Chinese actor Wang Xing was rescued after being abducted to a scam call center in Myanmar, sparking continued discussions on telephone fraud crimes in China. A viral video shows that a retired armed police officer named A Quan was also deceived into a scam call center in Myanmar, but when he managed to escape and sought help from the Chinese consulate, he was ignored, leaving him feeling “cold-hearted”.
A Quan, a former elite member of the Shenzhen Armed Police Force, showcased his physical prowess in a video. In 2021, during a trip to Thailand, he was lured by a man with a Fujian accent to the notorious KK scam call center in Myanmar. Despite his confidence in his physical abilities, he couldn’t cross the river outside the center due to his inability to swim.
He mentioned that people who could speak Chinese in the center were the ones sold off, especially Chinese individuals who were seen as walking “money-making machines”, while Africans were not for sale. Therefore, as a Chinese person, it was not easy for him to escape the center.
One day, an opportunity finally arose. As he refused to deceive others and played smart, he was caught and punished by his supervisor and then sold to another scam call center, known as the “last stop”.
Realizing that this was his final chance, during the transport, as night fell, he seized the opportunity to escape from the vehicle and successfully evaded several armed personnel and hunting dogs, seeking refuge in a Burmese man’s factory.
He then sought help from the Chinese consulate in Myanmar through the factory owner’s phone call, only to be told he had “illegally entered” the country, leaving them unable to assist him. Despite being a Chinese citizen, he found the consulate’s indifferent attitude towards his ordeal “heart-wrenching”.
Later, he was discovered by the Burmese Immigration Department, handed over to the police, and sentenced to five years in prison by the court. Even though his family in China spent 500,000 RMB, they couldn’t rescue him. Ultimately, thanks to a foreigner amnesty in Myanmar, he returned to China in 2023.
The video’s circulation on overseas social media platforms sparked debates. Many netizens expressed their experiences, shedding light on the lack of assistance from Chinese embassies in such situations.
Some opinions highlighted the mindset of the Chinese government towards its citizens seeking shelter at embassies abroad. The official stance relayed in 2023 stated that Chinese embassies had no obligation to provide shelter to citizens and emphasized seeking assistance rather than seeking refuge to prevent complicating issues or creating diplomatic disputes.
The revelations sent shockwaves through the online community. A netizen commented, “It basically means ‘Don’t cause trouble for me’.” Another shared a personal account where a friend sought help from the embassy after fleeing a scam call center, only to be sent back and eventually rescued by family funds.
Moreover, recent conversations between the families of two women, who were victims alongside Wang Xing, and Chinese embassy personnel revealed threats of being deemed “illegal immigrants” and engaged in “illegal activities,” potentially facing legal consequences from Burmese authorities. Despite knowing these individuals were victims forced into telephone fraud schemes in Myanmar, embassy officials avoided direct intervention under the guise of “illegal entry” and “illegal work.”
The interactions underscored the challenges faced by Chinese citizens seeking assistance from their embassies abroad in times of crisis and raised concerns over their responses to such issues.