Over the past few years, industrial scam compounds have surged throughout Myanmar, buoyed by the resources of powerful criminal networks, and hidden by the chaos of civil war. Occasional raids have uncovered that these compounds are staffed with hundreds of thousands of trafficked workers, kept there by force. 

China has financially and militarily supported its neighbour Myanmar for years. But now, as Chinese citizens fall prey to scam kidnappers, China has forced a response. Will it be enough to stop the spread of these compounds?

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