Lo hsing han biography books

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James Earl Jones: classically trained actor who gave a voice to Darth Vader In the Spotlight One of the most respected actors of his generation, Jones overcame a childhood stutter to become a 'towering' presence on stage and screen By The Week UK Published 21 September MEN in his line of work rarely reach old age. They die in a hail of bullets from police sharpshooters or a rival gang, and are buried fast in shallow jungle graves.

Not Lo Hsing Han. They rubbed shoulders with former generals, two cabinet ministers and the cream of Yangon society. Mr Lo was a respected businessman. He was also a pillar of the economy. Wherever you looked in Myanmar, he and the sprawling Asia World conglomerate he had founded were involved in some project, often with Chinese partners. He ran the main bus company, and was building the Myitsone dam.

His wealth was so vast, by repute, that no one could guess it. And pure it was, unlike the dirty brown variety from Afghanistan. It could be injected, not merely smoked, and the effects were longer-lasting. He oversaw every stage in heroin-making, from paying farmers who grew poppies on the hilly plots of the Triangle to the transport of raw gum, in huge sacks, on the backs of hundreds of mules treading narrow jungle paths to the markets and refineries on the border with Thailand, to shipment overseas.

Not that he turned a hair. There was a saying among the ethnic Chinese in Shan state, like him: commerce was commerce. He had not traded opium from the start, though. Born poor in Kokang district, he had toyed around with video parlours and liquor stores. He had also become a troop commander for the local prince. When the Burmese army threw out all the princes, he changed sides, and in the anarchy of Shan state in the s he became captain of a militia of 3, men.

In the mountains, opium was the only currency.

Lo hsing han biography books

Retrieved 5 March Opium: A History. ISBN Archived from the original on 2 July Retrieved 27 March Archived from the original on 18 February — via Singapore Window. Asia Pacific Media Services. Retrieved The Observer. Retrieved 8 July September Archived from the original on The IrrawaddyFebruary 26, Archived from the original on February 27, The Guardian.

US law enforcement plans were confounded by the sudden deportation of the prize catch to Yangon. Some Thai officials clearly wanted to stop Lo Hsing Han from talking. The Ne Win regime promptly indicted him for treason and he was sentenced to death. In another twist to the saga, the verdict was soon set aside in favour of an 8 years jail term, much of it served comfortably under house arrest.

Then in amnesty was granted and he returned to Lashio in Shan state. A mutiny inside the communist BCP proved to be a major game-changer, which allowed Lo Hsing Han to play his newly assigned role as a broker of ceasefires. His contacts with all the Shan, Kokang and Wa rebel armies helped General Khin Nyunt to conclude a series of ceasefire agreements, and in return the military junta happily re-licensed Lo to resume the opium and heroin trade in opposition to rival drug warlord Khun Sa, who was still fighting the government under the banner of Shan nationalism.