President Thein Sein and his senior colleagues took a significant decision on Sept. 30 to halt the US$3.6 billion Chinese-run project to dam the Irrawaddy River at the confluence of Maykha and Malikka rivers, risking Beijing’s anger. The official reasons for the Myitsone Dam u-turn included long-term ecological concerns, damage to local private (i.e., cronies’) interest, adverse impact on the livelihoods of hundreds of communities and popular opposition across the political, ethnic and class divide.

This is the decision that enjoys solid public backing at home and qualified praise by international critics abroad. The government will pass a real litmus test when it made the irreversible decision to cancel – not just suspend – the bad idea of damming the Irrawaddy at its origin.

I count myself among those critics who would like to keep an open mind about Naypyidaw’s deeds.

In a deeply polarized society, the Myitsone dam construction has created a common ground for the government, the mainstream public, the dissidents, local private interests, and the Kachin communities which have suffered direct and immediate consequences of this mega-development project.

In his Financial Times essay of June 21 entitled “It is time to fine-tune sanctions on Burma,” Germany’s Federal Commission for Human Rights Policy Markus Loening characterized our country as a “de facto province of China.” Likewise, ex-Major Aung Lynn Htut, former counterintelligence officer and Acting Chief of Mission at the Burmese Embassy in Washington, labeled Burma as “a semi-colony” of China.

And local people would certainly agree with these characterizations of their country.

Because of this lop-sided Sino-Burmese relationship, as well as the demographic and commercial penetration of their country—especially in Upper Burma—the overwhelming majority of the domestic public have come to greatly resent what they perceive and experience as Beijing’s “resource and access colonialism.” This opposing publiceven includes local Burmese-born Chinese and Sino-Burmese for whom Burma is the only home they have ever known.

Naypyidaw is now in a position to build on the new found popular support for its decision and expand the emerging common ground.

There should be a new thinking in Naypyidaw. The current government should realize that a strong government that needs not fear external threats and pressure is, above all, the government that enjoys popular backing at home.

President and his colleagues should now capitalize on this unexpected popular backing in various areas of public concerns such as the need to cease all hostilities towards armed ethnic organizations, the plight of 2,000 dissidents behind bars and numerous ecologically and socially damaging mega-development projects.

In all these areas, they should make an unequivocal break with its past mindset which disregarded any valid and legitimate popular opposition towards certain governmental actions and policies.

The governmental leaders are, in fact, presented with perhaps their best opportunity to kill a few birds with a single stone, if they are to claw Burma back from the predatory vice of Beijing’s neighborhood colonialism. They can potentially repair the tarnished image of the military, build a more balanced foreign policy, and kick-start the long overdue process of national dialogue and healing.

For starters, President Thein Sein and his colleagues should launch a national multi-dimensional review process of all existing commercial contracts—including dam constructions, special economic zone building or other economic infrastructural mega-projects—which were signed by the previous military government.

In suspending the dam project Naypyidaw has cited ecological damage, livelihood damage, popular opposition and the future of local civilizations as reasons. It can also use these as legitimate, popular rationales for launching a national multi-dimensional review process of all existing commercial contracts.

Protecting the Irrawaddy River is protecting Burma's civilization—not just the country’s dominant Buddhist communities and their livelihoods, but also the spiritual identities of non-Buddhist ethnic communities such as Jeng-hpaw, Lisu, Ahka and so on.

With the exceptions of Pegu, Mrauk-U and Taunggoo, virtually all of Burma’s civilizations have sprung out on the banks of the Irrawaddy, from the very first seat of Bama feudal power at Maimaw in the 9th century AD and the majestic Pagan (11th-13th century AD) to Amarapura and Mandalay of the late 19th century.