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[[Category:Nations]]
[[Category:Asia]]
[[Category:Southeast Asia]]
[[Category:Chinese Bloc]]
* '''Population:''' 4.8 million
* '''Aspects:''' Very Free, Poor, Third Wave
The northern [[Burma|Burmese]] state of Shan was long inhabited
by a distinct ethnic group, which was often uncomfortable
under central rule. During the [[China|Chinese]] invasion in the
[[Pacific War]], an independent Shan Republic was created
with Chinese support. The new nation receives diplomatic
recognition only from China and its allies. With TSA support,
the central Burmese government is currently fighting
an open war along the Shan border in order to bring the
breakaway state back in line. The capital of Tuanggyi has
recently been devastated by sorties of long-range cybershell
drones from Burma.

Early in the century, Shan state was infamous as one
of the world’s most productive sources of opium poppy.
The opium trade was largely suppressed by 2030, but by
the mid-2060s it has reappeared. Indeed, as genetic technologies
were applied to the opium poppy, it became the
source of a wide variety of new and very powerful narcotics.
Production of these drugs has risen sharply since
the Pacific War, with much of the finished product ending
up in [[India]] and the [[:Category:Transpacific Socialist Alliance|TSA]] nations. Although the Chinese
government denies any involvement, there are rumors that
the new drugs are part of a campaign of subversion directed
at the nanosocialist bloc and its allies.