Chinese head of UK-based NGO brings hope to sick in Myanmar


Zhang Jun with children in Myanmar Photo: Courtesy of Zhang Jun

Zhang Jun could have become a top official in China’s health field, but the path the 56-year-old chose was one that most people find hard to comprehend –  helping people in northern Myanmar, a region in the hands of military and armed groups. 

After quitting his government post in 1992, Zhang began working for UK-based nongovernmental organization Health Poverty Action (HPA) as the East Asia Regional Manager, whose head office is in Kunming, China’s Yunnan Province.

Over the past decades, his team has grown from one person to more than 200 staff. Over 40 percent are Chinese and the rest are Myanmar locals. “HPA has very good localization,” he said.

But his Chinese identity and the NGO’s foreign background have brought him his fair share of suspicion and problems. “I feel I’m caught in the middle … But what I’m doing is for the benefit of both Myanmar and China,” he told the Global Times.



Children play on a dirt mountain road in northern Myanmar. Photo: Courtesy of Zhang Jun

Choosing a path

After graduating from China Medical University, he was assigned to what was then known as the Ministry of Health, an “iron rice bowl” job that many regarded as a good foundation for a political career.

But after working in the post for seven years, at the age of 31 he decided to quit. At that time, China was speeding up its reform and opening-up, and many young officials working in national ministries chose to quit their jobs and go into business.

Unlike his peers, Zhang chose a totally different road – an NGO, which at that time was still a new concept in China. He recalled that he first learned what an NGO was when he was sent by the government for a short study course in Japan.

“I didn’t like sitting in the office dealing with official documents. I wanted to do something truly meaningful for mankind,” he said. “Back then, my leaders had all been through revolution and wars, so they held strong feelings about bringing benefits to the people. This also influenced me.”

He was then only given a short-term job in the HPA, but admits that he may not have made the same decision today.

The NGO needed a Chinese person to survey and draft a report on the health situation of women and children in northern Myanmar, where the military ruled and Westerners were forbidden from entering.

The locals, most of whom were able to speak Chinese, welcomed Zhang. After several months there, he found the situation was much more serious than he had expected.

In every household, women and children had died during childbirth. They talked about death like they “talked about eating,” as if it were an everyday occurrence. “Telling them to appreciate life was nonsense,” recalled Zhang.

The women gave birth in barns and washed newborn babies with cold water. The villages were scattered and it was extremely difficult to find a doctor. In the region that Zhang surveyed, there were only two Chinese-trained military doctors who had been left there by the Communist Party of Myanmar.

Zhang later included what he saw in his report, which brought in funds to help these people. His short-term mission then became a long-time job, and one that is by no means easy.

“It’s hard to talk about modern medicines with the locals,” he said. On one occasion, he saw a man kill a chicken in the belief that it would help predict the fate of his pregnant wife who was seriously bleeding.

Zhang immediately brought the woman to a hospital in Yunnan, where she successfully gave birth.

He said through those cases, he gradually won people’s trust. In addition to this, his team also gave “gifts” to some local people to get them to learn and practice basic medical knowledge. “The whole situation is becoming much better,” he said.

Despite the NGO’s UK background, Zhang said other Western NGOs constantly find fault with it, as they view Zhang’s team as Chinese-dominated.

According to Zhang, one American NGO liked to find trivial mistakes in his organization and complained about them to the program’s patron. “They’re not doing it out of humanitarian concern. They just want to sabotage me and get their hands in the region,” he said. “If US and Japanese NGOs come, their motivation is suspicious and may harm China. They didn’t come in the past when the people here needed help most, but today, they are trying to squeeze in.”



A newborn baby receives a vaccine injection. Photo: Courtesy of Zhang Jun

Image of China

As only a narrow river separates Myanmar from Yunnan, many of Zhang’s programs have strong ties with China, and Zhang’s previous post gives him connections with the Chinese government. But the NGO’s foreign background still disqualifies them from financial support from his own government.

China has vowed to fully root out malaria by 2020, but its final defense is now focused on malaria brought in from Myanmar. Due to long-term instability and military conflict, it’s difficult for the Myanmar government to offer help to this region.

As a third party, Zhang’s NGO helps both Myanmar and China stem malaria. In the past seven years, they have treated 210,000 malaria patients and handed out 920,000 mosquito nets, which has also helped curb the spread of the virus to China.

Many locals were surprised to see Chinese distributing mosquito nets. “In their minds, Chinese people are only here to do business such as lumbering and mining. I realized at that moment that I’m representing the image of China,” he said.

He added that what he is doing also benefits his country. But while China is pushing forward the role of NGOs, Zhang felt a bit “aggrieved” that he is unable to apply for financial and political support due to the NGO’s background. 

Despite this, his work has seen some positive political results. Zhang said that there’s a lack of direct communication and cooperation mechanisms between northern Myanmar and the Myanmar central government. The locals don’t have channels to learn about the country’s overall health plans, but through Zhang’s programs, the central government can send experts to train locals and distribute vaccines to the region. “What we’re doing now propels the national unity and reconciliation process in Myanmar. Border stability is also in China’s interests,” he said.

However, some people in the Myanmar government still hold a hostile and negative attitude toward China’s role in the region. Zhang said that from his experience, China has done a lot. Zhang sometimes brings food from China for refugees living in northern Myanmar, which he said the local Chinese government is willing to allow. “This is a humanitarian road,” he said.

Now, Zhang’s team has seen many post-1980s and post-1990s newcomers from China who have studied overseas, which he said represents a “future hope.”

Newspaper headline: Cures without borders