Wang Xing: Chinese actor's rescue shines light on scam centres

After a Chinese actor went missing in Thailand for two days, his girlfriend decided to seek help on the internet. On January 5th, Wang Xing's girlfriend wrote on the Chinese social media platform Weibo: "We have no choice but to borrow the power of the internet to amplify our voices."

The plea for help quickly went viral after being shared by some well-known Chinese figures, including singer Zhang Yixing and actress Qin Lan. The case of 31-year-old Wang Xing garnered national attention, including that of the Chinese government. On January 7th, Wang Xing was rescued from a scam center on the Myanmar border, a development that sparked widespread relief.

However, this swift and mysterious rescue has also raised questions about the fate of those still trapped in scam centers. The case serves as a painful reminder that rampant criminal activity is still ensnaring thousands of people, forcing them into cybercrime. Families of some Chinese citizens who may be held within these scam centers have begun to petition, urging the Chinese government to help them as well. Petitions are being shared online for anyone with a missing loved one to fill out. The number of cases has risen from an initial 174 to over 600 and is still growing.

Wang Xing told police that there were around 50 Chinese citizens being held captive just in the place where he was detained. "We are desperate to know if the rest of the Chinese citizens who were with him have been rescued," read a popular comment on Weibo. "Other people's lives are also lives." Wang Xing went missing on January 3rd in the Thai border town of Mae Sot, which has become a hub for trafficking people into Myanmar.

According to Thai police, he flew to Bangkok for an acting job that had been offered to him on WeChat. The offer claimed to be from a major Thai entertainment company. The actor later told reporters that he had filmed in Thailand before, around 2018, so he did not suspect anything was different. But he was picked up by a car and taken to Myanmar, where he was shaved bald and forced to undergo training on how to scam people over the phone. His girlfriend wrote on Weibo that she and his brother tried to track him down and get the police involved, but with "almost no results": Chinese police had not opened a case, and the Thai embassy had only advised Wang Xing's family to seek help from Mae Sot police.

But as the discussion about Wang Xing's whereabouts grew louder on Chinese social media, authorities began to take action. A case was finally opened, and the embassy told the media that they were taking the case very seriously. The next day, Thai and Chinese officials announced that Wang Xing had been rescued. His first public appearance was alongside Thai police, but he did not say much, instead letting officials explain what had happened. Details about the rescue itself were scant. Officials did not even reveal the scam center he was in, as accounts of the story were conflicting.

One source, who has rescued people from scam centers, said that one reason for withholding more information could be that it was part of the deal that led to his release, the source said on condition of anonymity. He told the BBC that these scam centers are keen to avoid attention. This meant that releasing Wang Xing was a better option than risking the whole operation because of his disappearance. Beijing was also keen to end the discussion about Wang Xing's case. It wants its citizens to believe that it has done enough and that scam centers along its borders are no longer an issue. China and ethnic insurgent groups conducted a joint operation in 2023 in an attempt to shut down scam centers in Myanmar's Shan state.

But local NGOs and independent rescuers told the BBC that scam activity is still growing, with construction expanding into more remote areas. Today, the areas bordering Thailand are the main hub for international scams in Myanmar, taking advantage of the collaboration with the various armed groups vying for power there. New scam compounds have been established south of Myawaddy, a town near Mae Sot, where some of the worst cases of forced labor and other abuses are now being reported. This is putting immense pressure on Thailand, which relies heavily on tourism, especially from China.

Wang Xing's case has led some Chinese people to question whether it is safe to travel to Thailand. "It feels like after the Wang Xing incident, fewer people will go to Southeast Asia, including Thailand," read a popular Weibo post. His rescue may have been a success for Thai officials, and a victory for Beijing, but it has not ended the discussion, nor the focus on scam compounds. On Thursday, some of his words from a recent interview went viral on Weibo: "Actor Wang Xing claimed that he could not eat much food in Myanmar, nor did he have time to go to the toilet."

His brief disappearance has only exposed how widespread this danger has become: other people in the Chinese film industry have shared their own experiences of being deceived by scammers offering them work in Thailand. Thai police are now reportedly investigating another case of a Chinese model who went missing on the China-Myanmar border after being promised work in Thailand. The China Alliance of Radio, Film and Television on Tuesday said in a statement that "many actors" were going abroad under false pretenses of filming and as a result had suffered "serious damage to their personal and financial security." "We are extremely concerned about this," the statement said.

"Please save [Wang] from danger and make the story of 'No More Bets' a reality," Wang Xing's girlfriend urged in her Weibo post - a reference to the 2023 film where the protagonist is rescued after being trafficked to a scam center. Like those in the film, Wang Xing is one of the lucky few. Hundreds of thousands of victims from China, Taiwan, Malaysia and Singapore remain trapped in vast scam compounds with little hope of rescue. But with the Lunar New Year approaching, and large numbers of Chinese tourists expected to visit Thailand, the Thai government is keen to emphasize that the country is a safe destination. Thai police have also insisted that no Thai nationals were involved in Wang Xing's trafficking.

One police officer told reporters on Wednesday that Wang Xing, fresh from his ordeal, was not worried about returning to Thailand. In fact, he added, Wang Xing had already promised to come back.