Pheung Kya-shin
Encyclopedia
Pheung Kya-shin is the chairman of the Kokang Special Region in Burma (Myanmar) and a leader of the Kokang people
's army, the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army
.
ese descent, and was born near Kokang's Red Rock River (红石头河) in 1931. He was the oldest of seven children. In 1949 he studied military affairs under Sao Edward Yang Kyein Tsai
, the saopha
of Kokang at that time, and became the captain of Yang's defense force, where he remained until Yang's was deposed by the Myanmar Armed Forces (the military junta
ruling Burma) in 1965. Later that year he established the "Kokang People's Revolutionary Army" and began leading a small group of youth in guerilla warfare against the Myanmar Armed Forces, at which time his younger brother Pheung Kya-fu also became a military leader.
In April 1969, Kokang province was established with Pheung as its leader. For 20 years he controlled Kokang as a member of the Communist Party of Burma
(CPB). In 1989, however, the CPB split up and Pheung established his own army, the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army, with which he mutinied and captured the city of Mong Ko. After this he signed a cease-fire with the military junto, which allowed the Kokang army to retain their weapons, and established an autonomous Kokang region as the "First Special Region" of Myanmar.
Pheung has played a large role in drug production in Burma. According to Bertil Lintner
, he established the first heroin factory in Kokang during the 1970s and continued trafficking heroin for at least 20 years. In 1990, he legalized opium
planting in Kokang. Later, however, he said he opposed the drug trade: in a 1999 talk to journalists and narcotics experts he said he was working on "purging [the] area of opium", and that he had been trying to end the opium trade for 10 years. The Kokang government declared the region "drug-free" in 2003. The central government and narcotics experts, however, still suspect the region of being involved in the drug trade.
The cease-fire with the military junta was broken in August 2009 after the government sent troops to conduct a drug raid on a factory suspected of being a drug front, and on Pheung's own house. At the same time, Pheung was challenged from within the army, as his deputy Bai Suocheng and others were said to have become loyal to the junta. The confrontation with junta troops eventually led to violent conflict (the Kokang incident
); Pheung himself was driven out by his competitors in from within the army and is rumored to have fled, after a warrant was issued for his arrest.
Kokang people
The Kokang people are an ethnic group of Burma . They are Mandarin-speaking Han Chinese living in Kokang Special Region. In 1997, it was estimated that the Kokang people, together with more recently-immigrated Yunnanese, constituted 30–40 percent of Burma's ethnic Chinese population.The...
's army, the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army
Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army
The Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army , formally the Kokang Democracy Party, is a rebel army of Kokang people in northeastern Burma and has existed since 1989. The army, also known as the Eastern Shan State Army, has had a ceasefire with the Burmese government for two decades...
.
Biography
Pheung is of SichuanSichuan
' , known formerly in the West by its postal map spellings of Szechwan or Szechuan is a province in Southwest China with its capital in Chengdu...
ese descent, and was born near Kokang's Red Rock River (红石头河) in 1931. He was the oldest of seven children. In 1949 he studied military affairs under Sao Edward Yang Kyein Tsai
Sao Edward Yang Kyein Tsai
Sao Edward Yang Kyein Tsai , Saopha of Kokang was the traditional ruler of the Burmese state of Kokang from 1949, at the death of his father, saopha Sao Yang Wen Pin, until he abdicated in 1959.-External links:*...
, the saopha
Saopha
Saopha, Chaofa, or Sawbwa was a royal title used by the rulers of the Shan States of Myanmar . The word means "king" in the Shan and Tai languages...
of Kokang at that time, and became the captain of Yang's defense force, where he remained until Yang's was deposed by the Myanmar Armed Forces (the military junta
Military junta
A junta or military junta is a government led by a committee of military leaders. The term derives from the Spanish language junta meaning committee, specifically a board of directors...
ruling Burma) in 1965. Later that year he established the "Kokang People's Revolutionary Army" and began leading a small group of youth in guerilla warfare against the Myanmar Armed Forces, at which time his younger brother Pheung Kya-fu also became a military leader.
In April 1969, Kokang province was established with Pheung as its leader. For 20 years he controlled Kokang as a member of the Communist Party of Burma
Communist Party of Burma
The Communist Party of Burma is the oldest existing political party in Burma. The party is unrecognised by the Burmese authorities, rendering it illegal; so it operates in a clandestine manner, often associating with insurgent armies along the border of People's Republic of China...
(CPB). In 1989, however, the CPB split up and Pheung established his own army, the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army, with which he mutinied and captured the city of Mong Ko. After this he signed a cease-fire with the military junto, which allowed the Kokang army to retain their weapons, and established an autonomous Kokang region as the "First Special Region" of Myanmar.
Pheung has played a large role in drug production in Burma. According to Bertil Lintner
Bertil Lintner
Bertil Lintner is a Swedish journalist based in Thailand and the author of several works on Asia, including Blood Brothers: The Criminal Underworld of Asia and Great Leader, Dear Leader: Demystifying North Korea Under The Kim Clan....
, he established the first heroin factory in Kokang during the 1970s and continued trafficking heroin for at least 20 years. In 1990, he legalized opium
Opium
Opium is the dried latex obtained from the opium poppy . Opium contains up to 12% morphine, an alkaloid, which is frequently processed chemically to produce heroin for the illegal drug trade. The latex also includes codeine and non-narcotic alkaloids such as papaverine, thebaine and noscapine...
planting in Kokang. Later, however, he said he opposed the drug trade: in a 1999 talk to journalists and narcotics experts he said he was working on "purging [the] area of opium", and that he had been trying to end the opium trade for 10 years. The Kokang government declared the region "drug-free" in 2003. The central government and narcotics experts, however, still suspect the region of being involved in the drug trade.
The cease-fire with the military junta was broken in August 2009 after the government sent troops to conduct a drug raid on a factory suspected of being a drug front, and on Pheung's own house. At the same time, Pheung was challenged from within the army, as his deputy Bai Suocheng and others were said to have become loyal to the junta. The confrontation with junta troops eventually led to violent conflict (the Kokang incident
Kokang incident
The Kokang incident was a violent conflict or series of skirmishes that broke out in August 2009 in the Kokang Special Region in Burma's northern Shan State...
); Pheung himself was driven out by his competitors in from within the army and is rumored to have fled, after a warrant was issued for his arrest.