China apprehends Waxy Kang, a prominent drug lord in the Mekong River

The China Youth Daily is a commercial daily newspaper run by the Communist Youth League. Today the front page features a picture of Naw Kahn (sometimes known as ‘Waxy Kang’ or Nuo Kang, 糯康), a prominent drug lord in the notorious ‘Golden Triangle’ area of the Mekong River, being escorted off a plane to Beijing by Chinese authorities. The headline reads, “Waxy Kang, the main culprit behind the Mekong murder was escorted to Beijing.” The Mekong murder refers to an incident last October where a group of renegade Thai soldiers supposedly colluded with Khan’s group to hijack two Chinese merchant ships and kill 13 of the crewmembers.

According to the article, Khan is accused of murder, as well as trafficking illicit drugs, kidnapping, robbery, extortion and several other violent crimes. He was sought after by China, Laos, Myanmar and Thailand in a joint effort to fight transnational crime, and was finally apprehended along with several of his group members, through cooperation by Laos, Burma and Thailand police. He has now been transferred into Chinese custody, and will be tried according to Chinese laws.

Also on the front page, on the top left, is a headline that Nanjing plans to launch an initiative to encourage entrepreneurship among college students. According to the article, the Nanjing Municipal Government announced the implementation of its “Million Young Collegiate Business Plan,” which intends to support 10,000 students to start their own businesses, and thereby promote the employment of 50,000 people by 2015.

Links and Sources
China Youth Daily: 湄公河血案主犯糯康被押解到京, 南京实施万名青年大学生创业计划
World News Forum: An article on last year’s Mekong murders