24-10-2023 (BANGKOK) Zhang Hongliang, a former restaurant manager hailing from central China, found himself entangled in a web of cyber scams after losing his job due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Seeking to support his family, Zhang took up various gigs both in and outside China. However, a job offer in March to teach Chinese cooking at a restaurant led him down a treacherous path, ultimately landing him in a cyber scam compound in Myanmar. Instead of imparting culinary skills, he was coerced into luring fellow Chinese nationals into fraudulent investment schemes orchestrated through social media platforms.
Zhang’s story is just one among tens of thousands of individuals, predominantly Chinese but not exclusively, who have fallen victim to the intricate networks established by powerful Chinese criminal syndicates operating in Southeast Asia. Authorities in the region, along with Chinese counterparts, have made efforts to crack down on these operations, resulting in the arrest of thousands of individuals involved. However, experts argue that these measures have failed to dismantle the local elites and criminal networks that continue to perpetuate such schemes.
The issue presents a significant challenge for Beijing, as it not only tarnishes its reputation but also deters ordinary Chinese citizens from traveling to Southeast Asia due to fears of falling prey to cyber scams or becoming entangled in kidnapping incidents. In recent years, media reports have exposed cases of young people being lured to countries like Cambodia and Myanmar with promises of high-paying jobs, only to be coerced into scamming activities. Victims often face physical abuse or punishments, such as forced labor or physical exercises, if they fail to perform satisfactorily.
To address the escalating problem, China, Thailand, Laos, and Myanmar joined forces in August to establish a joint police operations center aimed at combatting cyber scams in the region. Consequently, China’s Ministry of Public Security launched the “Summer Operation” and successfully repatriated 2,317 scam suspects from northern Myanmar to China on October 10.
However, labeling these individuals as suspects is a matter of contention, as experts argue that the majority of them are victims who were coerced into working for the criminals. Concerns arise regarding their treatment upon returning to China.
The cyber scam networks operating in countries like Myanmar, Laos, and Cambodia operate in collaboration with Chinese bosses and local elites. Many of these networks are based in regions where China has invested heavily in large-scale construction projects through President Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road Initiative.
Myanmar’s border regions, known for their historically lax law enforcement, have attracted various criminal activities, including drug production and trafficking. These areas are typically under the control of ethnic minority armed groups, some of which align with or oppose Myanmar’s central government. Some armed groups also collaborate with organized crime syndicates.
Jason Tower, an expert on transnational crime with the United States Institute of Peace, highlights the embarrassment faced by the Chinese government in light of these criminal operations proliferating across Southeast Asia. Tower emphasizes the syndicates’ utilization of romance scams and the division of targets into Chinese and non-Chinese categories. Scammers employ scripts, model images, influencer endorsements, and translation software to deceive their targets via phone or online platforms and convince them to invest money in fictitious schemes.
Victims of these scams can be found worldwide.
Tower’s 2020 report for the United States Institute of Peace revealed connections between the criminals and Chinese state enterprises, think tanks, and government officials. The criminals have exploited the Belt and Road Initiative as a platform for their activities.
Zhang’s encounter with the scam compound occurred while he was working in Thailand and had traveled to Laos for a visa run. He met a man named Gao, who claimed to be a broker and travel agent catering to Chinese residents in Thailand. Gao enticed Zhang with an opportunity to work at a new restaurant in Myawaddy, Kayin state, Myanmar, promising double the pay he received in China. Despite initial wariness due to Myanmar’s political turmoil, Zhang succumbed to Gao’s reassurances that the restaurant would attract ample customers due to the prevalence of cyber scam businesses in the area.
Only after arriving in Myanmar did Zhang realize the gravity of his situation. Seeking an escape, he fabricated a family emergency, borrowed money from his relatives to pay off a debt Gao claimed he owed, and made a daring nighttime escape by swimming across the Moei River into Thailand. Zhang surrendered himself to Thai police, who subsequently contacted the Chinese Embassy. Although questioned by Chinese authorities upon his return to China, Zhang was not detained.
Zhang has since shared his harrowing experience on Douyin, the Chinese equivalent of TikTok, in an effort to raise awareness about the risks involved. He receives frequent messages from individuals seeking assistance with relatives trapped in cyber scam compounds.
China has detained approximately 4,000 suspects and repatriated them back to the country. The Ministry of Public Security claims significant progress through coordinated operations with Myanmar authorities, repatriating an additional 2,349 individuals on Monday. However, experts argue that the enforcement actions lack comprehensiveness. When crackdowns occur in one location, the scam networks often resurface elsewhere. Following Cambodia’s crackdown on online gambling and illegal casinos in 2019, many of these networks migrated to less regulated areas in Myanmar, with some falling under the control of rival gangs.
Efforts to restore China’s reputation in the region have thus far yielded limited results, according to Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a political science professor at Thailand’s Chulalongkorn University. He emphasizes that sustained efforts are required to eradicate the problem entirely, stating that merely addressing the visible symptoms and manifestations in borderland areas is insufficient.
