the other police state, Burma, and its sponsor, China

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If I asked you to name an Asian country ruled by an oppressive regime whose people suffer from chronic malnourishment and whose Christian population knows what "persecution" really means, chances are that your answer would be "North Korea."

While that's a correct answer, there's another, even less-discussed one: the country formerly known as Burma, The Union of Myanmar.

As Frontline documented last night, the biggest difference between the ruling junta and the gang in Pyongyang is that power in Burma is shared among a ruling military elite -- General Than Shwe's title is "Chairman of the State Peace and Development Council," not "beloved leader."....

Not that it makes any meaningful difference to the Burmese people: a police state is a police state, no matter what you call its head. And malnourished children -- a diagnosis that fits an estimated 40 percent of Burmese children -- are still malnourished children.

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