Back in 2002, this guy, Yang Bin, was chosen by North Korea to head up their new Special Administrative Region. This region, like Macau and Hong Kong, was supposed to be governed differently from the rest of North Korea and have a market economy. It was supposed to be North Korea's way of reviving its economy after the disastrous famines of the 1990s that wiped out 2m of its people. But China effectively shut the whole thing down by arresting Ying Ban a couple of days later. He was eventually put on trial and given an 18 years sentence for corruption. China is a severely corrupt country so Ying Ban's actions does not stand out. But to arrest a man who was to lead North Korea out of poverty and isolation, something that China supposedly wants, strikes me as weird. A little bird told me that the Bush Administration did not want the SAR to succeed so they told the Chinese squash it. But there is no proof and China does not take its cues from Washington. But I just don't know. Maybe things could've turned out differently had this SAR succeeded.
EDIT: I know that, after failing with the SAR, NK went into a JV with SK to form the Kaesong industrial complex. However, I think this was scaled down compared to what they had in mind at Sinuiju and they'd not only be more reliant on their arch enemy SK, they would be more dependent on them.
EDIT: I know that, after failing with the SAR, NK went into a JV with SK to form the Kaesong industrial complex. However, I think this was scaled down compared to what they had in mind at Sinuiju and they'd not only be more reliant on their arch enemy SK, they would be more dependent on them.
Last edited:
Facebook
Twitter