Laos

Laos is a country in South East Asia that appears in Cyberpunk 2020. Laos is a Southeast Asian country traversed by the Mekong River and known for mountainous terrain, French colonial architecture, hill tribe settlements and Buddhist monasteries. Vientiane, the capital, is the site of the That Luang monument, where a reliquary reportedly houses the Buddha's breastbone, plus the Patuxai war memorial and Talat Sao (Morning Market), a complex jammed with food, clothes and craft stalls.

Overview
Welcome to the country that makes Myanmar look advanced! This mountainous country has been backwards and isolated since independence in 1953, preoccupied with infighting between various factions. During the Vietnam War, it had more bombs dropped on it per capital than the entire world during WW2, making it the most bombed country in the world to that point After the war, it became a client of Vietnam. The laid-back communist government could even explain how Buddhism and Communism were compatible. The Lao People's Revolutionary Party (LPRP) formalized private trade and started inviting foreign companies to help exploit the natural resources. The Lao People's Democratic Republic (Sathalanalat Pasathipatai Pasason Lao) was set to try and enter the 21st century.

The Khmer Rouge invasion of 2003 changed all that The KR realized that. since they couldn't fight the Yuon in Cambodia, taking Laos would hurt the Vietnamese and put them that much closer to the Vietnam capital, Hanoi. They haven't been able to cross the Vietnamese border very often due to the squadrons of American mercs guarding it They haven't been able to hit the Myanmar fascists either, due to the intervention of Khan Pa.

However, they have predictably started wiping out the Vietnamese and moved as many people as they could find down into the 1/3 of the country that is farm-able. They've also wiped out as many temples as they could find. In the hills, the hiding tribal Thai and Hmong Sayasat (folk magic) priests are being hunted by the KR. Anyone caught using English or French is also executed. The KR has taken control of the Laotian drug trade in the Golden Triangle, and trades with Myanmar, Thailand, and the MLC. KR and the MLC helped each other fight their mutual foes. but now that the MLC is in remission, the KR are bracing for an attack from the Chinese in the next few years, and are buying all the weapons they can.

Government
Khmer Rouge Chaos. The surviving former Vietnamese- installed government is hiding in Vietnam. The KR is rumored to be led by Pol Pot still. However, since this would make him about 1213 years old, only the KR toadies buy it. Orders come from a central source, but nobody knows who that person is.

The Khmer Rouge are sane enough to know that Thailand is the only country who will supply them, and try to stay on good terms. Therefore, they let Khan Pa and the other KMT druglords ship down the Mekong river with no interference. What they don't know is that Khan is smuggling out Laotian citizens as well, for a hew price.

Economy
The KR sell rice to Thailand in exchange for guns. That is the economy.

Reference
PASQUARETTE, C. Pacific Rim Sourcebook. 1st ed. Berkeley CA: R.Talsorian Games, 1994 Laos