Olive Yang
Olive Yang | |
|---|---|
| Born | 24 June 1927[1] northern Shan States, British Burma |
| Died | 13 July 2017 (aged 90) Muse Township, Shan State, Myanmar |
| Nationality | Burmese |
| Other names | Yang Kyin Hsiu (Yang Jinxiu) |
| Education | Guardian Angel's Convent School |
| Occupation | Warlord |
| 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) |
Olive Yang (Chinese: 楊金秀; pinyin: Yáng Jīnxiù; also known as Yang Kyin Hsiu, nicknamed Miss Hairy Legs) was a prominent opium warlord and the sister of Sao Edward Yang Kyein Tsai, the saopha (chief) of Kokang, a state in post-independent Burma from 1949 to 1959.
Biography[edit]
Olive Yang was born on 24 June 1927 in northern Shan States in British Burma. She received an education at Lashio's Guardian Angel's Convent School.[3] According to her relatives, she defied gender norms at a young age, resisting foot-binding[2] and, in one incident, bringing a gun to her school.[4]
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.[5] She dominated Kokang's opium trade from the end of World War II to the early 1960s.[6] 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).[7]
Her parents arranged a marriage to Twan Sao Wen, the son of Tamaing's chieftain. Her parents had died before her marriage in 1948.[8] From 1948 to 1950, she stayed with Twan and had a son, Duan Jipu (段吉卜),[2] in 1950, as she was expected to produce an heir. Her son is a teacher in Chiang Mai, Thailand.[1] According to her sister, Judy Yang, Twan was afraid of Olive. Olive had allegedly thrown a urine pot when he attempted to consummate the marriage.[8]
From the 1950s to the mid-1960s, she was the commander of the Kokang Kakweye (People's Defense Forces).[9] She was a prominent figure in opium trafficking and gold trading.[9] The Burmese government obtained the assistance of Yang and the Kokang Kakweye to force the Kuomintang forces out of Kokang.[10]: 104 Yang and the Kokang Kakweye succeeded in 1953, but then collaborated with the Kuomintang in trafficking opium to Thailand throughout the 1950s; the Kuomintang continued to use these opium routes for decades.[10]: 104 Her influence increased throughout the decade with the backing of the Kuomintang and Yang became the de facto ruler of the region.[11] 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.[6][12] She was imprisoned at Insein Prison and released in 1968.[2]
Yang was known to be either a bisexual woman and/or a lesbian[4] who carried on affairs with film actresses and singers, including Wah Wah Win Shwe (ဝါဝါဝင်းရွှေ)[3][9] and Miss Burma winner and later KNLA fighter, Louisa Benson Craig.[4][13] Although she is widely thought to be bisexual, her apparent interest in men may be a false assumption based on Burmese society's understanding of gender non-conformity at the time and her marriage to Duan Jipu.[8] Many reports and letters from intelligence dispatched to Kokang during her rule often described her as 'manly-hearted.' She was called Uncle Olive by her soldiers but also referred to as a motherly figure. There is insufficient evidence on whether she would have considered herself anything other than a woman.[8]
In the late 1980s, she was recruited by Khin Nyunt to help broker ceasefires in Burma with ethnic rebel groups.[14] After her release, she reportedly spent her final years as a nun.[5] In 2003, after a period of chronic illness, she returned to Kokang, where she lived until her death at the age of 90.[15] She died after a short coma in Muse just outside Kokang, unable to return to Kokang in 2017.[8]
References[edit]
- ^ a b 赖骏. "悄然隐退的女毒王杨二小姐". 北京市禁毒委员会 (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 2 July 2009. Retrieved 27 March 2012.
- ^ a b c d Paluch, Gabrielle (2017). "The Female Warlord Who Had C.I.A. Connections and Opium Routes". New York Times. New York.
- ^ a b Thant Myint-U (8 January 2008). The River of Lost Footsteps. Macmillan. pp. 298–299.
- ^ a b c Smith, Harrison. "Olive Yang, cross-dressing warlord and Burmese opium trafficker, dies at 90". Washington Post.
- ^ a b Borgenicht, David; Turk Regan (2 April 2008). The Worst-Case Scenario Almanac. Chronicle Books. pp. 146. ISBN 9780811863216.
- ^ a b Chouvy, Pierre-Arnaud (2009). Opium: uncovering the politics of the poppy. Harvard University Press. p. 24. ISBN 9780674051348.
- ^ Lintner, Bertil (March 2000). The Golden Triangle Opium Trade: An Overview (PDF) (Report). Asia Pacific Media Services. p. 7.
- ^ a b c d e Paluch, Gabrielle (18 July 2017). "The royal-turned-warlord and opium pioneer of the Golden Triangle dies at 90". The World.
- ^ a b c Tzang, Yawnghwe (1987). The Shan of Burma: memoirs of a Shan exile. Institute of Southeast Asian. ISBN 9789971988623.
- ^ a b Ong, Andrew (2023). Stalemate: Autonomy and Insurgency on the China-Myanmar Border. Cornell University Press. ISBN 978-1-5017-7071-5. JSTOR 10.7591/j.ctv2t8b78b.
- ^ Lintner, Bertil (2015). "Kokang: The Backstory". The Irrawaddy. Yangon.
- ^ James, Helen (1 November 2006). Security and sustainable development in Myanmar. Psychology Press. p. 88. ISBN 9780415355599.
- ^ Zon Pann Pwint (2017). "The Many Crowns of 'Miss Burma'". Archived from the original on 2017-08-23. Retrieved 2021-09-04.
- ^ Thant Myint-U (13 September 2011). Where China Meets India: Burma and the New Crossroads of Asia. Macmillan. ISBN 9781466801271.
- ^ "Kokang 'Warlady' Olive Yang Dies at 91". The Irrawaddy. 2017-07-17. Retrieved 2017-07-17.