No one should be surprised that China has swiftly executed the 11 members of an organized crime family from north-eastern Myanmar who were sentenced to death in September.
China executes more people than anywhere else in the world, according to human rights groups – the exact figure is a state secret. Officials are often executed for corruption. The accusations made against the Ming family were far more serious.
The Ming, Bau, Wei, and Liu clans have dominated the remote border town of Laukkaing in Myanmar's impoverished Shan state since 2009. They rose to power after General Min Aung Hlaing, the current coup leader in Myanmar, led a military operation to drive out the MNDAA, the ethnic insurgent army which had dominated Laukkaing since the 1980s.
The families shifted from the traditional dependence on opium and methamphetamine production to a new economy based on casinos and, eventually, online fraud.
Though they remained close to the Myanmar military; in December 2021, Min Aung Hlaing feted Liu Zhengxiang, patriarch of the Liu clan, and awarded him an honorary title for extraordinary contributions to state development.
Their scam compounds, particularly in Laukkaing, were notorious for brutality. Tens of thousands of mainly Chinese workers were lured to the area with promises of well-paying jobs, only to find themselves imprisoned and forced to run scams targeting their compatriots. Such conditions provoked outrage and complaints spread via social media.
The most notorious of these was Crouching Tiger Villa, run by the Ming family. In October 2023, guards killed several Chinese nationals during an escape attempt, which prompted the Chinese authorities to take decisive action.
With China's apparent support, the MNDAA and its allies attacked and recaptured Laukkaing, detaining the heads of the four families. In the aftermath, Ming Xuechang, the patriarch, reportedly committed suicide while in custody.
China's stern measures against the Ming family are also a part of its broader strategy to address the scam businesses pervasive in Southeast Asia. Five additional members of the Bau family await execution, while the trials of the Wei and Liu families have not yet concluded.
Amid ongoing crackdowns, the organized crime landscape continues to evolve, adapting to external pressures while maintaining operations in other regions.
