Parents waiting at the Zhenkang County Public Security Bureau

Young people from multiple families were tricked into going to Myanmar

The reporter rushed to the China-Myanmar border to investigate, recording the "waiting on the border"

I was only 10 kilometers away from my child

Reporter Wu Yue Shang Zeyang Text/Photo

Standing in the Thorn Tree Yakou Village in Zhenkang County, Yunnan Province, overlooking the old street market of Kokang Autonomous Region in Myanmar, the buildings are mostly white and there are many buildings. According to the locals, "There are many gambling and telecommunications scams in the old streets opposite, and a large number of high-rise buildings have been built in recent years, and the lights are bright at night, and the prosperity surpasses ours."

Li Chengda (pseudonym) went up the mountain to open the telescope and pulled the focus to the maximum, trying to identify a line of writing on the tall building opposite. Knowing that his child had been lured to Kokang Old Street with a high salary, he arrived from his hometown 5,3000 kilometers away in early May, without a change of clothes.

At this moment, Li Chengda is only the last 10 kilometers away from the mobile phone sent by the child. He is one of the parents in this small border town looking for children.

Knowing Lee Chengda is through asking for help together.

Recently, a group of families whose children were deceived in Myanmar turned to this newspaper for help.

The border areas of Myanmar have long been entrenched in telecommunications network fraud rings, and Chinese have been lured into smuggling into Myanmar and forced to engage in telecommunications fraud.

Their children were also deceived.

From May 5 to 4, our reporter went to Zhenkang County, Lincang City, Yunnan Province, on the border of China and Myanmar, to investigate, and experienced "waiting on the border line" with parents.

Loneliness, help, courage... Gathered on this winding border, they face off in the darkness of the mountain, waiting for a torn life to be stitched, and looking forward to the safe return of the children as soon as possible after the two countries jointly crack down on illegal activities such as online fraud in the border area.

Crying for help: being whipped every day

Some of them had injuries on their backs and arms

"30,10 ransom", the message sent by the child, only a few words, after the mobile phone has been turned off for more than 60 days. This is the third message Li Chengda received. Each time it is a few short words, such as "beaten than on time to eat" and "save"... A few days later, Li Chengda received another text: to leave immediately, he needs a double ransom of <>,<> yuan.

For more than a week, the child did not send any more messages. These days, Li Chengda reads this information many times, always staring at his mobile phone, afraid of missing important news or strange calls.

The child said in the message "borrow money, sell the house to redeem me, I am better off living than dead", which put him in a dilemma - only half of the new house with three floors in the family has been built, but people are not there, what is the point of building a house? To raise money, Mr. Li even borrowed 10,<> yuan from the credit union.

The child mentioned that there were several other victims around him, from Anhui, Sichuan, etc., "some were whipped every day, and their backs and arms were all wounded..." Li Chengda also called the police in his hometown.

On the day he arrived in Zhenkang County, at the gate of the Criminal Investigation Brigade of the Public Security Bureau, Li Chengda met eight families who had arrived from other provinces.

Two of them had just arrived that day. One told Li Chengda that the child disappeared a month ago, and after receiving the distress message and the name and location of the trapped company, he learned that the child had been tricked into Kokang Old Street.

After spending more than ten days in Zhenkang County, Li Chengda found that most of the children trapped in Kokang Old Street who were engaged in telecommunications fraud were around 20 years old, lacked social experience, and were lured by high salaries. ”

The direction facing the telescope is Kokang Old Street, taken in the thorn tree yakou village

View: You can see the old street

But I can't touch my child

On May 5, the reporter accompanied the parents of Xunzi up the mountain, which is only a kilometer above sea level, and the path is winding, and it takes nearly 8 minutes to drive to the natural village of Thorn Tree Yakou Village.

The platform at the top of the mountain is the best place to look out over Kokang Old Street.

Gradually, this mountain top gained popularity among parents looking for children.

"Where can I see Kokang Old Street?" Local villagers are often asked. Roadside vendors say it's common for parents to come looking for their children.

The reporter climbed to the top of the mountain, and the sign showed that the densely packed high-rise building in front of the right was Kokang Old Street. According to public information, Lao Cai, formerly known as "Maliba", is the capital of the Kokang Autonomous Region in northern Shan State of Myanmar, with an area of 2700,15 square kilometers and a population of about 90,<>, <>% of the residents are Kokang, and Chinese is one of the common languages there. The border between the two countries passes between Kokang Old Street and Nanumbrella Town, Zhenkang County.

Li Chengda stood on the top of the mountain with a telescope, his skin dark. He pulled out his phone and asked reporters to help check the exact location and surrounding information of his child.

Li Chengda looked at Kokang Old Street from the top of the mountain, and used a telescope to find the coordinates of the nearby school, "If you find the school, it is not far from my son." ”

Through the telescope, Li Chengda clearly saw the daily scene of the old street: cars were running on the road, and there was a gas station opposite the hospital...

"I can see from such a close distance, but I can't touch the child." At this time, Li Chengda remembered what a parent said to him, and tears welled up in his eyes.

Old Street: Beautiful night view and high prices

Telecom network fraud is powerful

"Mysterious and telecom network fraud" is the first impression parents have of Kokang Old Street. In the past few days, this reporter met a number of locals who had been to Kokang Old Street and Hunan businessmen who went to Kokang Old Street to buy tea in Zhenkang County. From their descriptions, we know more about the old street.

According to the villagers of Thorn Tree Yakou Village, the night view of Kokang Old Street is beautiful, and it can be clearly seen from their mountain.

A number of local residents of Zhenkang County said that it is not easy to go to Kokang Old Street now. "To enter and exit Myanmar, you must apply for the "China-Myanmar Border Area Access Permit", and you must meet the conditions such as having a house, a business license or signing an employment contract for a certain number of years in Zhenkang County."

"What are you doing over there? It is not something that we ordinary people can afford. A gas station employee said.

Expensive consumption is the common impression of locals in Zhenkang County on Kokang Old Street. Boss Cao of Yushun Hotel went to Laojie four or five years ago. He said that at that time, a local bottle of drink sold for 3 yuan, and the old street sold for 15 yuan; potatoes 8 yuan/jin; A baked fish of about one pound is sold for 400 yuan.

Zhang Hua (pseudonym), a Hunan businessman who often goes to Kokang Old Street to buy tea, said that from the outside, Laojie is similar to Zhenkang County, with Chinese shop signs and local people talking about Chinese. "But we can't understand the real Burmese speech."

Zhang Hua introduced that the most prosperous place in Kokang is the new city, where casinos and entertainment venues gather. Some people win money in the casino, and some lose all their money. Now telecom network fraud is even more powerful.

Huddle: Mutual help and cheering

The time of reunion is bound to come

In the message sent by Li Chengda's son, there were strangers' names and mobile phone numbers, which Li Chengda did not recognize, and no one answered several calls. Recently, the reporter dialed the phone and learned that the other party was the mother of a Jiangxi child.

"The child didn't reply to the message for half a month, but I saw that the WeChat avatar had been replaced by a girl's photo." She later joined Li Chengda and others' "Find Children's Parents" group, which already had 133 members at the time.

Group friends shared mutual aid information, such as a new group of friends asked how to call for help, and immediately enthusiastic parents sent the Global Consular Protection and Service Emergency Hotline of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs 01012308, the consular protection telephone number of the Chinese Consulate General in Mandalay 0095-9259172726, as well as how to call the police and reflect the situation. On the morning of May 5, some parents said in the group that they had received three calls from the public security bureau in their hometown, indicating that they "attach great importance to it."

Ms. Liu, the owner of the group, told reporters that like her, the children were deceived into going to Myanmar to engage in telecommunications fraud, and they were anxious to find them: "We ordinary people have limited ability, but we believe in the government and the power of the state." ”

The reporter learned that during this period, parents in Sanhe City, Hebei, Yongning County in Ningxia, Jinghong City in Yunnan and other places left messages on the State Council client to submit requests for help information, and it was strongly recommended to solve the problem of telecommunications fraud in northern Myanmar.

Recently, Li Chengda, who has been waiting at the border for more than 10 days, received the latest news that the Myanmar police have received an investigation warrant and have rushed to the location of the child to conduct a survey and inform him of the situation of the place where the child is trapped.

On May 5, the Chinese Embassy in Myanmar released a message on its WeChat public account that the embassy in Myanmar had rescued a number of Chinese citizens trapped in Myawaddy (required to engage in telecommunications fraud). This gives hope to the families waiting at the border. Li Chengda believes that "the time of reunion will definitely come."

How can a child who is close at hand get home? What's the biggest challenge? This newspaper will continue to pay attention. (Qianjiang Evening News)