China responds to recent arrests of Chinese nationals in Sri Lanka for ‘online scams’

The Chinese Embassy in Colombo says that China is closely following the recent arrests of Chinese nationals in Sri Lanka for suspected online fraud and is supporting Sri Lankan law enforcement agencies in cracking down on them, while ensuring their rights and interests are protected in accordance with the law.

Issuing a statement in this regard, the Chinese Embassy highlighted that these cases not only pose a threat to the property of the two peoples, but also seriously damage China’s image and affect the traditional friendship between the two countries.

Furthermore, the statement mentioned that the Chinese Embassy provides full support to Sri Lankan law enforcement agencies in “resolutely cracking down on suspects while protecting their legitimate rights and interests in accordance with the law.”

The Chinese Embassy in Colombo further said in the statement: “The Telecom and online fraud began to appear in China in the 1990s and has thereafter spread wildly and affected a large number of citizens. The Chinese government adheres to a people-centered approach, continuously explores the path of cracking down on crimes of telecom and online fraud and advances various tasks in depth with unprecedented efforts, which has led to unprecedented historical achievements.” 

“The number of cases solved in China in 2021 was five times that of five years ago. The incidence of such cases in China has declined year on year for 17 consecutive months since June 2021, showing effective curbing of the trend of frequent occurrences.”

“In the world today, crimes of telecom and online fraud are rapidly developing and spreading in various countries and have become a worldwide common danger and a global problem to solve. China has carried out fruitful cooperation with many countries, including Myanmar, Cambodia, and the United Arab Emirates, to combat such fraud in recent years. A great deal criminal gangs were smashed and significant results were achieved, but some criminal groups moved to peripheral countries in Southeast Asia as a result,” it added. 

Additionally, the Chinese Embassy further emphasized that due to Sri Lanka’s advantages in telecommunications infrastructure, geographical location, and friendly relations with China, as well as the public lack of awareness to online fraud, some electronic fraud criminal gangs have moved to Sri Lanka and continue to engage in fraud activities targeting Chinese citizens at home and abroad. 

The Chinese mission in Sri Lanka also said that this is also an important reason for the recent trend of multiple telecom fraud cases in Sri Lanka.

“The Chinese government attaches great importance to this trend, and actively promotes China-Sri Lanka anti-online fraud law enforcement cooperation. In order to effectively crack down on telecom fraud and create a strong deterrent, the Ministry of Public Security of China sent a working group in September, to jointly carry out a special operation with the Sri Lankan police. A large number of criminal suspects were arrested. The repatriation and other work are being steadily advanced. This cooperation has just begun and is far from over”, the statement said.

“In the era of globalization, no country can remain insulated. China and Sri Lanka enjoy a traditional friendship. Cooperation in various fields is very close. Our two countries have always supported each other to bring benefits to our two peoples”, the Chinese Embassy said in the statement.

Furthermore, the statement highlighted that China stands ready to further strengthening law enforcement cooperation with Sri Lanka and taking swift and effective actions to jointly address this problem. 

The Chinese Embassy further stated that China also hopes to gain understanding and support from the Sri Lankan government and people, especially the police and media in this regard.