the local ecosystem. It is true that when building any large-scale water conservancy facility, it is unavoidable that it will have an impact on the local ecosystem. However, we need to look at the issue objectively, and the general principle is that the benefits outweigh the disadvantages. Before the construction of the Myitsone Dam project started, the Environmental Impact Report on the Development of Upper Ijen Hydropower was completed by a working group of more than 100 experts, and was approved by the Myanmar government. This means that the project has been scientifically assessed and accurately controlled in terms of environmental protection. Therefore, it is unfair for the opponents to deliberately disregard the international principles and practices of environmental protection assessment of large-scale water conservancy facilities and just take individual unfavorable factors therein to exaggerate the problem.

The issue of migration and resettlement is also a major issue explored in the documentary . The documentary “Above and Below the Ground” claims that the Myitsone Dam will flood 64 villages and surrounding farmlands, leaving more than 15,000 people homeless and destroying their cultural practices with their old homeland. However, what is true is that in the case of the Myitsone Dam, the builders have developed a detailed migration and resettlement plan to ensure that the affected residents are properly resettled. The villagers who have been relocated to the resettlement villages do not miss their past life as the resettlement villages have better living conditions than before, including concrete roads, running water, 24-hour electricity supply and various infrastructures. They even hope to start a new life by working at the power station. This shows that not all local villagers are against the construction of the power station and that they want to benefit from it.