Chinese workers in Philippines deported as Beijing cracks down on online crimes
- China has cancelled the passports of hundreds of overseas Chinese nationals, as it goes after offenders of illegal online gambling, fraud and money laundering
- The rise of Chinese-run gambling centres in the Philippines has resulted in an influx of crimes, including prostitution, murder, kidnapping and corruption
Hundreds of Chinese nationals in the Philippines have had their passports cancelled by Beijing and been deported, and thousands more face the same fate, the Philippine Bureau of Immigration (BI) has said.
China is intensifying its drive against illegal overseas online activities such as fraud and gambling, with the Chinese embassy in Manila saying on the weekend that it had “obtained a list of Chinese nationals suspected of committing long-term telecommunication fraud crimes abroad, who are classified as the persons prohibited from exiting China”.
In a statement on Facebook, the embassy said China would “work closely with the Philippines to combat such crimes as telecommunications fraud, illegal online gambling, money laundering, illegal employment, kidnapping, extortion, torture, murder”.
Dana Sandoval, a BI spokesman, told local media the bureau was checking with the Chinese embassy if mass deportations would follow.
In a senate hearing last week, BI intelligence division chief Fortunato Manahan said that in 2019, Beijing cancelled the passports of 800 Chinese nationals, turning them into fugitives who were then arrested by Philippine authorities.