Thao Tou Yang: A Crucial Nexus in the Pathet Lao and the Viet Minh

• In Event: 270. Socialist Narratives from Laos and Vietnam

Abstract

The role of the Hmong in the communist revolutionary struggle for independence remains unarticulated in the historical records even though the current Communist Lao state recognizes Hmong contributions by according the descendants of Hmong communist leaders high honors in their governing system. This paper examines the heroic actions of Thao Tou Yang, a highly decorated revolutionary nationalist leader, and his role as an important nexus between the Pathet Lao and Ho Chi Minh’s Viet Minh. I will analyze the historical genesis of how and why Thao Tou rallied one third of the Hmong population of Laos on to the Communist side as well as his politics of establishing personal ties to communist cadres sent by Ho Chi Minh.

Author

• Mai Na M. Lee, University of Minnesota