Within Kunming, a town within the South China province of Yunnan, Helliwell observed that General Chiang Kai-shek’s, leader of the Kuomin-tang (KMT—the Chinese National Army), sold opium to Chinese addicts in order to raise funds for his army’s planned war against the Communist forces of Mao Zedong.2 Since Helliwell’s task was to provide covert assistance to the KMT, what better help could he provide than steady shipments of opiates for the good general?
