BANGKOK – Beijing and Bangkok are trying to stop criminal gangs from China scamming and kidnapping Chinese travelers in Thailand, causing frightened Chinese to cancel their holidays to this tourist-dependent nation, which they increasingly perceive as lawless and dangerous.
“I have instructed security agencies to raise the level of security for tourists,” Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra said in January after two high-profile Chinese disappeared in Thailand and emerged after being trapped in Myanmar. “Tourism is the country’s main source of income. I don’t want it to be affected.”
Scammers even imitated President Donald Trump’s voice in a failed attempt to convince Ms. Paetongtarn to send money to Hong…
