HANNAH BEECH2025年2月28日从边境的泰国一侧能看到缅甸电诈园区里的一栋新建大楼，摄于今年2月。虽然一项多国努力已帮助解救了数千名被迫在这些电诈园区工作的人，但电诈园区的数量仍在不断增长。 Lauren DeCicca for The New York TimesThere are usually no international flights out of the airport in Mae Sot, a town on Thailand’s border with Myanmar. But in recent days, hundreds of people here boarded direct flights back home to China. They had been rescued from Myanmar, where they were ensnared in a 21st-century scourge — online scam mills that have used forced labor to bilk tens of billions of dollars out of victims worldwide.通常，从泰缅交界处的湄索机场起飞的没有国际航班。但最近几天，有数百人从这里登上了直飞中国的包机。他们是从缅甸被解救出来的，在那里，他们曾经身陷一个21世纪的祸圈，被迫在使用强迫劳动从世界各地的受害者身上骗取数百亿美元的网络诈骗工厂里工作。The chartered flights were part of a multinational effort that followed the trafficking last month of a Chinese actor to work in a fraud center, which scared off Chinese tourists from visiting Thailand. The rescue missions, coordinated by officials in Thailand, Myanmar and China, were pitched as a body blow to this industry of grift.这些直飞中国的包机是一项多国行动的一部分。那之前，一名中国演员在上个月被贩卖到一个电诈园区，这件事吓坏了中国游客，他们不再敢去泰国旅游。这次由泰国、缅甸以及中国官员协调展开的救援行动，被宣传为对该诈骗行业的沉重打击。But even as the planes headed north, construction workers in these scam centers — modern tower blocks within sight of the Thai side of the frontier — continued to weld and hammer into the night, brazenly building new warehouses dedicated to crime. Fraudsters confined to rooms with barred windows kept cajoling money out of lonely hearts and eager investors in the United States, China and beyond.从泰国一侧，可以看见这些园区里的现代化高楼。但就在包机向北飞行的时候，电诈园区里的建筑工人们仍在夜以继日地焊接和敲打，肆无忌惮地建造专门从事网络犯罪的新仓库。被关在窗户装有铁栅栏的房间里的施骗者继续从美国、中国以及其他国家那些孤独的人和急于赚钱的投资者那里骗取钱财。Following a military coup in Myanmar in 2021 and an ensuing civil war, the country’s border with Thailand has exploded into one of the most lawless and lucrative places on earth. Chinese criminal syndicates have moved in, making deals with rival factions to turn rainforests into high-rise settlements dedicated to online fraud.2021年缅甸发生军事政变并爆发内战后，该国与泰国接壤的边境地区迅速成为地球上最无法无天、最有利可图的地方之一。中国的犯罪集团已搬进该地区，与敌对派系达成协议，将雨林变成了专门用于电信诈骗的高楼定居点。With the Thai government failing to intervene forcefully, Chinese gangsters and militia commanders from Myanmar have smuggled tens of thousands of people across the riverine frontier to labor in these hubs of criminality, according to the United Nations. Thailand has also supplied the electricity and internet for the fraud centers, and served as a conduit for construction materials, instruments of torture and even the odd Lamborghini.据联合国说，由于泰国政府未能进行强有力地干预，来自缅甸的中国黑帮和民兵指挥官们已将数万人拐卖到界河附近的边境地区，被迫在这些犯罪中心劳动。泰国还为电诈园区提供电力和互联网，并充当了建筑材料、酷刑工具的中转地，甚至偶尔还包括兰博基尼。人们从泰国进入缅甸的一个地区时需要穿过这条浅河，一个电诈园区就设在该地区。The raids this month were the latest offensive against the scam centers and freed thousands of people who were scammed into becoming scammers themselves. Often lured by false promises of good-paying jobs in I.T., engineering or customer service, citizens of at least 40 nations have been forced by Chinese criminals to engage in crypto-fraud, online dating deception, TikTok shopping swindles, WhatsApp real estate dodges, Instagram deep fakes and Facebook trickery.本月的突袭是针对这些电诈园区的一次最新行动，解救了数千名被骗来后成为骗子的人。至少有40个国家的公民被中国犯罪分子以信息技术、工程或客户服务行业高薪工作的虚假承诺所诱骗，参与加密货币诈骗、在线约会骗局、TikTok购物欺诈、WhatsApp房地产欺诈、Instagram深度伪造，以及Facebook欺诈等犯罪活动。Confined to these compounds, the scammers, many of whom are Chinese, have been beaten, subjected to electric shock and tied up for hours in a pose that mimics crucifixion, people who were witnesses to or victims of the abuse said. Another form of torture involves crawling on gravel, until knees and hands bleed.被骗来的诈骗者被关在这些建筑群里，其中许多人是中国人，他们遭到殴打、电击，还有人被以类似耶稣钉在十字架上的姿势绑起来长达数小时。另一种酷刑是被迫在砾石上爬行，直到膝盖和双手流出血来。Unfinished Business未做完的生意Marking the successful rescue operations last week, Chinese, Thai and Myanmar officials held hands and celebrated what they called a unified vanquishing of transnational crime. A raid in Cambodia, another hotbed of cybercrime, freed others, too. 上周成功的救援行动标志着中国、泰国和缅甸官员携手庆祝他们所称的对跨国犯罪的统一打击。在柬埔寨进行的突袭行动也解救了一些人，柬埔寨是网络犯罪另一个温床。“Several scam sites have been eradicated and a large group of suspects arrested,” Guo Jiakun, a spokesman for the Chinese foreign ministry, said on Friday, noting the “strong steps taken by Thailand and Myanmar to dismantle the scam gangs and protect the life and property of citizens from China and other countries.”“多个电诈窝点被铲除，大批嫌犯落网，”中国外交部发言人郭嘉昆上周五说。他特别提到“泰方和缅方采取强有力措施摧毁电诈团伙、维护中国及各国公民生命财产安全”。But such self-congratulation is premature, according to interviews with about two dozen people, some who have worked or are currently working in the scam centers and others who serve in national and militia bureaucracies that aid or profit from the cyberfraud industry.但据时报对20多个人的采访，这种自我祝贺还为时过早。接受采访的人中有些曾经在电诈园区工作，有些现在仍在那里工作，还有些人则在为网络诈骗行业提供帮助或者从中获利的政府和民兵部门任职。Thousands of individuals who were supposedly rescued from the scam warehouses this month are still stranded between the hell of forced labor in Myanmar and the promise of freedom in Thailand. Tens of thousands more remain imprisoned in the fraud factories.据称本月从电诈中心解救出来的数千人仍处于被困状态，虽然他们逃脱了缅甸强迫劳动的地狱，但泰国许诺给他们的自由尚未兑现。还有数万人仍关在电诈园区。曾在电诈园区工作的人登上了从泰国湄索出发的航班返回中国，摄于今年2月。“Business is normal,” said Ma Mi, a Myanmar national who toils in one of the online crime hubs. She spoke by phone and said that, like many Myanmar citizens there, she was working voluntarily.“生意仍正常进行，”在其中一个网络犯罪中心工作的缅甸人玛米（音）说。她在电话里说道，与那里的许多缅甸公民一样，她是自愿在那里工作的。And none of the major players orchestrating this international criminal network, which spans dozens of countries and operates with a Chinese nerve center, have been taken down in the current campaign. The arrest in 2022 of a Chinese-born kingpin, who is now in a Thai prison fighting extradition to China, did not slow construction in the scam towns he is accused of having run.在这个跨越数十个国家、以中国为控制中心的国际犯罪网络中，没有一个主要的策划者被抓获。2022年，一名中国出生的电诈主犯被逮捕，他目前在泰国的监狱中，并在努力争取不被引渡到中国，但他的被捕并没有放慢他被指控经营的电诈园区的建设。“Addressing human trafficking and online scam operations requires more than reactive law enforcement measures,” wrote Saw Kapi, the founding director of the Salween Institute for Public Policy, which focuses on the region where the scam centers are proliferating, on Feb. 21. “It necessitates confronting the root causes — failure in governance, corruption, and the entanglement of organized crime with political and economic interests.”“解决人口贩运和网络诈骗的行动需要的不只是被动的执法，”萨尔温公共政策研究所的创始主任苏卡皮（音）今年2月21日写道。该研究所专门研究这个诈骗中心激增的地区。“解决这个问题必须面对根本的原因——治理失败、腐败，以及有组织犯罪与政治和经济利益的纠缠。”On Saturday evening, as Thai police set up checkpoints near the border with Myanmar, one trafficker said that a group of Chinese scammers was moved from one large cybercrime compound to a smaller one, via Thailand, because roads in Myanmar do not yet connect the crime settlements. The scammers, the trafficker said, splashed across the river, which is low because it is the dry season.上周六晚，在泰国警方在缅甸边境附近设立检查站的时候，一名人口贩子说，一群中国骗子已从一个大的网络犯罪园区途经泰国转移到了一个更小的园区，因为缅甸的道路尚未将这些犯罪定居点连接起来。这名人口贩子说，骗子们涉水过的河，因为正值旱季，河水不深。瑙班（音）曾帮助过越过边境进入泰国的人，她说她看到一些人脸上有伤疤。Naw Pann, who has facilitated other nighttime border crossings and who is being identified by only part of her name for her safety, said that human trafficking from Thailand to Myanmar is continuing, despite the supposed crackdown. Because she does not speak Mandarin or other foreign languages, she said, she motions to the victims to keep quiet, raising her index finger to her mouth. Some of the people who have crossed in recent days, she said, have had wounds on their faces and bandages on their legs.瑙班（音）曾帮助过其他夜里过境的人，出于安全考虑，本文没有给出她的全名。她说，尽管有所谓的打击，但从泰国到缅甸的人口贩运仍在继续。她说，因为自己不会说普通话或其他外语，所以她示意受害者保持安静时，用的是将食指放在嘴巴上的手势。她说，最近几天过境的一些人脸上有伤，腿上缠着绷带。“I feel pity for them,” she said. “But I can’t do anything to help them.”“我很同情他们，”她说。“但我帮不了他们什么忙。”Ko Min, a member of an armed group in Myanmar that has a stake in one of the largest crime cities, said he witnessed four or five Chinese men beating and shocking with an electric prod another Chinese man curled into the fetal position on the floor. The room was filled with rows of workers sitting in front of desktop computers, he said. They knew not to look at him or at the abusers, he said.缅甸一个武装团体的成员高敏（音）在缅甸最大的电诈园区之一拥有股份，他说亲眼看到四五名中国男子用电棍殴打、电击一名中国男子，被打者像胎儿一样蜷缩在地上。他说，房间里到处都是工作人员，他们坐在台式电脑前。他们知道不要看他、不要看施虐者。曾在边境的电诈园区巡逻的高敏（音）曾经目睹了一名中国男子在满是工作人员的房间里遭到殴打。“我永远不会忘记房间里人们的恐惧，”他说。“I’ll never forget the terror of the people in the room,” he said. “It was like watching an animal being tortured.”“我永远不会忘记房间里人们的恐惧，”他说。“就像看着一只动物被折磨那样。”A Visit to Beijing北京之行In January, the open secret of scam centers on this stretch of border — highly visible, highly electrified — jolted the public consciousness with the disappearance of Wang Xing, the Chinese actor. Although he was quickly freed from a scam park in Myanmar, public outrage percolated in China, and Chinese tourists canceled holidays in Thailand.这片位于边境地区的电诈园区灯火通明、非常显眼，早已是公开的秘密。今年1月，由于中国演员王星的失踪，公众为之震惊。尽管王星很快就从缅甸的一个电诈园区获得解救，但公众的愤怒在中国逐渐传开，中国游客们取消了去泰国度假的行程。Early this month, Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra of Thailand visited Beijing, where she promised China’s leader, Xi Jinping, that her government was cracking down. Before her trip, Thailand announced that it had shut off electricity to the other side of the border, something it had done briefly in 2023 as well. China’s vice minister of public security came to inspect the border zone.本月初，泰国总理佩通坦·钦那瓦访问了北京，她向中国领导人习近平承诺，她的政府将严厉打击这些犯罪活动。在她访问北京之前，泰国宣布已切断边境另一侧的电力供应，泰国也曾在2023年短暂地切断过电力供应。当时，中国公安部副部长曾来这个边境地区视察。Leaders of ethnic minority militias in Myanmar that control areas near the Thai border and lease land to Chinese companies sought to deny culpability. These armed groups, some aligned with the junta and some fighting it, help provide the muscle that keeps fear thrumming in the fraud hubs, witnesses and trafficked employees said. The militias have also been implicated in other illicit trades, from drugs and gems to wildlife and timber.控制泰国边境附近地区、向中国公司出租土地的缅甸少数民族民兵组织的领导人试图否认他们负有责任。见证者和被拐骗来的员工说，这些武装团体有些与军政府结盟，有些与军政府打仗，它们帮助提供了让恐惧氛围在电诈园区不断蔓延的武力。这些民兵组织还涉嫌从事其他非法贸易，从毒品、宝石到野生动物和木材。Gen. Saw San Aung, the chief of staff of the Democratic Karen Benevolent Army, a rebel group, said that he only became aware of the scam centers operating in his territory after some troubling photographs circulated online this year. But he cautioned against believing all images of scam center workers who exhibit signs of physical abuse.反政府武装民主克伦仁爱军参谋长苏山昂将军说，他只是今年看到网上流传的一些令人不安的照片后才意识到，有电诈园区在他管辖的土地上运营。但他警告说，不要相信所有在电园区工作的人展示的身体受虐待的照片。高敏展示电诈园区的内部照片。“They harmed themselves and accused their employers of torture,” General Saw San Aung said. “If the employers had tortured them, it’s unclear how they managed to take and share photos of their injuries.”“他们自伤，然后指责雇主虐待他们，”苏山昂说。“如果雇主真虐待了他们，不清楚他们是如何设法拍下他们受伤的照片并发到网上分享的。”Even if the militias knew that something nefarious was going on, said a spokesman for another militia, they were coerced into staying silent by larger powers that profited from the criminal activity.另一个民兵组织的发言人说，尽管民兵们知道正在发生一些罪恶活动，但他们在更强大的、从犯罪活动中获利的势力强迫下保持沉默。“We didn’t conduct these raids because of pressure from China,” said Lt. Col. Naing Maung Zaw of the Karen Border Guard Force, which holds more turf along the border. “We acted because reports mentioned that foreigners were being held against their will and abused.”“我们不是迫于中国的压力才进行这些突袭的，”克伦边防卫队中校奈孟佐（音）说，该部队在边境地区占据了更多的地盘。“我们采取行动是因为，有报道称外国人被强行关押并受到虐待。”A Torture Chamber酷刑室Since Feb. 20, hundreds of Chinese released from the scam centers have been airlifted home; Chinese state media labeled the first batch criminal suspects. Another 260 people, many African, made it to Thailand in mid-February and are awaiting repatriation. But just across the border in Myanmar, about 7,000 people who were taken from the crime compounds are now stuck in a purgatory, sheltering in hangars in militia territory and awaiting permission to enter Thailand, aid groups say.自今年2月20日以来，数百名从电诈园区解救出来的中国人已乘包机回国；中国官方媒体把第一批回国的人称为犯罪嫌疑人。另有260人（其中许多是非洲人）已于2月中旬抵达泰国，正在等待遣返。但就在边境对面的缅甸，约有7000名被从犯罪场所解救出来的人现在处于受困的状态，援助组织说，他们躲在民兵控制区的飞机库里，等待进入泰国的许可。从泰国边境远眺缅甸电诈园区，摄于今年2月。该地区已变得戒备森严，泰国在那里设立了多个军事检查站，还张贴了警告人们不要被引诱去从事非法网络劳动的标志。“We’re looking at a humanitarian crisis, with people running out of food, diseases breaking out,” said Amy Miller, the Southeast Asia director of Acts of Mercy International, which helps trafficked individuals who were forced to work in the scam centers. “In one place, there are two toilets for 400 people.”“我们正在面临一场人道主义危机，大家的食物即将耗尽，疾病正在暴发，”国际仁慈行动东南亚主任艾米·米勒说，该组织帮助被迫在电诈园区工作的被贩运者。“在一个地方，每400人只有两个厕所。”The Thai authorities have said that foreign embassies need to help with repatriation efforts. While most of the people stranded in Myanmar are Chinese, there are victims from 27 other countries, including Zimbabwe, Liberia and Malawi, Ms. Miller said. Many African nations do not have embassies in Thailand.泰国当局已表示，需要外国大使馆来帮助遣返工作。米勒说，虽然被困在缅甸的大多数人是中国人，但也有来自津巴布韦、利比里亚、马拉维等27个国家的受害者。许多非洲国家在泰国没有大使馆。Fisher, a 27-year-old Ethiopian who is being identified by a nickname, was trafficked to a scam center in Myanmar’s borderlands. In a torture chamber, he was bound and beaten. Electric shocks made his body convulse.现年27岁的埃塞俄比亚人费舍尔被贩卖到缅甸边境地区的一个电诈园区，费舍尔是他的绰号。他曾在酷刑室里被捆绑殴打。电击使他全身痉挛。In mid-February, Mr. Fisher was rescued and moved to Thailand.今年2月中旬，费舍尔被营救出来，并被转移到了泰国。“It was like a nightmare,” he said of his eight-month ordeal. “But I woke up, and it was real.”“那像是一场噩梦，”他谈到自己遭受了八个月的折磨时说道。“但我醒来后知道那不是梦。”Selam Gebrekidan自香港对本文有报道贡献，Li You自北京对本文有研究贡献。Hannah Beech是《纽约时报》记者，常驻曼谷。她报道亚洲新闻超过25年，主要报道深度和调查新闻。点击查看更多关于她的信息。翻译：纽约时报中文网点击查看本文英文版。获取更多RSS：https://feedx.net https://feedx.site