Olive Yang
Olive Yang | |
|---|---|
| Born | June 24, 1927[1] northern Shan States, British Burma |
| Nationality | Burmese |
| Other names | Yang Kyin Hsiu (Yang Jinxiu) |
| Education | Guardian Angel's Convent School |
| Known for | Opium trafficking |
| Criminal charge | 1962 |
| Criminal penalty | Prison |
| Criminal status | Released (1968) |
| Spouse | Twan Sao Wen (1948-1950)[2] |
| Children | Duan Jipu (段吉卜)[2] |
Olive Yang (Chinese: 楊金秀; pinyin: Yáng Jīnxiù; also known as Yang Kyin Hsiu, nicknamed Miss Hairy Legs) was the half-sister of Sao Edward Yang Kyein Tsai, the saopha (chief) of Kokang, a state in post-independent Burma from 1949 to 1959. She received an education at Lashio's Guardian Angel's Convent School.[3] At the age of 19, she organized ethnic Kokang forces, nicknamed the Olive's Boys, an army of over a thousand soldiers and consolidated control of opium trade routes from the highlands to lowlands.[4] She dominated Kokang's opium trade from the end of World War II to the early 1960s.[5] In the 1950s, after the Nationalist defeat and their subsequent expulsion from mainland China, she partnered with the Kuomintang to establish opium trade routes along the Golden Triangle (Southeast Asia).[6]
From 1948 to 1950, she was married to Twan Sao Wen, the son of Tamaing's chieftain, and had a son, Duan Jipu (段吉卜), in 1950.[2] Her son is a teacher in Chiang Mai, Thailand.[1]
From the 1950s to the mid-1960s, she was the commander of the Kokang Kakweye (People's Defense Forces).[7] She was a prominent figure in opium trafficking and gold trading.[7] She was arrested in 1962, along with her brother Jimmy, a member of parliament in Yangon, by Burmese authorities, to remove them from power and place Kokang territory under Burmese administration.[5][8] She was imprisoned at Insein Prison and released in 1968.[2]
Yang was known to be a bisexual who carried on affairs with film actresses and singers, including Wa Wa Win Shwe (ဝါဝါဝင်းရွှေ).[7][3] In the late 1980s, she was recruited by Khin Nyunt to help broker ceasefires in Burma with ethnic rebel groups.[9]
After her release, she reportedly spent her final years as a nun.[4]
References
- ^ a b c 赖骏. "悄然隐退的女毒王杨二小姐". 北京市禁毒委员会 (in Chinese). Retrieved 27 March 2012.
- ^ a b c d Buyers, Christopher. "The Yang Dynasty". pp. July 2011. Retrieved 27 March 2012.
- ^ a b Thant Myint-U (8 January 2008). The River of Lost Footsteps. Macmillan. pp. 298–299.
- ^ a b Borgenicht, David (2 April 2008). The Worst-Case Scenario Almanac. Chronicle Books. p. 146. ISBN 9780811863216.
{{cite book}}: Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - ^ a b Chouvy, Pierre-Arnaud (2009). Opium: uncovering the politics of the poppy. Harvard University Press. pp. 24, . ISBN 9780674051348.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) - ^ Lintner, Bertil (March 2000). "The Golden Triangle Opium Trade: An Overview" (PDF). Asia Pacific Media Services: 7.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ^ a b c Tzang, Yawnghwe (1987). The Shan of Burma: memoirs of a Shan exile. Institute of Southeast Asian. ISBN 9789971988623.
- ^ James, Helen (1 November 2006). Security and sustainable development in Myanmar. Psychology Press. p. 88. ISBN 9780415355599.
- ^ Thant Myint-U (13 September 2011). Where China Meets India: Burma and the New Crossroads of Asia. Macmillan. ISBN 9781466801271.