Tightening the squeeze on telecom fraudsters

Thai media outlets reported on Tuesday that the Thai prime minister will visit China early next month to strengthen bilateral relations and rebuild Chinese tourists' trust in Thailand's safety as a tourist destination after a series of telecom scams were exposed.

The criminal activities that include human trafficking, drug trafficking and kidnapping and extortion have the characteristics of "mafia + high technology + industrialization + cross-border". It is thus necessary for the countries from which the gangs operate to work together with the Chinese mainland authorities in good faith so as to rid the region of the scourge.

China is willing to strengthen bilateral and multilateral law enforcement cooperation with Southeast Asian countries to create a safe environment for people of all countries to travel with peace of mind, and maintain the good order of exchanges and cooperation with neighboring countries, including normal tourism and cultural activities.

To that end, relevant countries should make every effort to work with China to rescue the people held by these gangs, severely punish those involved in criminal activities in accordance with the law, strengthen border control and supervision of key areas, establish a long-term law enforcement mechanism to counter such crimes, and eradicate the breeding ground for cross-border crime.

A meeting involving relevant officials from China, Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam was also convened in Kunming, capital of Yunnan province, on Tuesday, with the countries agreeing to work together to arrest the leaders of criminal syndicates, dismantle telecom fraud centers, and "make every effort" to coordinate the rescue of those trapped. Both the Thai and Myanmar ambassadors to China met with senior Foreign Ministry officials in separate meetings in Beijing on Wednesday vowing their shared resolve to address the issue.

All the signs indicate that the region is brewing another storm targeting the telecom fraud network after Foreign Minister Wang Yi pledged zero-tolerance to the issue last week.

It is to be hoped the Southeast Asian countries can realize the harm done by the gangs even if most of the victims are not their own nationals. They are not doing a favor to China by taking part in these joint actions, but safeguarding their own interests by doing so. There needs to be a long-term work mechanism to prevent the gangs from popping up again after the law-enforcement storm ends. Since 2023, Myanmar has deported 53,388 Chinese nationals involved in online fraud, the country's embassy in Beijing said on Tuesday.

No country will benefit from the region becoming an international telecom fraud center. The jobs and tax revenue these fraudsters create for localities all have expensive price tags on them that the local communities will have to pay in different forms in the future.

- Li Yang, China Daily