Bao Youxiang
Bao Youxiang 鲍有祥 | |
|---|---|
| President of Wa State[1] | |
| Assumed office 1995 | |
| Vice President | Xiao Minliang[2] |
| Preceded by | Zhao Nyi-Lai[3] |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1949 (67 years old) Kunma, British Burma |
| Political party | United Wa State Party |
| Relations | Bao Youri (brother)[4] |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | File:Flag of Wa.svg Wa State |
| Branch/service | United Wa State Army |
| Years of service | 1989–present |
| Rank | Commander in Chief |
Bao Youxiang (Chinese: 鲍有祥; pinyin: Bào yǒuxiáng), also known as Chairman Bao, is the current President of Wa State, leader of the United Wa State Party, and Commander-in-chief of the United Wa State Army.[1][5]
Early life
Bao Youxiang was born in 1949 to a Wa chieftain in Kunma, a Wa village near Gawng Lang, in northern Shan State. Youxiang was the second youngest of eight brothers in his family, and did not go further than his village during his childhood. When Youxiang was 21, he joined and eventually led a Wa guerrilla group that smuggled opium into China through its border with Myanmar.[5]
Military career
Communist Party of Burma (1969–89)
Youxiang joined the armed wing of the Communist Party of Burma (CPB) in 1969, and started out as a battalion commander for his home village of Kumna, but gradually became the leader of a brigade operating near the Thai-Myanmar border. Like many Wa villagers in the area at the time, Youxiang saw the CPB as a source of modern weaponry, combat training, and fraternity.[5]
In 1989, the leadership of the CPB was challenged by several party members, resulting in a an internal rebellion that ended with the disbandment of the armed wing of the CPB and the establishment of various new factions, including the United Wa State Army, which Youxiang would eventually lead.[5]
United Wa State Party/Army (1989–present)
After the fall of the armed wing of the CPB, Youxiang joined the United Wa State Party (UWSP), and its armed wing, the United Wa State Army (UWSA). In 1995, Youxiang was announced as the new chairman of the UWSP and commander in chief of the UWSA, after the previous leader, Chao Ngi Lai, resigned due to health problems.
Youxiang has been the de facto President of Wa State since 1995, an autonomous entity in northern Shan State that runs independently from Myanmar.[1] He has constantly urged the government of Myanmar to give more regional autonomy to ethnic minority groups in Myanmar (Burma), in exchange for permanent ceasefire and peace agreements with armed insurgent groups.[6]
See also
References
- ^ a b c [1] Quote: "Officially, Bao Youxiang is still the President of the Wa State Government and Commander-in-Chief of the United Wa State Army," said a Thai security officer, a ten-year veteran on the Thai-Burma border
- ^ "A United Wa State Army (UWSA) delegation led by Vice President Xiao Minliang, Bao Youliang and Zhao Guo-ang left Panghsang for Lashio today". Democracy for Burma. Retrieved 29 November 2014.
- ^ janes.com / Articles - World Insurtency and Terrorism: UWSA
- ^ "Wardrums in Myanmar's Wa hills". Asia Times. Retrieved 12 January 2016.
- ^ a b c d Marshall, Andrew; Davis, Anthony. "Soldiers of Fortune". time.com. TIME magazine. Retrieved 6 December 2015.
- ^ Bao Youxiang, leader of the United Wa State Army, is seen during a meeting of leaders of Myanmar's ethnic armed groups at the UWSA headquarters in Pansang in Myanmar's northern Shan State