Book description
The incredible story of how Chiang Kai-shek's defeated army came to
dominate the Asian drug trade
After their defeat in China's civil war, remnants of Chiang
Kai-shek's armies took refuge in Burma before being driven into
Thailand and Laos. Based on recently declassified government
documents, The Secret Army: Chiang Kai-shek and the Drug Warlords
of the Golden Triangle reveals the shocking true story of what
happened after the Chinese Nationalists lost the revolution. Supported
by Taiwan, the CIA, and the Thai government, this former army
reinvented itself as an anti-communist mercenary force, fighting into
the 1980s, before eventually becoming the drug lords who made the
Golden Triangle a household name.
Offering a previously unseen look inside the post-war workings of the
Kuomintang army, historians Richard Gibson and Wen-hua Chen explore
how this fallen military group dominated the drug trade in Southeast
Asia for more than three decades.
- Based on recently released, previously classified government documents
- Draws on interviews with active participants, as well as a variety
of Chinese, Thai, and Burmese written sources
- Includes unique insights drawn from author Richard Gibson's
personal experiences with anti-narcotics trafficking efforts in the
Golden Triangle
A fascinating look at an untold piece of Chinese-and
drug-running-history, The Secret Army offers a revealing look
into the history of one of the most infamous drug cartels in Asia.
