You might have questions about the title, but it is indeed as dramatic as it sounds. It all started on 6 January when Chinese actor Wang Xing disappeared after travelling to Thailand for filming. His girlfriend posted that the Chinese actor was likely trafficked and sent to one of the “scam labour camps” in neighbouring Myanmar, where Chinese citizens are held captive and forced to work in scam plots.
She appealed online for information because the local police in Shanghai were reluctant to get involved in international cases such as Wang’s. The appeal was widely reposted by actors, including celebrities and those who worked with Wang previously, causing the post to go viral on Weibo, China’s Twitter equivalent. The Chinese and Thai authorities quickly located Wang in Myanmar and rescued the Chinese actor before sending him back to China on 10 January from Bangkok.
Although the incident has been satisfactorily resolved for the parties involved, it understandably caused considerable damage to the reputation of travelling in Thailand, which saw a surge in Chinese visitors after the visa waiver last year. 35.55 million foreign nationals visited Thailand in 2024. China is the largest single source of visitors, as 6.74 million Chinese visitors entered Thailand last year. The Association of Thai Travel Agents estimates that the “Wang Xing incident” could reduce Chinese New Year (CNY) travel to Thailand by 10% to 20%.
On 13 January, the topic “Thailand appeals to Chinese tourists” (#泰国喊话中国游客#) shot to number 1 on the Hot Search list on Weibo with 130 million views. The hashtag refers to a statement from the tourism authority in Thailand, reassuring visitors from China that they will be protected and looked after. However, Chinese netizens are not impressed by the statement, showing that trust is hard to rebuild once broken.
