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#trending: Chinese netizens afraid of Southeast Asia travel after hit movie No More Bets shows human trafficking scams

CHINA — Once a tropical retreat for millions of tourists from China, Southeast Asia seems to have fallen out of favour with Chinese tourists after the release of a blockbuster movie, recent reports showed.

A poster of the Chinese crime thriller No More Bets, which raked in more than 3.8 billion yuan (S$711 million) within six weeks from its release, becoming the third highest grossing film of the year in mainland China.

A poster of the Chinese crime thriller No More Bets, which raked in more than 3.8 billion yuan (S$711 million) within six weeks from its release, becoming the third highest grossing film of the year in mainland China.

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  • Blockbuster Chinese crime thriller No More Bets has fuelled fears of travel to Southeast Asia due to its portrayal of cybercrime in the region
  • The film is based on real events and tells of two Chinese people lured into an online fraud ring in Southeast Asia after accepting job offers
  • Myanmar and Cambodia have recently been in the spotlight for their online fraud-driven human trafficking rings, affecting more than 200,000 victims 
  • Holidaymakers from China expressed negative sentiments in travelling to the region
  • Most were hesitant to visit Southeast Asia, an online poll showed

CHINA — Once a tropical retreat for millions of tourists from China, Southeast Asia seems to have fallen out of favour with Chinese tourists after the release of a blockbuster movie, recent reports showed.

Chinese crime thriller No More Bets, which topped the box office in China since its August release, provides a glimpse into the inner workings of cybercrime in Southeast Asia.

The film, which is directed by Shen Ao and said to be based on real events, tells the harrowing account of two people lured into a violent scam ring in an unnamed Southeast Asian country after accepting lucrative overseas job offers. 

The plot reflects the horrifying inside story of overseas cyberfraud and the human trafficking syndicates that reportedly run online scams ranging from love scams to cryptocurrency investment frauds and online gambling. 

In recent years, there have been numerous reports of hundreds of thousands of victims, notably from China, as well as Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan and the region, who were enslaved in such scam mills that are allegedly operating in countries such as Myanmar and Cambodia, after they were tricked with fake offers of lucrative work.

A report in August by the UN Human Rights office indicated that there are at least 120,000 victims in Myanmar and 100,000 victims in Cambodia trapped in online scam compounds by criminal gangs.

Neighbouring countries such as Laos, the Philippines and Thailand have also been implicated as hubs for human trafficking transit or main destinations for the trafficking of tens of thousands of people. 

NO MORE TRAVELS?

Despite being released in August, No More Bets has already become the third highest grossing film of the year in mainland China and raked in more than 3.8 billion yuan (S$711 million) within six weeks from its release.

The hit movie has also sparking heated online debate among the online community in China about whether it is risky to travel to Southeast Asia.

One Weibo user said: "Watching No More Bets, I was really shocked by the authenticity of the scam, but the reality is far more cruel and unbearable than in the movie."

The Japan Times reported that a recent Weibo poll of more than 50,000 Chinese respondents found that 92 per cent would be hesitant or unwilling to travel to Myanmar, with 5 per cent giving safety concerns as a reason.

A separate poll of Chinese online users found that more than 85 per cent would avoid travelling to Southeast Asia for the same reason.

One Weibo user wrote: "We have been told that there is so much chaos outside, especially with what is happening in northern Myanmar, many people are afraid... If we don't go to Southeast Asia, there will be a lot less overseas travel.”

I want to travel, but I don’t want to die.
A Weibo user

In a Weibo post by Chinese news site Sina asking why people in China are reluctant to travel to Thailand, one online user commented: "I don’t even dare to go to Southeast Asia."

Another said: "I want to travel, but I don’t want to die."

An investigative video on Southeast Asia job scams by state media Xinhua revealed attitudes towards going to Southeast Asia, as one viewer said: “With so much publicity now, why do people still go to the fire pit?”

CAMBODIA, MYANMAR EXPRESS UNHAPPINESS

Chinese tourism to Cambodia plummeted from 2.36 million in 2019 to just 106,000 in 2022. While China's strict "zero Covid" policy played a major role in this sluggish recovery, the "scamdemic" has also had a significant deterrent effect.

Although Cambodia was not specifically mentioned in the hit Chinese film, the Cambodian government has blocked the screening of the film in cinemas

Cambodia’s Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts has also asked the Chinese Embassy on Sept 27 to halt the screening of the film in China, claiming damage to the country’s international reputation, Cambodian news site Khmer Times reported.

The Myanmar government has also expressed unhappiness over the film. 

Myanmar's state newspaper Global New Light of Myanmar reported that Myanmar's Consul-General in Nanning, China, raised concerns with Chinese officials about the film that “tarnishes Myanmar’s image” and “was shot by China and released in China and around the world”.

The blockbuster, along with online rumours, has also scared Chinese tourists away from Thailand, news agency AFP reported.

Talk of tourists being kidnapped and transported away to scamming compounds in neighbouring countries have deterred tourists from China from visiting Thailand.

To boost sluggish tourist numbers, the Thai government announced on Sept 13 temporary visa-free travel for Chinese travellers.

The scheme has proven to be a success, Thailand's Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin said.

Mr Srettha said last Saturday (Sept 30) on X (formally Twitter) that a CNN report showed that Chinese tourists have responded well to the scheme.

Travel bookings from China to Thailand rose 20 times higher compared to the same period last year, travel site Trip.com stated. Trip.com also operates China’s largest travel booking platform Ctrip.

Similar moves were made by Cambodia and Myanmar. 

Cambodia’s Ministry of Tourism launched the "China Ready" programme to improve Chinese-language tourism services in August, while Myanmar signed a memorandum of understanding with China's northeastern province Jilin to strengthen cooperation in mutually promoting tourism destinations in July.

However, efforts to boost tourism in Cambodia and Myanmar have been met with widespread scepticism online, New York-based news site The China Project reported.

Under a video introducing Cambodia’s China Ready programme, a Douyin user said, “If I go, I don’t think I can leave Myanmar physically intact.”

No More Bets, released in cinemas on Sept 14, is showing in Singapore. ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY RUTH YEO.

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