Bai Suocheng or Bai Xuoqian (; ; born 14 May 1950) is a

Kokang Kokang (; ) is a region in Myanmar. It is located in the northern part of Shan State, with the Salween River to its west, and sharing a border with China's Yunnan Province to the east. Its total land area is around . The capital is Laukkai. K ...

politician from

Shan State Shan State (, ; , ) is a administrative divisions of Myanmar, state of Myanmar. Shan State borders China (Yunnan) to the north, Laos (Louang Namtha Province, Louang Namtha and Bokeo Provinces) to the east, and Thailand (Chiang Rai Province, Chia ...

Myanmar Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has ...

. He was a former deputy commander of the

Myanmar Nationalities Democratic Alliance Army , logo = , caption = Official logo of the MNDA (rendered online) , active = – present , leader = Pheung Daxun , ideology = Kokang Nationalism Xi Jinping Thought , partof = ...

who later became the MP of the Shan State Hluttaw representing

Laukkai Laukkai (also known as Laukkaing, Laogai or Laokai; ; ) is the capital of Kokang Self-Administered Zone in the northern part of Shan State, Myanmar. It is located east of the Salween River, which forms part of Myanmar's border with the People's R ...

and first leader of the

Kokang Self-Administered Zone The Kokang Self-Administered Zone (, ), also Laukkaing District () as stipulated by the 2008 Constitution of Myanmar, is a former de jure self-administered zone in northern Shan State. The zone is intended to be self-administered by the Koka ...

. In 2024 he was extradited to China for running online and telephone scam centres.

Career

Bai Suocheng was a deputy commander of the

(MNDAA) who assisted

Pheung Kya-shin Pheung Kya-shin (; ; 26 January 1932 – 16 February 2022) was the chairman of the Shan State Special Region No. 1 in Myanmar (Burma) and the leader of the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) from 1989 to 2009. Biography Pheung w ...

in ousting Yang Mao-liang from the leadership in 1992. He later tried to replace Pheung himself with the support of Myanmar's government. Bai allied himself with the

Tatmadaw The Tatmadaw, also known as the Sit-Tat, is the armed forces of Myanmar (formerly Burma). It is administered by the Ministry of Defence and composed of the Myanmar Army, the Myanmar Navy and the Myanmar Air Force. Auxiliary services include ...

(Myanmar Armed Forces) to oust Pheung during the three-day Kokang incident in 2009. Remnants of the MNDAA were reorganized into Border Guard Force #1006 under Bai's supervision afterwards. Bai was elected as an MP of the Shan State Hluttaw representing

Constituency No. 2. during the 2010 general election. Bai's agreement led to the formation of the

on 20 August 2010 where Bai would become its the first head of the

. Under his rule, the region became known for drugs and weapons trafficking. Bai was not very popular and survived an assassination attempt in March 2012. Bai's deputy, Liu Gaoxi, was elected in the same general election in 2010, and was known for his involvement with drugs trafficking. Bai Suocheng, his children and his associates dominated a multi-billion-dollar hotel and casino business empire, including online gambling operations. These businesses extend to

Karen State Kayin State (, ; ; , ), formerly known as Karen State, is a state of Myanmar. The capital city is Hpa-An, also spelled Pa-An. The terrain of the state is mountainous; with the Dawna Range running along the state in a NNW–SSE direction, and ...

and internationally to

Sihanoukville Sihanoukville (, ), also known as Kampong Saom (, ) or Preah Sihanouk (, ), is a coastal city in Cambodia and the capital of Preah Sihanouk Province, at the tip of an elevated peninsula in the country's south-west on the Gulf of Thailand. T ...

, Cambodia. Chinese court records have heard multiple cases involving the Bai and Liu family's companies relating to gambling, smuggling and kidnapping from Kokang hotels and casinos. On 10 December 2023, China issued a warrant for him. He was later arrested by Burmese authorities, which transferred him along with other nine people, including his son Bai Yingcang, to China on 30 January 2024.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bai, Suocheng Kokang Burmese rebels 1950 births Living people Burmese politicians of Chinese descent Members of legislatures of Burmese states and regions Burmese drug traffickers People from Shan State People extradited to China Burmese people imprisoned abroad

Career

See also

References