China working with Thailand, Myanmar to block crimes of online gambling, telecom fraud: spokesperson

BEIJING, Feb. 17 (Xinhua) -- China is actively engaging in bilateral and multilateral cooperation with Thailand, Myanmar and other countries to effectively prevent lawbreakers from crossing borders to commit crimes and end the scourge of online gambling and telecom fraud, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said Monday.

The recent string of online gambling, telecom fraud and other vicious cases along the Thailand-Myanmar border has threatened the safety of people's lives and property from relevant countries, including China and Thailand, and disrupted the normal exchange and cooperation between regional countries, Guo said, adding that cracking down on such crimes is a clear demonstration of how China implements its people-centered philosophy, and a must choice to safeguard the common interests of regional countries.

"China is actively working with countries like Thailand and Myanmar to actively conduct bilateral and multilateral cooperation, adopt a series of policies, address symptoms and root causes of the issue, prevent lawbreakers from crossing borders to commit crimes, and end the scourge of online gambling and telecom fraud to protect the safety of people’s lives and property and keep the exchange and cooperation between regional countries in order," Guo said.

He added that the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs will continue to work with relevant departments to guide embassies and consulates abroad in appropriately handling related consular assistance cases and make joint efforts to ensure the safety and legal rights of Chinese citizens overseas.