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The village of Santikhiri ((タイ語:สันติคีรี)), formerly known as Mae Salong ((タイ語:แม่สลอง)), is in the Thai highlands on Doi Mae Salong mountain of the Daen Lao Range, in Mae Fa Luang District, Chiang Rai Province, the northernmost province of Thailand. The area has an alpine-like landscape and climate, and is known for its hill tribe villages, tea plantations, and cherry blossoms. Santikhiri's early history centered on the Golden Triangle's opium trade, in which its distinctive population – the "lost army" of the Republic of China Army's 93rd Division – became involved. At the conclusion of the Chinese Civil War in 1949, some remnants of the anti-communist Kuomintang (KMT) forces refused to surrender, including 278th Regiment of the 93rd Division and 709th Regiment of the 237th Division (led by General Li Kuo-hui). The troops fought its way out of Yunnan in southwestern China, and its soldiers lived in Burma's (now Myanmar) jungles. The army grew and part of it returned to Taiwan under international pressure. The remaining troops were led by Gen Tuan Shi-wen (also known as Chiwan Khamlue) and sought asylum in Mae Salong later. In exchange for their asylum, they fought for Thailand until 1982, helping to counter the communist insurgency on the Thai frontier. In reward, the Thai government granted citizenship to most of the KMT soldiers and their families. Cash crops, especially tea, have now replaced the growing of opium poppies, and Santikhiri today is a tourist attraction known as "Little Switzerland".〔 ==History== The origins of the Santikhiri community go back to the end of the Chinese Civil War. In October 1949, after Mao Zedong's communist party victory in China, the defeated Kuomintang (KMT) armies led by Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek retreated to Taiwan, except for the 3rd and 5th Regiments of the 93rd Division, which refused to surrender. Fighting between the communist and KMT troops continued in some remote parts of China, including Yunnan in the southwest. When the communists marched into the provincial capital of Kunming in January 1950, 12,000 troops from the 3rd and 5th Regiments, commanded respectively by Generals Lee Wen-huan (Li Wenhuan) and Tuan Shi-wen, fought their way out of Yunnan and escaped into Burma's jungles.〔 The soldiers' war did not end after their own "long march" from Yunnan to Möng Hsat in Burma's Shan State. The Burmese soon discovered that a foreign army was camped on their soil, and launched an offensive. The fighting continued for 12 years, and several thousand KMT soldiers were eventually evacuated to Taiwan. When China entered the Korean War, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) had a desperate need for intelligence on China. The agency turned to the two KMT generals, who agreed to slip some soldiers back into China for intelligence-gathering missions. In return, the agency offered arms to equip the generals to retake China from their bases in the Shan State. The KMT army tried on no fewer than seven times between 1950 and 1952 to invade Yunnan, but was repeatedly driven back into the Shan State. The ending of the Korean War in 1953 was not the end of the KMT's fight against the communist Chinese and Burmese armies, which continued on for many years, supported by Washington and Taiwan and subsequently funded by the KMT's involvement in the Golden Triangle's drug trade. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Santikhiri」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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