Explaining why China moved swiftly to execute 11 members of a notorious mafia family
/ By Ryan Garcia
Explaining why China moved swiftly to execute 11 members of a notorious mafia family
/ By Ryan Garcia
Few will be surprised that China swiftly put to death 11 members of an organised crime clan from north-eastern Myanmar, who had been condemned in September.
China carries out more executions than any other country, according to human rights groups, though the precise number is a state secret. Executions of officials for corruption are common. The allegations against the Ming family were far graver.
Since 2009, the Ming, Bau, Wei and Liu clans have controlled the remote border town of Laukkaing in Myanmar’s impoverished Shan state.
Their ascent followed a military campaign led by General Min Aung Hlaing, now the country’s coup leader, to expel the MNDAA, an ethnic insurgent force that had dominated Laukkaing and surrounding areas since the 1980s.
Known collectively as the four families, they took charge and pivoted from the old reliance on opium and methamphetamine to a new economy built around casinos and, eventually, online fraud.
They maintained close ties to the Myanmar military; in December 2021, after seizing power in his coup, Min Aung Hlaing hosted Liu Zhengxiang, head of the Liu clan, in the capital, Nay Pyi Taw, and bestowed an honorary title for “extraordinary contributions to state development”.
Liu’s Fully Light conglomerate ran profitable ventures across Myanmar. Others from the four clans stood as candidates for the USDP, the military-backed party.
But the scam compounds they operated in Laukkaing were exceptionally brutal, even compared with similar sites elsewhere in Asia. Torture was commonplace.
Tens of thousands of mainly Chinese workers were enticed with offers of high-paying jobs, only to end up imprisoned inside the compounds. They were coerced into orchestrating elaborate “pig-butchering” schemes, most of whose victims were also Chinese. Complaints from victims, and from relatives of those trapped, multiplied on social media.
The most infamous site was Crouching Tiger Villa, run by the Ming family. In October 2023, during what is believed to have been an escape bid, guards killed several Chinese nationals. Chinese authorities felt compelled to respond.
With what appeared to be China’s blessing, the MNDAA and allied forces attacked and retook Laukkaing as part of their offensive against the Myanmar army in the continuing civil war. The MNDAA pledged to eradicate the scam trade entirely.
They captured the heads of the four clans and transferred more than 60 relatives and associates to Chinese police. Authorities said Ming Xuechang, the family patriarch, or warlord, killed himself after being captured.
During questioning by Chinese police, one family member is reported to have admitted killing a randomly selected person merely to show his strength.
China has publicised such accounts to justify its harsh approach. Five members of the Bau family also await execution, while proceedings against the Wei and Liu families are still under way.
All four clans are ethnic Chinese and had close connections with authorities in Yunnan on the Chinese side of the border. Their abuses were too close to home for China, and the crackdown on Laukkaing’s scam industry has been the most forceful to date.
China has also prevailed on Thailand and Cambodia to extradite two Chinese business figures accused of running scam empires: She Zhijiang, who built an entire city in Myanmar’s war-torn Karen State, and Chen Zhi, who amassed wealth and power with his Prince Group conglomerate in Cambodia. The Chinese government has also brought tens of thousands of its citizens who were working in scam compounds back to China to face trial.
Yet the scam trade has adapted and evolved. It is still believed to be by far Cambodia’s largest business, despite pressure from China and the US on the government there to shut it down.
It has also shifted into new parts of Myanmar, even as high-profile complexes such as KK Park and Shwe Kokko on the Thai-Myanmar border have been forced to close.
China carries out more executions than any other country, according to human rights groups, though the precise number is a state secret. Executions of officials for corruption are common. The allegations against the Ming family were far graver.
Since 2009, the Ming, Bau, Wei and Liu clans have controlled the remote border town of Laukkaing in Myanmar’s impoverished Shan state.
Their ascent followed a military campaign led by General Min Aung Hlaing, now the country’s coup leader, to expel the MNDAA, an ethnic insurgent force that had dominated Laukkaing and surrounding areas since the 1980s.
Known collectively as the four families, they took charge and pivoted from the old reliance on opium and methamphetamine to a new economy built around casinos and, eventually, online fraud.
They maintained close ties to the Myanmar military; in December 2021, after seizing power in his coup, Min Aung Hlaing hosted Liu Zhengxiang, head of the Liu clan, in the capital, Nay Pyi Taw, and bestowed an honorary title for “extraordinary contributions to state development”.
Liu’s Fully Light conglomerate ran profitable ventures across Myanmar. Others from the four clans stood as candidates for the USDP, the military-backed party.
But the scam compounds they operated in Laukkaing were exceptionally brutal, even compared with similar sites elsewhere in Asia. Torture was commonplace.
Tens of thousands of mainly Chinese workers were enticed with offers of high-paying jobs, only to end up imprisoned inside the compounds. They were coerced into orchestrating elaborate “pig-butchering” schemes, most of whose victims were also Chinese. Complaints from victims, and from relatives of those trapped, multiplied on social media.
The most infamous site was Crouching Tiger Villa, run by the Ming family. In October 2023, during what is believed to have been an escape bid, guards killed several Chinese nationals. Chinese authorities felt compelled to respond.
With what appeared to be China’s blessing, the MNDAA and allied forces attacked and retook Laukkaing as part of their offensive against the Myanmar army in the continuing civil war. The MNDAA pledged to eradicate the scam trade entirely.
They captured the heads of the four clans and transferred more than 60 relatives and associates to Chinese police. Authorities said Ming Xuechang, the family patriarch, or warlord, killed himself after being captured.
During questioning by Chinese police, one family member is reported to have admitted killing a randomly selected person merely to show his strength.
China has publicised such accounts to justify its harsh approach. Five members of the Bau family also await execution, while proceedings against the Wei and Liu families are still under way.
All four clans are ethnic Chinese and had close connections with authorities in Yunnan on the Chinese side of the border. Their abuses were too close to home for China, and the crackdown on Laukkaing’s scam industry has been the most forceful to date.
China has also prevailed on Thailand and Cambodia to extradite two Chinese business figures accused of running scam empires: She Zhijiang, who built an entire city in Myanmar’s war-torn Karen State, and Chen Zhi, who amassed wealth and power with his Prince Group conglomerate in Cambodia. The Chinese government has also brought tens of thousands of its citizens who were working in scam compounds back to China to face trial.
Yet the scam trade has adapted and evolved. It is still believed to be by far Cambodia’s largest business, despite pressure from China and the US on the government there to shut it down.
It has also shifted into new parts of Myanmar, even as high-profile complexes such as KK Park and Shwe Kokko on the Thai-Myanmar border have been forced to close.