The Chinese government has detained 11 people with alleged ties to Myanmar junta-affiliated Kokang militias at its border across from northern Shan State. Three of the detainees are reportedly prominent local business owners.
They were arrested on Oct. 1 after officials of the junta-appointed governing body of the Kokang Self-Administered Zone attended an expo and Chinese National Day celebrations in Lincang City of Yunnan Province at the invitation of China, according to Mekong News.
They were arrested for allegedly breaking Chinese laws. It is not immediately clear what offences they are accused of committing.
According to Chinese social media pages, three of the detainees are leaders of some of the most powerful and influential corporations in the region with ties to Kokang militias.
One of them, Liu Zhengqi, is the eldest son of the founder of the Kokang Border Guard Force, Liu Zhengxiang, and is an executive director of the biggest corporation in the region, Fully Light Group.
Liu Zhengxiang is the chairman of Fully Light Group and a member of the Kokang SAZ’s governing body. He also chairs the supervisory committee for urbanization of Kokang.
Established in 1992, Fully Light Group has over 30 subsidiaries with interests in gems, hotels and tourism, and the rubber industry among others.
Fully Light Group established the GoBo East Casino in Cambodia in 2017, and has been involved in illegal online gambling businesses, according to the United States Institute of Peace (USIP). Liu Zhengxiang has been financially supporting the regime, said the USIP.
In 2021, coup leader Min Aung Hlaing conferred the honorary title Agga Maha Thiri Sudhamma Mani Jotikadhaja on Liu Zhengxiang.
Another detainee, Wei Qingtao, is a son of Wei Chaoren, who also sits on the SAZ body. He is a director of their family business, Hanley Group, and a relative of former BGF leader Wei Shan.
Hanley Group is a conglomerate with interests in hotels and tourism, entertainment, property, mining and gems. Its Jinjiang Hotel operates a casino.
According to other sources, other detainees include Bai Yingcang, a son of former Kokang BGF leader Bai Suocheng, and Fully Light Group director U Maung Maung. The Irrawaddy has not been able to independently verify the arrest of the two.
Bai Yingcang is a general manager of Myanmar Yum Group, and is also the chairman of Cangsheng Technology Park. He also served in senior positions in Kokang militias. Myanmar Yum operates hotels with online and offline casinos, as well as other businesses.
Fully Light Group director U Maung Maung is a member of the junta-appointed administrative body of Konkyan Township. Konkyan and Laukkai townships make up the Kokang Self-Administered Zone. U Maung Maung is the also the chairman of the Myanmar Youth Development Association in Konkyan.
Like Liu Zhengxiang, he is also a recipient of the Agga Maha Thiri Sudhamma Mani Jotikadhaja title conferred by Min Aung Hlaing.
The Irrawaddy has been unable to obtain comment from the junta-appointed Shan State government or the Kokang SAZ body about the arrests.
The Chinese Ministry of Public Security and police force have been silent about the arrests.
Local sources said the arrests might be connected with Beijing’s crackdown on cyber scam gangs, most of which are operating in areas controlled by ethnic armed organizations on the Myanmar-Chinese border.
According to the junta-appointed Kokang SAZ body, a total of 377 Chinese citizens illegally residing in Laukkai Township were handed over to Chinese authorities on Saturday.
Last month, the United Wa State Army, a powerful ethnic armed group based near the Chinese border, also handed over 1,200 Chinese nationals involved in telecom scams to Chinese authorities.
