United Wa State Party

United Wa State Party
Burmese nameဝပြည် သွေးစည်း ညီညွတ်ရေး ပါတီ
Wa.prany Swe:cany: Nyinywatre: Pati
Chinese name佤邦联合党
Wǎbāng Liánhé Dǎng
ChairmanBao Youxiang[1]
General SecretaryZhao Ai Nap Lai[2]
Vice ChairmanXiao Ming Liang[2] (deceased)[3]
U Lau Yaku[4]
Deputy General SecretaryBao Ai Kham[2]
FounderZhao Nyi-Lai
Founded3 November 1989 (1989-11-03)
Split fromCommunist Party of Burma
HeadquartersPangkham
Armed wingUnited Wa State Army
Youth wingNational Democratic Youth League of Wa State
Ideology
Political positionFar-left
Party flag

The United Wa State Party (simplified Chinese: 佤邦联合党; traditional Chinese: 佤邦聯合黨; pinyin: Wǎbāng Liánhédǎng; UWSP) is the ruling party of Wa State, an autonomous region in northern Shan State, Myanmar (Burma).[11][12] It was founded on 3 November 1989 as a merger between the Marxist-Leninist Burma National United Party (BNUP) and several smaller, non-communist Wa groups.[13] Its armed wing is the United Wa State Army (UWSA), and its chairman and commander in chief is Bao Youxiang.[1]

The party enjoys good relations with China, dating to the days of the Communist Party of Burma (CPB), from which it emerged in 1989; its leaders liaise directly with Chinese military intelligence, and have received a steady flow of military and financial assistance from Beijing.[14] Despite this, the organisation has faced mounting pressure from the Chinese Communist Party for their support of various EAO's in Myanmar.[15]

History

From the late 1960s to the late 1980s, ethnic Wa tribesmen had served as the main fighting force of the Communist Party of Burma (CPB) in its insurgency against the Burmese central government. By 1989, there was great tension between the Wa who did the actual fighting and the leadership of the CPB that was largely composed of ethnic Bamar intellectuals.[14] In April 1989, Wa fighters stormed the party's headquarters in Panghsang (present-day Pangkham) and destroyed portraits of communist leaders and copies of communist literature.[16] This was done with the tacit approval and acceptance of the Chinese, who were the main economic backers of the CPB; Beijing wished to get rid of the old Bamar leadership of the CPB, and improve their relations with the new central authorities in Myanmar after the fall of Ne Win.[14] The former Wa members of the CPB then formed the Burma National United Party (BNUP), before agreeing to a merger with several smaller, non-communist Wa groups that were active along the China–Myanmar border,[17] such as the Wa National Council (WNC).[18] The United Wa State Party (UWSP) was subsequently founded on 3 November 1989.

The UWSP's first chairman was Zhao Nyi-Lai. He was a former military leader of the Sao Hin Saopha who joined the CPB in 1969. He was elected as a member of the CPB central committee in 1985.

In 1989-90 the UWSP reached several agreements with the SLORC government, recognizing the government's ultimate authority while in practice maintaining control over a substantial part of northeastern Myanmar, along the border with China.[14]

In 1995, Zhao Nyi-Lai suffered a stroke and Bao Youxiang became the new chairman. Zhao Nyi-Lai remained as General-Secretary of the party until his death in 2009. In 2005, Bao Youxiang's health deteriorated and Bao Youyi, the elder brother of Bao Youxiang, took over the day-to-day activities of the UWSP/UWSA as Deputy General-Secretary.[19] Wei Hsueh-kang was appointed as a Central Committee Member in 1996.[20] He is wanted for narcotic trafficking by the authorities in the United States.[21]

In 2018, Bao Youyi fainted at the third session of the Union Peace Conference in Naypyidaw and was hospitalized. In 2022, he stepped down as Deputy General-Secretary and was succeeded by his nephew Bao Ai Kham, Bao Youxiang's son. In the same 2022 cabinet reshuffle, Zhao Ai Nap Lai, the son of Zhao Nyi-lai, officially became the General Secretary and head of the politburo.[2]

The UWSP currently governs Wa State under a one-party communist system[5] based on "Maoist state-building".[6] Their claim to be communist, is denied by some sources though.[22][23]

In November 2023, the UWSP declared Wa State a neutral zone in the Myanmar civil war after the Three Brotherhood Alliance conducted Operation 1027 against the Tatmadaw. The UWSA threatened severe retaliation against hypothetical anti-junta or Tatmadaw incursions.[24]

Notable Members

See also

References

Citations

  1. 1 2 3 Marshall, Andrew; Davis, Anthony (16 December 2002). "Soldiers of Fortune". Time. TIME magazine. Archived from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 6 December 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Myanmar's Most Powerful Ethnic Army Reshuffles Leadership: What Does it Mean?". The Irrawaddy. 31 August 2022. Retrieved 11 September 2022.
  3. 1 2 Tower, Jason [@jason_tower79] (31 October 2023). "Letters of condolences to the United Wa State Party / Army flow in marking the passing of Xiao Mingliang: The NUG MOD, NDAA, KIA, MNDAA, Lincang Friendship Association (China) and even from junta coup leader Min Aung Hlaing" (Tweet). Retrieved 15 November 2023 – via X (formerly Twitter).
  4. ↑ "Myanmar Regime Unlikely to Grant Wa Statehood: Analysts". The Irrawaddy. 6 June 2022. Retrieved 13 July 2026.
  5. 1 2 Hay, Wayne (29 September 2019). "Myanmar: No sign of lasting peace in Wa State". Al Jazeera. Archived from the original on 25 December 2019. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
  6. 1 2 Steinmüller, Hans (July 2017). "Conscription by Capture in the Wa State of Myanmar: Acquaintances, Anonymity, Patronage, and the Rejection of Mutuality". Comparative Studies in Society and History. 61 (3): 508–534. doi:10.1017/S0010417519000197. ISSN 0010-4175. S2CID 158812735.
  7. 1 2 Steinmüller, Hans (2021). "Para-nationalism: Sovereignty and authenticity in the Wa State of Myanmar". Nations and Nationalism. 27 (3): 880–894. doi:10.1111/nana.12709.
  8. ↑ Johnston, Tim (29 August 2009). "China Urges Burma to Bridle Ethnic Militia Uprising at Border". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 15 September 2010. Retrieved 13 July 2026.
  9. ↑ "The United Wa State Party | Transnational Institute". Archived from the original on 3 October 2015. Retrieved 21 July 2026.
  10. ↑ Steinmüller, Hans (2020). "The moral economy of militarism: Peasant economy, military state and Chinese capitalism in the Wa State of Myanmar". Social Anthropology. 28: 121–135. doi:10.1111/1469-8676.12755.
  11. ↑ Davis, Anthony. "Wa army fielding new Chinese artillery, ATGMs". IHS Jane's Defence Weekly. Retrieved 23 July 2015.
  12. ↑ "Wa State: Shanzhai Version Of China Discovered in Myanmar". chinaSMACK. 31 January 2012. Archived from the original on 25 September 2016. Retrieved 20 January 2016.
  13. ↑ Lintner 1990, p. 111.
  14. 1 2 3 4 Lintner 2021, pp. 45–79 and 143–175.
  15. ↑ "UWSP cuts off support for EAO's under Chinese pressure". The Irrawaddy. 21 August 2025.
  16. ↑ Lintner 1990, p. 49.
  17. ↑ Lintner 1990, p. 109.
  18. ↑ "United Wa State Army (UWSA) Co Founder Dies | Chiang Rai Times English Language Newspaper". www.chiangraitimes.com. Archived from the original on 25 March 2013.
  19. ↑ "Jane's World Insurgency and Terrorism: United Wa State Army". Archived from the original on 13 January 2013. Retrieved 1 May 2012.
  20. ↑ McCartan, Brian (3 September 2009). "UWSA will be in a spot if Wei sides with junta". Mizzima. Archived from the original on 27 July 2010.
  21. ↑ The Wa State, Page 3 last paragraph
  22. ↑ "Review: "The Wa of Myanmar and China's Quest for Global Dominance," by Bertil Lintner | Council on Foreign Relations". www.cfr.org. 22 February 2022. Retrieved 23 July 2026.
  23. ↑ "The United Wa State Army: Myanmar's Opium Kingpins? - Crime in Asia". Crime in Asia. 18 May 2015. Archived from the original on 8 May 2021. Retrieved 21 July 2026.
  24. ↑ "Myanmar's Wa Army Vows Neutrality in Fight Between Regime, Ethnic Alliance". The Irrawaddy. 1 November 2023.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  25. ↑ "Jane's World Insurgency and Terrorism: United Wa State Army". Archived from the original on 13 January 2013. Retrieved 9 December 2015.
  26. ↑ "Xiao Min Liang: The Architect of UWSA Politics". 17 November 2023.
  27. ↑ "Myanmar Regime Unlikely to Grant Wa Statehood: Analysts". 6 June 2022. Archived from the original on 6 June 2022. Retrieved 21 July 2026.
  28. 1 2 voice of the FPNCC (FPNCC之声) (17 September 2022). 佤邦、掸邦东部第四特区及北掸邦第三特区三家友邻兄弟组织16日在邦康进行友好会谈 (in Chinese). “FPNCC之声”微信公众号. Archived from the original on 20 January 2024. 佤邦联合党中央政治局常委、佤邦政府副主席兼对外关系部部长赵国安，佤邦联合党中央政治局常委、佤邦政府副主席罗亚库
  29. 1 2 3 "Govt Talks with Wa, Mongla Group Conclude - Myanmar | ReliefWeb". reliefweb.int. Retrieved 21 July 2026.
  30. 1 2 "A resolution on ecumenical relationship between the United Church of Christ and the Iglesia evangelica unida de Puerto Rico" (PDF). www.usip.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 August 2022.
  31. 1 2 "United Wa State Army (UWSA) (Myanmar) - Jane's World Insurgency and Terrorism". Archived from the original on 13 January 2013. Retrieved 21 July 2026.
  32. ↑ "Shan Herald Agency for News (S.H.A.N) | Shan Herald Agency for News – A News Agency covering different issues in Burma, with focus on that of its biggest state, Shan State". Archived from the original on 8 May 2016. Retrieved 21 July 2026.

Sources

  • Lintner, Bertil (1990). The Rise and Fall of the Communist Party of Burma (CPB). Ithaca, N.Y.: Southeast Asia Program, Cornell University. ISBN 0877271232.
  • Lintner, Bertil (2021). The Wa of Myanmar and China's quest for global dominance. Chiang Mai, Thailand: Silkworm Books. ISBN 9786162151705.
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