In January of this year, Chinese actor Wang Xing went viral after being kidnapped in Thailand having travelled for what he thought was a job opportunity, only to be rescued after his girlfriend made a post begging for the authorities to help. After a 4 day ordeal, Wang made a dramatic TV appearance alongside Thai police, with his head shaved but otherwise seemingly unscathed.

Wang’s case shed light on an issue that had been getting little coverage in the national press. To date, over 3,000 Chinese nationals are being held in scam compounds in Southeast Asian nations like Cambodia and Laos, many of them run by other Chinese nationals. What caused the rise of these scam centres? How do they target Chinese white collar workers? Why is the Chinese government not doing anything to shut these operations down?

Let's explore the world of sprawling forced labour compounds in Southeast Asia, their ties to local governments and police, and how they're getting rich in crypto scams targeting pensioners in pig-butchering schemes around the world.

Chapters 
(00:00) Introduction
(04:00) The rise of scams around the world
(06:09) SE Asian scam centres and their targets
(21:45) The rise of the scam centres and pig-butchering scams
(33:00) No justice, no peace of mind

Latest Substack post: https://sinobabble.substack.com/p/i-asked-4-china-experts-4-questions?r=bgkuv

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