Actor Wang Xing signals he is okay as he rides in a car with police officers returning him from Myanmar to Tak province in Thailand on Tuesday. (Police Photo)
SHANGHAI — Many Chinese travellers planning to visit Thailand for the upcoming Lunar New Year have expressed concerns on social media this week and posed blunt questions.
The anxiety has been fuelled by a recent incident involving Chinese actor Wang Xing, who went missing upon arriving in Thailand for work last Friday.
Wang, a relatively unknown actor in China until his disappearance went viral, was reported missing after travelling to the popular tourist destination for a shoot.
Thai authorities took swift action amid high public scrutiny, rescuing Wang from a fraudulent online scam operation in a Myanmar city bordering Thailand on Tuesday. Deemed a victim of human trafficking, Wang appeared disoriented and had been shaved bald, according to images released by authorities.
The incident soon dampened Chinese tourists’ enthusiasm for travelling to the Southeast Asian destination as the annual Lunar New Year travel rush approaches.
On Chinese lifestyle platform Xiaohongshu, or “Little Red Book”, searching “How do I cancel my Thailand trip?” yielded more than 380,000 posts on Thursday.
Shawna Li, a Chinese woman from Zhejiang province, had planned to travel to Thailand with three female friends for the Spring Festival holiday from Jan 28 to Feb 4, but after learning of Wang’s case, they unanimously agreed to cancel their trip.
“We
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