Wei Hsueh-kang
魏學剛
Member of the Politburo Standing Committee of the United Wa State Party
Personal details
Born1945 (age 78–79)
Yunnan, Republic of China
CitizenshipThailand (1985–2001)
Political partyUnited Wa State Party
Military service
AllegianceWa State
Branch/serviceUnited Wa State Army
Years of service1989–present

Wei Hsueh-kang,[lower-alpha 1] also known by various other names, is a Chinese-born business tycoon and drug trafficker wanted by the United States and Thailand for illegally trafficking drugs in New York and Southeast Asia's Golden Triangle. He is also a regional commander of the United Wa State Army, the armed forces of the de facto independent Wa State in Myanmar.

Pseudonyms

During his career as a drug trafficker, Wei adopted several pseudonyms to evade capture by authorities. His pseudonyms include U Sein Win,[lower-alpha 2] Prasit Cheewinnitipanya,[lower-alpha 3] Charnchai Cheevinnitipanya,[lower-alpha 4] and Suchat Phanloetkun,[lower-alpha 5] among others.

Early life

According to his Thai documents, Wei Hsueh-kang was born in 1945 in Yunnan, China.[3] However, the United States Department of State gives Wei's date of birth as 29 May 1952.[4]

After the Communist victory in the Chinese Civil War in 1949, Wei fled from mainland China to Burma (present-day Myanmar) with his father, who was then a member of the Kuomintang supported by the CIA. Wei helped his father sell opium, in part to fund the Kuomintang's insurgency in mainland China, until his graduation from high school, upon which he joined a militia led by the drug lord Khun Sa.[5]

Career

As an insurgent

Wei followed the leadership of Khun Sa for two decades, first as a member of Khun Sa's personal militia and then as a member of the Mong Tai Army (MTA). After falling out of favour with Khun Sa in the mid-1980s, Wei left the MTA and began to work with the Wa military leader Bao Youxiang. Wei and Bao were among the founders of the United Wa State Party (UWSP) in 1989, the latter eventually becoming its leader. Bao subsequently made Wei a regional commander of the party's armed wing, the United Wa State Army (UWSA).

As a drug trafficker

Wei is believed to have remained closely associated with Khun Sa even after he left the MTA, especially during the height of opium production in the Golden Triangle. He is wanted by the United States' Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs for drug offences committed in New York;[6] there is a US$2 million reward for information leading to his capture and arrest.[7] Wei is currently believed to be residing in China and along the Myanmar border.[8]

Although Wei was granted Thai citizenship in 1985, three years later in 1988 he was facing a sentence of life imprisonment by the Thai government.[9] He jumped bail, however, and his Thai citizenship was later revoked in 2001.[10][11]

Wei has since downsized his involvement in drug trafficking, partly in response to his wanted status by the United States.

As a business tycoon

In 1998, Wei founded the Hong Pang Group with the money he had amassed from his time as a drug trafficker, as well as money he had gained by taking advantage of the privileges offered in the ceasefire deal by General Khin Nyunt. The Hong Pang Group owns and controls a multitude of businesses in agriculture, commerce, construction, distilleries, electronics and communications, mining, and petroleum. The Hong Pang Group is based in Pangkham and has regional offices in Yangon, Mandalay, Lashio, Tachilek, and Mawlamyine.[12]

The group was renamed Thawda Win Co. Ltd in 2012, and it remains involved in several projects in Myanmar, including the Meiktila-Taunggyi-Tachilek road. The company's income also supported the UWSA's operations with truckloads of military hardware and ammunition from China, through Wei's close relationship with Zhou Yongkang.[8]

A fire in Pangkham on 18 April 2009 destroyed the largest petrol station in the city and over 10,000 tons of teak in a warehouse; both buildings belonged to Wei.[13]

Following the 2015 jade mine disaster in Hpakant, Kachin State, the London-based NGO Global Witness accused Wei of exploiting locals and illegally funding mining operations in the area. This claim however, could not be verified or denied by Wei himself, as he was still in hiding.[14]

Notes

  1. ↑
  2. ↑ Burmese: ဦးစိန်ဝင်း, romanized: U Sein Win; traditional Chinese: 吳興文; simplified Chinese: 吴兴文; pinyin: Wú Xìngwén
  3. ↑ Thai: ประสิทธิ์ ชีวินนิติปัญญา, RTGS: Prasit Chiwinnitipanya
  4. ↑ Thai: ชาญชัย ชีวินนิติปัญญา, RTGS: Chanchai Chiwinnitipanya
  5. ↑ Thai: สุชาติ พันธุ์เลิศกุล[2]

References

  1. ↑ ประกาศกระทรวงมหาดไทย เรื่อง การถอนสัญชาติไทย [นายประสิทธิ์ หรือ ชาญชัย ชีวินนิติปัญญา หรือ เหว่ย เซียะกัง หรือ เว่ย เซียะ กัง หรือหวุ่ย แซว กัง หรือไท่เซิง แซ่เว่ย (Wei Hseh-Kang)]. Legislative Institutional Repository of Thailand (in Thai). 12 April 1999. Archived from the original on 8 May 2016.
  2. ↑ เทคนิคปลอมบัตรประชาชน. Komchadluek (in Thai). 31 March 2009. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016.
  3. ↑ 金三角四代毒王：有三位都曾在国民党军校受训 [Four Generations of Drug Lords in The Golden Triangle: Three of Them Were Trained in The Kuomintang's Military Academy]. Sohu History. 31 March 2015. Archived from the original on 16 May 2021. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
  4. ↑ "Wanted: Narcotics Rewards Program Targets – Wei Hsueh-Kang". United States Department of State. Archived from the original on 15 September 2021. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
  5. ↑ "How Many Drug Lords Are in Myanmar?". People's Daily. 2005.
  6. ↑ Min Lwin (18 February 2009). "Wa Businessman Flees Drug Charges". The Irrawaddy. Archived from the original on 21 February 2009. Retrieved 19 April 2009.
  7. ↑ Wai Moe (8 April 2009). "Wa Army to Celebrate 20th Anniversary". The Irrawaddy. Archived from the original on 5 October 2010. Retrieved 19 April 2009.
  8. 1 2 Htet, Thu (9 March 2020). "Opinion | Shadowy Drug Lord Wei Hsueh-kang's Influence Still Felt in Myanmar's Wa Region and Beyond". The Irrawaddy. Retrieved 6 April 2023.
  9. ↑ Shan Herald Agency for News (2005). Show Business: Rangoon's "War on Drugs" in Shan State (PDF) (Report) (2nd ed.). Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 June 2007. Retrieved 15 October 2007.
  10. ↑ "Thai Government Revokes Nationality of Alleged Drug Smuggler". burmalibrary.org. 30 July 2001. Archived from the original on 27 July 2007. Retrieved 15 October 2007.
  11. ↑ "Thai Police Seize 2.3 Mln Dollars Worth of Asset of Fugitive Drug Lord". People's Daily Online. 27 December 2001. Archived from the original on 5 June 2011. Retrieved 15 October 2007.
  12. ↑ "The Hong Pang Group". Bangkok Post. 6 July 2008.
  13. ↑ "Fire in Panghsang". Shan Herald Agency for News (S.H.A.N.). 19 April 2009. Archived from the original on 15 February 2012. Retrieved 19 April 2009.
  14. ↑ Martov, Seamus (4 December 2015). "Wa Tycoon's Jade Ties Exposed in New Report". The Irrawaddy. Archived from the original on 9 December 2015. Retrieved 9 December 2015.
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