He took part in the 1988 Movement as one of the leading members of his high school student union, Tamwe Township.

In 1989, he was elected vice general secretary of the Basic Education Student Union (BESU).

Thet Win Aung died in Mandalay prison on 16 October 2006 due to inhumane treatment and long-term injuries he sustained from torture during interrogations with military intelligence.

[1][2] Thet Win Aung was elected Honorary Vice-President of the Reading University Students' Union after being adopted as their Amnesty International Group's prisoner.

Like Thet Win Aung, Pyone Cho spent his entire adult life advocating for democracy, spending 20 years as a prisoner of conscience.