Sold 3 times in 4 days: New details emerge of Chinese actor Wang Xing’s ordeal in Myanmar scam hubs
A new Chinese state documentary has also revealed how Beijing made three unsuccessful attempts to persuade powerful crime families in northern Myanmar to shut down their scam operations.
Alleged scam centre workers and victims rest during a crackdown operation by the Karen Border Guard Force on illicit activity, at the border checkpoint with Thailand in Myanmar’s eastern Myawaddy township, on Feb 23, 2025. (Photo: AFP/STR)
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BEIJING: Chinese actor Wang Xing was sold three times in four days after being trafficked into Myanmar last year, a new Chinese state documentary has revealed, as it detailed Beijing’s efforts to dismantle sprawling scam operations along the country’s borders.
The documentary also revealed that Chinese authorities had made three unsuccessful attempts to persuade powerful crime families in northern Myanmar to cease their activities, before a sweeping crackdown in 2023.
Titled “The Demise of Telecom Fraud in Northern Myanmar”, the three-part series was aired by state broadcaster CCTV from Monday (Oct 5) to Wednesday. It was jointly produced by the Ministry of Public Security and China Media Group.
Beijing has led an international pressure campaign to crack down on scam hubs operating in Myanmar and other countries in Southeast Asia – prosecuting and even executing members of syndicates accused of luring Chinese citizens overseas and selling them to scam compounds.
SOLD THREE TIMES IN FOUR DAYS
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The documentary sheds new light on Wang’s ordeal. He was lured to Thailand by a fake acting job before being abducted and taken to the Myanmar border town of Myawaddy.
Also known by his stage name Xing Xing, the actor has appeared in several Chinese TV dramas and played supporting roles in films including Ip Man 3. His disappearance in 2025 attracted widespread attention in China and Thailand.
In late 2024, Wang came across a casting call posted in a WeChat group by a user named “Yan Shiliu”, who claimed to be an assistant director looking for actors.
After submitting an audition video, Wang was quickly told he had been selected.
Yan arranged a round-trip flight from Shanghai to Bangkok and hotel accommodation, lending credibility to the purported production, the documentary said.
When Wang arrived at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport on Jan 2, 2025, he was picked up by a driver arranged by Yan.
But instead of being driven to his booked hotel in Phuket, Wang was told his accommodation had changed. He was instead driven north towards the city of Mae Sot, near the Myanmar border.
After switching cars near a supermarket, he began to suspect that something was wrong and sent his girlfriend a message: “Have you fed the cat?” – a prearranged distress signal between the couple.
His girlfriend quickly reported him missing. Wang was subsequently abducted by armed men and smuggled across the border into Myanmar, where he lost contact with the outside world.
According to the documentary, China’s Ministry of Public Security contacted authorities in Thailand and Myanmar to coordinate efforts to locate Wang.
A joint team eventually found him and discovered that he had been sold three times in just four days, the documentary said.
While held captive in Myawaddy, Wang had tried to buy his freedom, but his captors rejected the offer – telling him they were short of people, not money.
Chinese and Thai police later traced the case to a cross-border human trafficking network and arrested 17 suspects, according to the documentary. Yan was among those arrested.
After the documentary aired, Wang wrote on Weibo on Oct 7 that he was “deeply grateful to the motherland” and expressed his thanks to authorities.
FAILED TALKS WITH SCAM FAMILIES
The documentary also revealed for the first time that Chinese authorities had made three unsuccessful attempts to persuade powerful families in Kokang, a region in northern Myanmar, to shut down their scam operations.
It identified four families – the Bai, Wei, Liu and Ming clans – as having built extensive political, business and armed networks.
During one meeting, representatives of the four families and a Chinese delegation held talks for three hours in a small, makeshift structure on the Myanmar side of the border, but failed to reach an agreement.
In a recorded confession featured in the documentary, a member of the Bai family who was executed in February said Chinese officials had demanded that scam activities be dismantled completely.
The series also showed footage from inside a scam compound, where underperforming workers reportedly faced execution by firing squad in basement chambers.
China’s top court said earlier this year that the Ming and Bai criminal syndicates had been “completely dismantled”, with 16 people sentenced to death.
It added that more than 41,000 people repatriated from northern Myanmar had been sentenced for their involvement in telecom fraud.
Source: CNA/ht(ws)
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