300 Chinese Nationals Sent Back from Myanmar to Their Country via Thailand's Efforts
Bangkok, February 21, 2025: Myanmar sent 300 Chinese nationals back to their home country via Thailand on Friday as authorities ramped up their crackdown on illegal scam centers. Thousands of foreigners are expected to be sent back from Myanmar in the coming weeks, with the first batch already sent on Thursday.
These scam centers are run by criminal gangs, and most of the workers are foreigners who claim to have been trafficked and forced to swindle people around the world through internet scams over extended periods.
Myanmar’s junta said in a statement that the second batch of 300 Chinese nationals was sent via the Thailand-Myanmar Friendship Bridge 2, located in the border town of Mae Sot in Thailand.
The statement further mentioned that the junta is working to "identify, arrest, and take action against foreigners involved in online scam centers."
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun welcomed the "thunder-style cooperation" between China, Myanmar, and Thailand, stating, "China and various countries are firmly determined to fight international online gambling and telecom fraud and are prepared to protect the lives and legitimate rights of Chinese citizens."
Live footage from Thai media outlet 'The Reporters' showed people disembarking from multiple double-decker buses and boarding a Southern China Airlines flight, a scene similar to what was captured by AFP journalists on Thursday.
Many of the freed Chinese nationals claim they were deceived into working at the scam centers and were held against their will. However, the Chinese government and state media have labeled them all as "suspects."
Chinese police officers accompanied the repatriation flights, and a state TV report on Thursday showed the returning citizens, handcuffed and dressed in brown jumpsuits, being escorted off the plane, each with a police officer on each arm.
The Thai government announced on Thursday that biometric data would be collected from the repatriated Chinese nationals to prevent "Thailand from being used as a criminal transit hub in the future."
On Thursday, Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra met with the Prime Minister of Laos to discuss joint efforts to combat scam centers along their shared border.
