Chinese cancel their holidays in Thailand for fear of being kidnapped

Following the kidnapping of a Chinese actor, the police are investigating two new cases of missing Chinese nationals in Thailand.

See : Thailand rescues Chinese actor kidnapped in Burma, avoiding scandal

Many Chinese travellers planning to visit the kingdom for the Lunar New Year or Chinese New YearA number of companies have expressed their concerns on social networks this week and asked direct questions.

On the Chinese platform Xiaohongshu (Little Red Book), the search "How do I cancel my trip to Thailand? generated more than 380,000 messages on Thursday 9 January.

The fear of being kidnapped in Thailand by call centres in Burma or Cambodia has existed for several years and was exacerbated by a Chinese film released in 2023, No more bets.

However, it was brought to the fore again by a recent incident involving Chinese actor Wang Xing, who went missing after arriving in Thailand on Friday 3 January.

Wang, an actor who was in fact little known in China until his disappearance went viral, went missing after travelling to the kingdom to shoot a film.

Faced with the buzz triggered on Chinese social networks, the Thai authorities took swift action, rescuing Wang from a fraudulent online scam operation in a Myanmar town bordering Thailand on Tuesday 7 January.

Considered to be a victim of human trafficking, Wang appeared disorientated and had been shaved, according to images published by the authorities.

Actor Wang Xing with a newly shaved and slimmed head on his return to Thailand on 7 January 2025.

The incident quickly dampened the enthusiasm of Chinese tourists to travel to Thailand ahead of the Lunar New Year travel rush.

2 other disappearances add to the fear

Chinese model Yang Zeqi was allegedly kidnapped by Burmese criminals in Thailand.

A male model named Yang Zeqi disappeared at the end of December, while a young woman has been missing since Monday 6 January.

But these cases may just be the tip of the iceberg, as we don't know exactly how many travellers go missing in Thailand every year.

The model has been missing since the end of December, but we're only talking about it now, because after the disappearance of actor Wang Xing, which was widely shared on social networks and made headlines in the media, the subject of kidnapping has come to the fore.

General Thatchai Peetaneelabut, Inspector General of the Royal Thai Police Human Trafficking Bureau, said the police were investigating both cases.

Mr Yang reportedly received a WeChat message inviting him to audition for a film, which prompted him to leave Beijing on a flight to Bangkok on 20 December.

He then drove to the Thai-Burmese border.

On 21 December, he sent a message to a friend to say he was sad, before losing contact.

Five days later, he called his mother by video, telling her he was safe before the call ended.

His family noticed a wound near his eye.

She alerted the Chinese police and asked for help from the Chinese embassies in Thailand and Burma.

Now that the case is making headlines in the Chinese media, it is possible that Thailand will succeed in obtaining his release.

As a reminder, nothing has been disclosed about the methods used by Thailand to obtain the release of Chinese actor Wang Xing, but everything suggests that a ransom was paid.

If this is indeed the case, it is likely to shock public opinion, as it only enriches the criminals while leaving the other lesser-known victims in these centres dubbed "hell on earth".

The second case concerns Ms Wu, 21, whose father lodged a complaint with the Thai police on Wednesday 8 January after losing contact with her following her arrival in Thailand on Monday 6 January.

Mr Wu Weidong, the father of a missing Chinese tourist, shows a copy of his daughter's passport to Thai journalists in Bangkok on Wednesday 8 January 2025.

Ms Wu, who was seen travelling with a friend she had met on the internet, was taken from Suvarnabhumi airport to a hotel in Bangkok's Lat Krabang district, before being seen for the last time the following day when she was picked up by a car.

A police source said that these cases are suspected to be the work of human trafficking networks and are similar to the recent disappearance of the Chinese actor.

A real danger for tourists and a serious blow for Thailand

Chinese tourists in Chiang Mai. Photo: oneclearvision

These two new cases are likely to deal a fatal blow to tourism, particularly Chinese tourism, in Thailand.

Asians are the main victims, but call centre criminals also kidnap other nationalities.

Thai travel experts were predicting a 10 to 20 % drop in Chinese tourist arrivals in Thailand following the kidnapping of the actor.

The Thai government thought that the actor's swift release would calm the situation, but it has only served to shed light on new cases, and others could emerge.

Speaking to the press after Wang's rescue on Tuesday, a Thai official was filmed asking the actor to express his willingness to visit Thailand again.

Wang, wearing a black cap to hide his face, complied, declaring in English and Chinese: "Thailand is safe and I will be back."

Thailand is trying to reassure Chinese travellers, who make up the largest number of foreign travellers (6.73 million arrivals in 2024), but they can no longer hide the fact that criminal networks are actually kidnapping Asians in Thailand.

Mainly to supply call centres in Burma and Cambodia.

In November 2024, a group of Chinese tourists travelling to Pattaya were narrowly saved by the Thai border police.

But how many are actually kidnapped?

How many tourists go missing in Thailand every year without making the headlines?

Shawna Li, a Chinese woman from Zhejiang province, had planned to travel to Thailand with three friends for the Spring Festival holiday from 28 January to 4 February, but after learning of Wang's case, they unanimously agreed to cancel their trip.

"We changed our minds for fundamental safety reasons, especially as we are four women travelling together", she explained.

"I've never been to Thailand, which people consider affordable and fun.

I thought it might be a bit dangerous, but not that dangerous."

Thailand will have to fight harder against call centres

Workers trapped in a call centre. Photo: A Long Chuang Dang Ji

As many abduction cases are just considered as disappearances, highlighting these cases can be a good thing for unknown victims.

Now that these cases are seriously threatening tourism, and therefore its economy, Thailand will have to take more serious and tougher action against call centres based in neighbouring countries, mainly Burma and Cambodia.

In addition to foreign travellers, many Thai people are also affected.

In a recent video that has been widely viewed on social networks, a man, later identified as a Thai from Kanchanaburi, is seen falling from the tower of a building in Poipet, Cambodia.

The tower is known to have been used as a call centre and it is not currently known whether the man fell by accident, was thrown, or was trapped in the call centre and to escape torture decided to commit suicide.

(Source: All of Thailand)