Paetongtarn Shinawatra pledged to support the wide-ranging war on cross-border gambling in her first visit to China as the prime minister of Thailand.
New Thailand prime minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra agreed to join the longstanding fight against illegal gambling and telecom fraud of Beijing in the PRC or People’s Republic of China.
Paetongtarn met with Chinese president Xi Jinping in Beijing. According to Lin Jian, government spokesperson, the leaders discussed ways to stem the tide of illegal igaming.
Lin told the reporters that Xi and other officials discussed with Paetongtarn ways to enhance the fight against online crime.
He said that China is working with Thailand, Myanmar and neighboring countries to actively conduct bilateral and multilateral cooperation.
Lin said that ending the scourge of online gambling and telecom fraud will protect the safety of people’s life and property and keep the exchange and cooperation between regional countries in order.
Ferdinand Marcos Jr, Philippines president banned offshore gambling operations last July. People refer to this as POGOs. It follows reports of corruption, money laundering and human trafficking.
A new BBC report says similar operations have clustered along the Thai-Myanmar border.
The report states they involve thousands of workers from China, Southeast Asia, Africa and the Indian subcontinent. Those workers toil in walled-off compounds where they defraud people all over the world of their savings.
It also says that some work there willingly, but traffickers abduct others and force them to work. As in the Philippines, those who have escaped have told harrowing stories of torture and beatings.
The ASEAN or Association of Southeast Asian Nations convened to address illegal gaming last January. This exploded during Covid-19 shutdowns.
Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan, Malaysian foreign affairs minister said at the meeting that Beijing had offered to join the fight. Most online gambling operations in Southeast Asia target the Chinese mainland, where gambling is illegal.
