EPA-EFE
Wang Xing’s case is a grim reminder of Southeast Asia’s booming scam industry.
A small-time Chinese actor had been missing for two days in Thailand when his girlfriend decided to turn to the Internet for help.
“We have no choice but to borrow the power of the Internet to amplify our voices,” Wang Xing’s girlfriend wrote on Chinese social network Weibo on January 5.
The plea went viral after being shared by some of China’s biggest celebrities, including singer Lay Zhang and actor Qin Lan.
Wang, 31, had the country’s attention – as well as that of his government.
On January 7, Wang was rescued from a scam hub across the border in Myanmar – the news sparked a wave of relief.
But the quick but mysterious rescue has also raised questions about the fate of those who remain trapped in the fraudulent centers. This case is a grim reminder of the thriving criminal enterprises that still ensnare hundreds of thousands of people into cybercrime.
Families of Chinese nationals who may be detained at one of these complexes have launched a petition urging their government to help them too. The petition document is shared online for anyone to fill out the missing persons case. The number of cases has already climbed to more than 600 from 174 initially, and continues to rise.
Wang told police there were about 50 Chinese nationals detained in the same location as him alone.
“We are desperate to know if the remaining Chinese nationals (who were) with him were rescued,” read a popular comment on Weibo.
“The lives of others are also lives.”
Wang disappeared on January 3 in the Thai border town of Mae Sot, which had become a hub for people smuggling into Myanmar.
He had flown to Bangkok for an acting job that had been offered to him on WeChat. The person claimed to represent a major Thai entertainment company, according to Thai police.
The actor later told reporters that he had been on a shoot in Thailand around 2018 and didn’t suspect it would be any different. But he was picked up in a car and taken to Myanmar, where his head was shaved and he was forced to undergo training on how to scam people on phone calls.
His girlfriend wrote on Weibo that she and her brother had tried to find him and involve the police, but “there had been little success”: the Chinese police had not yet registered a case , while the embassy in Thailand had simply advised Wang’s family to get closer. the police in Mae Sot.
But as discussions about Wang’s fate intensified on Chinese social media, authorities began to act. The case was finally registered and the embassy told the media that it attached great importance to the case.
The next day, Thai and Chinese authorities announced that Wang had been rescued.
His first public appearance was alongside Thai police, but he said little, leaving officials to explain what happened.
Details of the rescue itself are scant. Authorities did not even reveal which scam hub he was in as conflicting versions of the story spread.
One reason could be that withholding additional information was part of the deal that led to his release, according to a source who has previously rescued people from scam centers who did not wish to be named.
He told the BBC that these scam centers want to avoid attracting attention. This meant that freeing Wang was the best option, rather than risking the entire operation due to the attention his disappearance attracted.
The Kokang
Hundreds of fraud scheme suspects transferred from Myanmar to China in 2023
Beijing also wanted to end discussion of Wang’s case. He wants his citizens to believe that he has done enough and that the scam hubs along his border are no longer a problem.
In 2023, a joint operation by China and ethnic insurgent groups aimed to shut down scam hubs in Myanmar’s Shan State.
But those on the ground – NGOs and independent rescuers – tell the BBC that the scams continue to multiply, with construction spreading to even more remote areas.
Today, the border area with Thailand is the main center of international scams in Myanmar, taking advantage of partnerships with the various armed groups competing for power.
New fraudulent complexes have been built south of the town of Myawaddy, near the Thai border, where the worst cases of forced labor and other abuses are now being reported.
This has put enormous pressure on Thailand, whose economy depends heavily on tourism, particularly from China.
Wang’s case has caused some Chinese to question the safety of traveling to Thailand. “It feels like after this Wang Xing incident, there will be fewer people traveling to Southeast Asia, including Thailand,” read a popular post on Weibo.
His rescue may well be a success for Thai authorities and a victory for Beijing, but it has not ended the discussions or the attention paid to the scams.
On Thursday, excerpts from one of his recent interviews were trending on Weibo: “Actor Wang Xing says he couldn’t eat much food in Myanmar and didn’t have time to go to the bathroom”.
EPA-EFE
Thai police stressed that no Thais were involved in Wang’s trafficking.
His brief disappearance only revealed how common the danger has become: other players in the Chinese film industry have since shared their own accounts of being duped by scammers into offering them jobs in Thailand .
Thai police are reportedly investigating the case of another Chinese model who went missing on the Thailand-Myanmar border after being promised work in Thailand.
The China Federation of Radio and Television Associations said in a statement Tuesday that “many actors” went abroad based on false promises of filming, and as a result suffered “severe damage to their personal and financial security.
“We are very concerned about this,” the statement said.
“Please save (Wang) from danger and bring the story of No More Bets to life,” Wang’s girlfriend urged in her Weibo post – a reference to the 2023 film’s protagonists being saved after been victims of trafficking in scam centers.
Wang – like those in the film – is part of a lucky minority.
Hundreds of thousands of victims from China, Taiwan, Malaysia and Singapore remain stuck in vast fraud complexes, with little hope of rescue.
But as the Lunar New Year approaches, when many Chinese tourists are expected in Thailand, the Thai government is keen to emphasize that the country is a safe destination. Thai police also insist that no Thais were involved in Wang’s trafficking.
Wang, freshly released from his ordeal, has no concerns about returning to Thailand, a police officer told reporters on Wednesday.
In fact, he added, Wang promised to return.
