He was jailed and tortured at the age of 20, then covertly escaped his home country after he began protesting the governments socialist military regime during the 8888 Uprising.

Before leaving his home country, he was a part of the Insein Literary Circle (အင်းစိန်စာပေဝိုင်း)[3][4] Aung Zaw fled to Bangkok, Thailand where he would start The Irrawaddy, a news publication named after Myanmar's largest river.

Aung Zaw, founder and editor of The Irrawaddy, began publication of the news magazine, and formed the Burma Information Group, in exile from Thailand in 1993.

[6] After leaving Myanmar disguised as a monk, Aung Zaw fled to Bangkok where he started the Burma Information Group (BIG).

[8] At the age of 25, Aung Zaw launched The Irrawaddy, in efforts to cover Burma affairs, in the South East Asian Countries.