China’s consulate in Chiang Mai, Thailand, has committed to ensuring the safety of Chinese nationals in the country after a Chinese actor reportedly went missing near the Myanmar border.
Late on Sunday, a social media update revealed that Chinese actor Wang Xing, known as Xing Xing, disappeared in the Mae Sot district of northwestern Thailand, close to the border with Myanmar’s Myawaddy, which is known for harboring scam operations.
As of Monday afternoon, the consulate had not received any local police reports from his family.
The consulate explained that relatives of the missing actor had reached out to them on Friday, receiving guidance on how to report a missing person.
The Chinese embassy in Myanmar is looking into the situation, trying to confirm whether Wang has crossed into Myawaddy, reports China Newsweek.
According to a Weibo post by someone claiming to be Wang’s girlfriend, Wang arrived in Bangkok early Friday morning to participate in a film project.
The Weibo post details that someone pretending to be part of the film crew escorted Wang through Thai immigration.
A supposed associate director of the film initially reserved a hotel room for Wang near the airport but later advised him it was too late to stay there and hurried him to the “film site,” according to the Weibo account.
He was driven to Mae Sot, about 500 km from Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport, where he then lost contact, the post stated.
The social media user claimed to have reported the incident to the Shanghai police immediately and reached out to both the Chinese embassy in Bangkok and the consulate in Chiang Mai.
She was advised by both the embassy and consulate to file a report with Mae Sot police, she said.
The post quickly gained traction and was shared by prominent Chinese figures, including rapper Zhang Yixing, actress Jin Chen, and director-actor Dong Chengpeng, also known as Da Peng.
Actor Xu Dajiu recounted being deceived by a “fake film crew” into traveling to Thailand, sharing his story on Sunday and Monday.
In two separate video clips shared on Weibo, Xu recounted how he came across a casting call in a group chat late last year for a drama to be filmed in Thailand. He contacted the advertiser and was informed within four minutes that he had been chosen for the role.
Xu noted that after he refused to surrender his passport, the “crew” canceled his return flight.
“If you are coming to Thailand to work, especially for drama filming, don’t come. They are all fake,” he said, adding that he contacted the real director of the production he was supposed to work on via Instagram and confirmed the advertisement he saw was fabricated.
On December 30, authorities in Wenzhou, eastern China, charged 16 Myanmar nationals with operating fraudulent schemes that prey on Chinese individuals.
According to Procuratorial Daily, a publication of China’s chief prosecutorial office, these scammers from Myanmar enticed Chinese people to cross the border with promises of lucrative employment.
Additionally, the group is implicated in running illegal gambling rings and engaging in human trafficking.
