“A very special region: Sex and drugs in the Shan state,” The Economist, http://economist.com/research/articlesBySubject/displayStory.cfm?story_id=3600073&subject=China, 27 January 2005.

An interesting Economist article on a Burmese falling into China’s orbit

Remote and once dirt-poor Mongla has been reborn as a tourist destination, a process that started in 1989, when Myanmar’s army reached a ceasefire and autonomy deal with the Shan. The local warlord, a Shan Chinese named Sai Leun (also known as Lin Mingxian), built Mongla with an unorthodox mixture of opium profits and technical aid from China’s neighbouring province of Yunnan.

Around 350,000 Chinese tourists visit every year to gamble, frequent the massage parlours, and perhaps take in a Thai transvestite show. Lin Mingxian, as he was born, has clearly come a long way from his days as a Red Guard during the Cultural Revolution in the 1960s. Mongla’s authorities earned $9.6m from tourism in 2002—and it is entirely possible that they concealed some of their income.

But is it still Myanmar? Apart from the fluttering of Myanmar’s flag by the side of government buildings, there is little to suggest any connection with the rest of the country. Myanmar’s kyat are scorned; only Chinese yuan are acceptable. The street signs, the language, and most government employees are Chinese, though many are ethnic Chinese born in Shan state, as well as Yunnanese immigrants.

Opium poppies used to flourish openly in the hills around Mongla, but in 1997 Sai Leun declared his fief an “opium-free zone”. Chinese advisers were brought in to develop alternative crops, and Sai Leun promoted his new image as an anti-drugs campaigner—he is chairman of the Mongla Action Committee on Narcotics—by opening an opium museum to educate people about the evils of drugs. It strangely neglects to mention that until 2000, the name Lin Mingxian featured prominently on America’s most-wanted list for major heroin traffickers.

China is a force for connectedness, even in Autarky-lite Burma.

Update: ComingAnarchy looks at the Mekong Region, too. And a photogallery of Shan State is also available.

Update 2 (20 October 2005): Shanghiist looks at Chinese-led deforestation in northern Burma — it isn’t all about sex, drugs, and rock ‘n’ roll.