Disappearance of Wang Xing

On January 3, 2025, Wang Xing (stage name "Xingxing"), a Chinese actor, was deceived into a scam center in Myanmar by a fraud group under the pretext of "going to Thailand for filming". After Wang Xing lost contact, his girlfriend Jiajia posted a message for help through social media and actively contacted relevant authorities. This incident attracted the attention of the Chinese film industry. Many actors posted about this matter, prompting the Chinese Embassy in Bangkok, the Chinese Consulate General in Chiang Mai and the Thai police to intervene in the investigation and search and rescue.

Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra confirmed in an interview with the media at the Prime Minister's Office in Bangkok at 11:40 a.m. on January 7 that Wang Xing, who had lost contact at the Thai-Myanmar border, had been found.

Background

The Thai-Myanmar border area, especially the Mae Sot district in Thailand, has long been a hotbed for various cross-border criminal activities due to its special geographical location and relatively weak law enforcement.^[1][2] Myawaddy is a border town located within Myanmar, across the river from Mae Sot, which has become a key transit hub for human trafficking.^[3] Since the 2021 coup d'état, many fraud/scam groups and criminal syndicates have chosen Myanmar as a base for its poaching and trafficking of people for cyber crimes, arms and drugs smuggling, making the country "the biggest nexus of organized crime" on the Global Organized Crime Index.^[4][5] Many criminals have set up fraud parks here, luring people from across the world to work here under the guise of high-paying jobs and engage in illegal activities such as telecommunications fraud. One of the more notorious of these is KK Park.^[6] A Civil Society Network for Victim Assistance in Human Trafficking report, released in January 2025, noted that more than 6,000 people from 21 countries are being held captive in Myanmar.^[3]

Wang Xing (Chinese: 王星; pinyin: Wáng Xīng, born November 13, 1993) who is also known by his stage name, Xingxing (Chinese: 星星; pinyin: Xīngxīng), is a Chinese actor who graduated from Shanghai University Film Academy [zh]. He participated in many film and television works, including Ip Man 3 (2015), Fox Spirit Matchmaker: Red-Moon Pact (2016), The Tale of Rose (2024), mostly in supporting roles.^[7]

Disappearance

Fake casting messages

On December 24, 2024, Wang joined a chat group called "Su Nan Professional Actors Group" (蘇南專業演員群) through a friend's introduction. While Wang is not a well sought after actor, he has been actively seeking performance opportunities. In the group chat, an account named "GMMGrrammy 16" posted a message on a possible casting. Wang then through the group chat contacted Yan Shiliu (颜十六) who claimed to be an acting coordinator from GMM Grammy to discuss the role.^[8][a] GMM Grammy would later issue a statement in Chinese categorically denying any involvement with Wang's abduction.^[10] On December 26, Wang's girlfriend, Jiajia (嘉嘉) helped to record an audition tape and he was informed the following day that he had passed the audition. On December 30, due to doubts over the shooting location and details, he initially decided to decline the role. However, Yan convinced him to follow through on the grounds that he was not replaceable and that through reviewing his prior work, the company would like to engage him in their future works in a subsequent overseas expansion.^[11]

Arrival in Thailand and loss of contact

At about 9 p.m, January 2, 2025, Wang Xing departed from Shanghai Pudong International Airport, and arrived at Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport at around 2 a.m on January 3. At 3:40 am he boarded a grey Toyota Altis sedan purportedly provided by GMM Grammy to transport him to the opening ceremony. The car passed through Chai Nat province, Kamphaeng Phet province, before passing through Tak province's Mae Sot district at 10:34 am. Wang had been in communications with Jiajia throughout the journey and was sending her his location details. At about 11 am, contacts with Wang was lost with the last location shown to be at the Thai–Myanmar border. Subsequently, Wang was picked up by a grey Toyota Hilux Revo pickup truck.^[8][11]

Subsequent police investigations later revealed that the Toyota Hilux Revo pickup truck was owned by a Thai citizen named Ravi. Ravi confessed to the police that he received instructions from a Karen militia soldier to pick Wang up from a supermarket in Mae Sot district. This truck however did not pass through the border checkpoint at the Thai-Myanmar Friendship Bridge.^[11][12] After being rescued, Wang in an interview stated that he originally thought that this trip was to use Thailand as a transit point to go to a third country for filming, and did not realize that he had entered Myanmar after crossing the Moei River. It was not until he was forcibly taken into another vehicle by armed personnel that he came to that realization.^[11]

Apollo Park

Wang Xing was abducted by a telecommunications fraud group to a small-scale fraud park called "Apollo Park". According to Sing Tao Daily's report, the man responsible for the largest human trafficking, Hui Huangyu (辉煌钰), was in cooperation with Jin Can (金灿), the boss of Apollo Park, to supply the latter with people lured to work there. The newspaper also quoted from Hui's group chat content stating that they believed that some amongst them had deceived Wang into coming to Thailand.^[13]

Wang Xing said in an interview post release that he knew there were three buildings in the park: the first building was a gathering place for new abductees, where 10 Chinese people gathered and where Wang Xing was detained before being assigned to the second building; the "second building" was a large training center where at least 50 Chinese people were imprisoned. During his imprisonment, he was forced to undergo two to three days of fraud training, which mainly involved text fraud and did not touch on voice or telephone fraud techniques. He was deeply afraid of this and worried that if he was not rescued, he would be forced to engage in fraud against Chinese people; and he said there was a "third building" where he would be sent to be forced to work illegally. He said that this building held victims from all over the world. In the park, he was forced to shave his head, and all people who were forced to work in the park had to do the same.^[14][15][16]

Requests for help from authorities

After Wang Xing disappeared at the Thai–Myanmar border on January 3, his girlfriend Jiajia reported the case to the Shanghai police at 11:54 a.m, but was told by the Shanghai police that they had no right to take action because Wang had disappeared abroad. Jiajia then contacted the Chinese embassy in Thailand and the Chinese consulate-general in Chiang Mai, but they replied that they needed to confirm whether Wang was still in Thailand and that they needed to file a case in Thailand before they could take action. Jiajia then called the Thai police, but they were unreachable.^[8]

Wang Xing's brother Wang Qin also went to two police stations in Shanghai to report the case. However the officers there told him that the case could only be opened after a decision had been made by Shanghai Municipal Public Security Bureau and that the decision would only be made after "a week the earliest, and a month the slowest". The Chinese embassy in Thailand and the Chinese consulate-general in Chiang Mai finally suggested that Jiajia should go directly to Mae Sot district to report the case to the local police.^[8]

Online help

On January 5, Jiajia posted a message on the Chinese social media network, Weibo, asking for help to locate Wang.^[8][17] The disappearance of Wang Xing became viral online and attracted widespread attention in the Chinese film industry. Famous artists and verified Weibo accounts, including Shu Qi, Yao Chen, Gong Jun, Gina Jin, Dong Chengpeng, Ma Tianyu, and Hu Lianxin [zh] posted messages of support, causing the related topic (Chinese: 演員星星在泰緬邊境失聯; lit. 'Actor Xingxing missing at Thai-Myanmar border') to be trending on Weibo. Artists with similar experiences as Wang Xing had also reached out to Wang's family, including Xu Dajiu and Fan Hu. Xu Dajiu (徐大久), a Chinese actor, also narrowly escaped from a similar abduction, and confirmed that Wang would already be in Myawaddy.^[18][19][20] Another actor, Fan Hu (范虎), who was also in a similar situation, said that the fake crew was very familiar with the entertainment industry and its practices, and came across as professional in their conversational skills. In Fan's experience, after Fan had checked in at a hotel in Bangkok, he contacted the director listed for the work directly who told him that he was being scammed.^[21]

Rescue

On January 6, after arriving in Bangkok, Jiajia immediately went to the Chinese embassy in Thailand and the local police station to report the case, and officially opened an investigation into Wang Xing's disappearance. The case attracted great attention from the Thai authorities. That night, Thai television channel Channel 7 released a statement that Wang Xing had been found.^[22] However, Tak Province Police Chief Major General Samrit Ekamol claimed in a report that preliminary investigations showed that Wang Xing went to Myanmar voluntarily and was not kidnapped, threatened or forced.^[23]

On January 7, after negotiations between the Thai, Myanmar officials and Karen National Army, Wang Xing was handed over at the Thai-Myanmar Friendship Bridge. According to reports, Karen National Army deputy commander Major Tin Win^[b] said that Wang Xing had told him that he was going to Myanmar to visit his relatives in Shwe Kokko.^[24]

After crossing the border back into Thailand, with his head shaven and wearing white shirt and shorts, he was interviewed by authorities at the Tak Province Immigration Checkpoint.^[25] During the interview, Wang recounted his experience of being abducted by the scam group to Apollo Park.^[15] Lieutenant General Thatchai Pitaneelabutr, Inspector General of the National Police, said that the rescue of Wang Xing was the result of cooperation between China and Thailand. Wang Xing subsequently arrived at Don Mueang International Airport at 7 pm the same day, and expressed his thanks to the police in English to the media present,^[15][26] and at the prompt of Thai officials repeated his thanks in Chinese, emphasizing that "he wishes to return to Thailand" and that "Thailand is very safe".^[27] At 10 p.m, he was further processed at the Thailand Victim Identification and Referral Centre in Don Muang.^[28]

On January 11, Wang Xing returned to China.^[29]

Aftermath

Yan Shiliu

According to a Southern Weekly report, an investigation into "Yan Shiliu" (颜十六) who lured people through WeChat groups in Wang Xing's disappearance case revealed that more than a dozen actors had recently been invited to work in Thailand, nine of whom were recruited by "Yan Shiliu" and "Chong Mingtang" (崇明堂). The report pointed out that these two people had backgrounds in the entertainment industry, but it was not yet clear whether they were the ones who committed the fraud or whether their accounts were used by overseas organizations.^[30]

Several actors reported that since December 2024, Yan Shiliu and Chong Mingtang have posted recruitment information in multiple actor groups, but the content has been constantly changing. "Yan Shiliu"'s real name is Yan Wenlei, who has served in multiple crew positions; "Chong Mingtang"'s real name is Yang Zeqi, who is from Baoding, Hebei Province. The two had posted project information graphics in the group, claiming to be artist directors and actor coordinators, but the authenticity of the relevant information is unclear. Yan Wenlei claimed that his WeChat account was stolen and denied any involvement in the case; Yang's friend Li Fei said that Yang's responses became distant after he went to Thailand and he no longer responded to WeChat messages.^[30] According to HK01, Yang Zeqi's family posted a message for help on Weibo on the evening of January 8, saying that Yang had lost contact at the Thai–Myanmar border since December last year, and his disappearance was highly similar to Wang Xing's disappearance.^[31] Yang was subsequently found at the border and returned home on January 17, 2025.^[32]

Arrests

Apollo Park's controller Jin Can (金灿) was eventually captured and held by authorities.^[33] On January 17, 2025, the human trafficking criminal group that was luring Chinese with fake job opportunities was being investigated and 12 people in connection to the group had been arrested jointly by Thai and Chinese authorities in their respective jurisdictions.^[34][35] On February 14, 10 Chinese nationals were being extradited back to China from Thailand over their roles in abducting Wang Xing.^[36]

Other rescues

Authorities had turned their attention to other cases after the publicity of this case.^[37][35] On January 10, 2025, two Chinese females were rescued after being abducted on December 27, 2024.^[38] On January 17, 2025, it was reported that several other Chinese nationals had been rescued as well.^[39]

Forced closure of scam parks

On February 5, the Thai authorities cut the supply of electricity, internet services and fuel to five areas in Myanmar, of which some were controlled by Karen National Army and Democratic Karen Benevolent Army (DKBA). It was reported that the DKBA would no longer allow scam call operations in the areas they control, namely.^[40] By February 13, it was reported that up to 8,000 workers in the scam parks would also be deported as they are being forced closed.^[41]

Impact

Although the Thai government said it would properly handle the matter to avoid negative impacts on the tourism industry, Wang Xing's disappearance not only attracted great attention from the Chinese public, but also had an impact on some people who intended to travel to Thailand. Many netizens expressed concerns about the safety of traveling to Thailand, and some even canceled their booked trips to Thailand.^[42][43] Attributing this case as a primary cause, Thai Lion Air reported that 40 chartered flights between Thailand and China would be cancelled during the Lunar New Year holiday period, reducing the number of flights to 200.^[44]

Due to the safety issues of Chinese citizens traveling to Thailand caused by Wang Xing's disappearance, Hong Kong singer Eason Chan decided to cancel the Bangkok stop, originally to be held on February 22 at the Impact Arena, of his ongoing Fear and Dreams world tour.^[45][46] Ming Pao reported that several screenshots circulated on Chinese social media platforms were found to be from posts posted by several people who claimed to work in the scam park. These posts revealed that the manager of a scam park planned to arrange for his subordinates to disguise themselves as concert spectators to lure fans who went to Thailand to watch the concert into the scam park. In addition, the plan also included sending male employees disguised as drivers to directly transport fans there.^[47] Chinese actor Zhao Benshan's performance on February 22 would also be postponed due to "force majeure and safety concerns".^[48]

The kidnapping has brought global media attention to the organised crimes and human trafficking in the region.^[49][50] Victims' families would also appeal for the return of their relatives, with at least 1,500 possible victims details collated in a list.^[51][52][53] Rising safety concerns have led to an increase in travel cancellations.^[54][55]

Reactions

Thailand

Thai prime minister, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, said the authorities would take appropriate measures to properly handle the matter and ensure that Thailand's tourism industry was not affected.^[56]

China

On January 7, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China spokesperson, Guo Jiakun pointed out that the Chinese embassies and consulates abroad had received requests for help from the relatives of the parties involved and were in close contact with them. They were actively verifying the situation and carrying out relevant work. China will continue to pay attention to the development of the incident and guide the Chinese embassies and consulates abroad to properly handle the follow-up matters.^[56] On the same day, The Actors Committee of China Federation of Radio and Television Associations [zh] also issued a statement on its WeChat public account platform, stating that it had noticed that "many actors were deceived by suspected fraud organizations to go abroad on the pretext of filming TV dramas and other jobs", resulting in their "personal and property safety being greatly damaged".^[57]

On January 1, Ministry of Public Security spokesperson Zhang Ming stated at a press conference that China would fully launch international law enforcement cooperation and "relentlessly pursue and crack down on" the strongholds of overseas fraud gangs in order to completely destroy these strongholds and to hunt down fugitives involved in major fraud cases.^[57]

On January 11, after Wang Xing returned to China, the Chinese embassy in Thailand published an article reminding Chinese citizens coming to Thailand not to fall for the "high-paying job" trap. It also reminded Chinese citizens entering Thailand that they must apply for the relevant visa in advance if they want to work locally. Chinese citizens who enter Thailand without a work visa are not allowed to engage in [illegal] work or other non-tourism activities in Thailand.^[58]

Notes

1. GMM Grammy is one of Thailand's major entertainment company. However, it was reported that the company does not employ foreign artistes.^[9]
2. Given by Thai sources as Major Maung Win