A video began circulating on Myanmar social media circles last month. It depicted a man, who called himself Bi Huijun, issuing a stark warning to his family from what looked like a padded cell.

Myanmar’s military has long ignored Beijing’s calls to tackle [scam] industry siphoning billions. But as rebel groups, with ties to China, in October started an operation to eject the junta from the border region, Beijing swung into action.

Beijing will allow the rebel groups to take over the zone, then pressure both sides to accept the status quo, Horsey predicted. Myanmar’s ruling junta said this month that China is helping broker discussions…

For President Xi, demonstrating that his government will shutdown scams that impoverish ordinary people is crucial. The Communist Party’s contract with citizens for decades has been reduced political freedoms…