Cross-border timber business between Panghsang, the Wa capital, and China’s Meng A, known in Shan as Mong Nga, which was suspended on 26 March 2006, has returned as of yesterday, according to sources from the border.

It was the result of a complaint by Bao Youxiang, supreme Wa leader, to Chinese authorities that the year long closure had made it almost impossible for Panghsang to continue enforcing the opium ban declared two years ago.

However, it is still not clear whether the lifting of the timber ban also applies to the trade mineral, another lucrative business on the border.

The reopening of the border is welcomed by the local populace. “Panghsang is alive again,” said a happy resident, “now that businessmen have returned.”

The opium output in Wa controlled areas along the Chinese border, once the largest in the whole Shan State, has gone down to a minimal for two consecutive seasons since 2005, according to both local and non-local sources.