Touby Lyfoung
Encyclopedia
Touby Lyfoung was a Hmong
political and military leader. Born in 1917 in Nong Het, Laos
, he became the first Hmong politician to achieve national prominence. During his long career, which began under French colonial rule and extended to the communist takeover in 1975, he supported the Royal Lao Government
and American involvement in the Secret War.
Being one of the few Hmong people educated in the French colonial school system,Touby Lyfoung was elected as head (tasseng) of the Nong Het sub-district in Xiangkhoang Province in 1939. The next year, as the only Hmong member of the Opium Purchasing Board, he oversaw the institution of a new tax that was payable in opium for those farmers who were too poor to pay in cash. At the time, many Hmong, like other ethnic minorities in the region, cultivated poppies and sold the extracted opium as a cash crop. The French colonial authorities relied on taxes from the opium trade to fund infrastructure projects and draw revenue from the colonies. Cut-off from their most abundant supply of opium in Afghanistan (due to conflicts associated with World War II
), the French looked with favor upon Lyfoung for helping to improve the output of Laos.
When the Japanese occupied Laos in March 1945, Lyfoung was arrested for his associations with the French. He escaped and moved to the mountains where he helped to lead guerrilla attacks against the occupiers with a Hmong militia that included the young future general, Vang Pao
.
, another Hmong leader who had been promised the earlier tasseng position by the French. Lobliayao went on to join the communist/nationalist struggle against the French rulers (with the Pathet lao) and later the Royal Lao Government. Lyfoung remained loyal to the RLG and led forces against the Pathet Lao and North Vietnamese between 1946 and 1954, helping to force them out of Xiangkhoang province.
In the 1950s, Lyfoung's role was critical in shaping the newly independent Kingdom of Laos
as a nation acknowledging the diversity of its 63 ethnic minorities while being united as one country. Touby Lyfoung was the first Hmong and ethnic minority person to be honored by the King of Laos, when he was appointed Minister to the King, with the title of Phagna Touby Lyfoung. In the 60's and 70's, Lyfoung continued his lifelong fight for the Hmong people's dignity and freedom in Laos, he took sides with the Royal Lao Government
to fight the Communists in Laos and led a Hmong anti-Communist movement against the Pathet Lao
in 1975, Lyfoung decided not to the flee the country despite the threat of retribution for supporting the RLG. Under the new government, he was appointed deputy Minister of Telecommunications but later arrested and sent to Prison Camp Number One in Houaphan Province on the Vietnamese border. This was the same camp where members of the royal family, including King Savang Vatthana
, were kept prior to their death. According to another inmate of the camp, Colonel Khamphan Thammakhanty, Touby was kept shackled during the final months of his life but other inmates could hear him singing songs that mocked the new government. It is reported that Touby Lyfoung was shot by a guard in April 1979 and buried locally.
Hmong people
The Hmong , are an Asian ethnic group from the mountainous regions of China, Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand. Hmong are also one of the sub-groups of the Miao ethnicity in southern China...
political and military leader. Born in 1917 in Nong Het, Laos
Laos
Laos Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...
, he became the first Hmong politician to achieve national prominence. During his long career, which began under French colonial rule and extended to the communist takeover in 1975, he supported the Royal Lao Government
Royal Lao Government
The Royal Lao Government was the ruling authority in the Kingdom of Laos from 1947 until the communist seizure of power in December 1975 and the proclamation of the Lao People's Democratic Republic...
and American involvement in the Secret War.
Under French rule
Touby Lyfoung was the son of Ly Xia Foung, a very well respected man among the Hmong community of Laos, and the grandson-in-law of Lo Bliayao, one of the first Hmong to gain leadership position in the Laotian government. Coming from a rich and well known family, Touby was able to attend schools in the lowlands of Laos and sent to study in Vietnam as well. Touby studied at the French Lycée, School of Law, and the Administration in Vientiane. The French were impressed by his education, for which he was the only Hmong who have been brain-washed by the French colonial empire.Being one of the few Hmong people educated in the French colonial school system,Touby Lyfoung was elected as head (tasseng) of the Nong Het sub-district in Xiangkhoang Province in 1939. The next year, as the only Hmong member of the Opium Purchasing Board, he oversaw the institution of a new tax that was payable in opium for those farmers who were too poor to pay in cash. At the time, many Hmong, like other ethnic minorities in the region, cultivated poppies and sold the extracted opium as a cash crop. The French colonial authorities relied on taxes from the opium trade to fund infrastructure projects and draw revenue from the colonies. Cut-off from their most abundant supply of opium in Afghanistan (due to conflicts associated with World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
), the French looked with favor upon Lyfoung for helping to improve the output of Laos.
When the Japanese occupied Laos in March 1945, Lyfoung was arrested for his associations with the French. He escaped and moved to the mountains where he helped to lead guerrilla attacks against the occupiers with a Hmong militia that included the young future general, Vang Pao
Vang Pao
Vang Pao was a Lieutenant General in the Royal Lao Army. He was an ethnic Hmong and a leader of the Hmong American community in the United States.-Early life:...
.
After World War II
Following, World War II, the French colonialists appointed Lyfoung district head (chaomuong), giving Hmong people direct representation at the national level for the first time. The move helped to widen the growing gap between Lyfoung and Faydang LobliayaoFaydang Lobliayao
-Faydang Lobliayao :Faydang Lobliayao was a politician in Laos who was the son of Kiatong Lobliayao . He felt that the leadership position of Tasseng should be passed from his father to him; but instead it was passed to Lyfoung and down to Touby Lyfoung...
, another Hmong leader who had been promised the earlier tasseng position by the French. Lobliayao went on to join the communist/nationalist struggle against the French rulers (with the Pathet lao) and later the Royal Lao Government. Lyfoung remained loyal to the RLG and led forces against the Pathet Lao and North Vietnamese between 1946 and 1954, helping to force them out of Xiangkhoang province.
In the 1950s, Lyfoung's role was critical in shaping the newly independent Kingdom of Laos
Kingdom of Laos
The Kingdom of Laos was a sovereign state from 1953 until December 1975, when Pathet Lao overthrew the government and created the Lao People's Democratic Republic. Given self-rule in 1949 as part of a federation with the rest of French Indochina, the 1953 Franco-Lao Treaty finally established a...
as a nation acknowledging the diversity of its 63 ethnic minorities while being united as one country. Touby Lyfoung was the first Hmong and ethnic minority person to be honored by the King of Laos, when he was appointed Minister to the King, with the title of Phagna Touby Lyfoung. In the 60's and 70's, Lyfoung continued his lifelong fight for the Hmong people's dignity and freedom in Laos, he took sides with the Royal Lao Government
Royal Lao Government
The Royal Lao Government was the ruling authority in the Kingdom of Laos from 1947 until the communist seizure of power in December 1975 and the proclamation of the Lao People's Democratic Republic...
to fight the Communists in Laos and led a Hmong anti-Communist movement against the Pathet Lao
Pathet Lao
The Pathet Lao was a communist political movement and organization in Laos, formed in the mid-20th century. The group was ultimately successful in assuming political power after the Laotian Civil War. The Pathet Lao were always closely associated with Vietnamese communists...
Death of Touby Lyfoung
After the takeover of Laos by the communist Pathet LaoPathet Lao
The Pathet Lao was a communist political movement and organization in Laos, formed in the mid-20th century. The group was ultimately successful in assuming political power after the Laotian Civil War. The Pathet Lao were always closely associated with Vietnamese communists...
in 1975, Lyfoung decided not to the flee the country despite the threat of retribution for supporting the RLG. Under the new government, he was appointed deputy Minister of Telecommunications but later arrested and sent to Prison Camp Number One in Houaphan Province on the Vietnamese border. This was the same camp where members of the royal family, including King Savang Vatthana
Savang Vatthana
Savang or Sisavang Vatthana was the last king of the Kingdom of Laos. He ruled from 1959 after his father's death, until his forced abdication in 1975...
, were kept prior to their death. According to another inmate of the camp, Colonel Khamphan Thammakhanty, Touby was kept shackled during the final months of his life but other inmates could hear him singing songs that mocked the new government. It is reported that Touby Lyfoung was shot by a guard in April 1979 and buried locally.
External links
- Hmong historical figures presentation - Hmong cultural and resource center