In my newest book, Up Like Thunder, my main character, Pete Chandler, goes to the country of Myanmar in SE Asia to find and rescue an American woman.  She had been working in Myanmar when she disappeared into thin air.  While looking for her, he is threatened himself and worries if he’ll also disappear!  In the meantime, I educate readers about the jade smuggling in SE Asia.

Myanmar is one of the richest countries in the world in gems.  Most of the rubies in circulation have come from there.  They also possess sapphires and, of course, jade.  Jade has always been prized in Asia and Myanmar has tons of it.  Here’s an investigative story about the jade smuggling in SE Asia:  https://www.globalwitness.org/jade-story/

It’s fascinating and scary at the same time for these reasons:

1.  Myanmar has been closed to the world for over 50 years.  It’s been run by a brutal military regime that has one of the worst human rights records of any country.  They’ve suppressed the Nobel prize winner, Aung San Suu Kyi for years by putting in house arrest.  The investigative story traces how many of the leading generals and politicians are still raking in fortunes through illegal jade smuggling.
2. In the past few years, the regime has indicated their willingness to open to the world.  Tourism and business have been welcomed.  The generals insist that they are relaxing their brutal control and even allowing free elections in the near future.  But are they really?  This investigation points out that the jade smuggling in SE Asia is so corrupt and involves so much money, the government can’t possibly let go of it—and the human rights violations that go with the smuggling.
3. The U.S. has opened diplomatic ties with Myanmar in the hopes of providing a dam against the Chinese hegemony in the region.  But who are we really supporting there?  Aren’t we still supporting the corrupt and greedy generals who have run the country into the ground for years?
4. The main region where the jade is found comes from the Kachin area, occupied for centuries by the Kachin people.  The generals have been at war with these people (who are also citizens of Myanmar) for years.  They continue to battle for many things, including the jade trade and all the money the generals are stealing from the Kachin people.
5. I visited there about two years ago.  Although I didn’t travel into the Katchin area, we spent a lot of time in the middle of the country.  It’s filled with wonderful people who like Americans.  Luckily, I didn’t have any trouble with the government—they want tourists so they left us alone. Nor did we find any jade!