Lao Issara
Xépôn also played a role in anti-colonial movements in Laos. In the aftermath of World War II, a Laotian independence movement, the Lao Issara, formed to seek national independence. Thao Ō Anourack, a native of Xépôn, was appointed commander of all Lao Issara forces in the district. Initially successful, French forces seized the capital of Vientiane by April 1946. Most of the Lao Issara fled to Thailand. In September 1946, however, several Laotian leaders met in the Vietnamese city of Vinh and, with the sponsorship of the Viet Minh movement, formed the Committee for Lao Resistance in the East to carry on the fight for independence. Thao Ō Anurak was one of the founding members of the committee.