Shocking news about missing Chinese tourist in Thailand, biological father present to rescue

A Chinese man named Weidong went to Thailand to search for his 21-year-old daughter after she mysteriously disappeared. On January 13, he announced that his daughter had been rescued and returned to China safely.

Weidong expressed gratitude to Thai officials for their assistance in tracking her down and ensuring her safety. This event shocked Thai tourism, attracting great public attention about the security situation because of the previous case of a missing Chinese actress.

Previously, Mr. Weidong feared that his daughter might become a victi.m of human traffickers like actress Wang Xing, so he officially sent a request for help to the national police chief - General Kittirat Phanpet at the Royal Thai Police headquarters on January 8, according to Khaosod.

A Thai police investigation found that Ms Jiaqi, a recent university graduate and travelling abroad for the first time, was accompanied by a friend she had met on social media – whom her family had never met – and was lured in a similar way to Chinese actress Wang Xing, who was previously rescued from Myanmar.

After landing in Thailand at around 4 a.m. on January 6, she contacted her mother via WeChat, sharing her location and plans to stay in the Don Mueang area.

When her mother warned her about the dangers of traveling to Myanmar, Jiaqi replied, “I’m not stupid,” and reassured her, “I wouldn’t dare go to Myanmar.” She continued to contact her family throughout the morning, but abruptly stopped at 4 p.m. After 24 hours of silence, her father flew to Thailand.

An examination of CCTV footage showed a white Toyota Alphard picking Jiaqi up at Suvarnabhumi Airport and taking her to a hotel – not in Don Mueang but in the Lat Krabang area. Hotel records showed she checked in at 5am and checked out just four hours later – at 9am.

Police reviewed CCTV footage from the Lat Krabang hotel to track her movements after checking out. They eventually found her in the same location as actress Wang Xing and rescued her from the notoriously dangerous area.

In an article, Bloomberg commented that the recent high-profile arrest of a Chinese actor in Thailand has reduced the country's appeal to tourists just weeks before the biggest annual holiday for some countries in the region - Lunar New Year.

Many Chinese tourists are choosing to stay away from Thailand during the eight-day Lunar New Year holiday, which begins on January 29, due to safety concerns. Flight cancellations from China to Thailand jumped 155% over the weekend compared to the same period in 2024, according to data from travel analytics firm ForwardKeys.

The cancellation was prompted by the disappearance of Chinese actor Wang Xing in a Thai town bordering Myanmar in early January. He was later rescued by Thai police from a human trafficking centre where he had been lured by human traffickers.

News of his plight spread on social media, with some people saying they were cancelling plans to visit the country.

Hong Kong singer Eason Chan has canceled a sold-out concert in Bangkok originally scheduled for February 22, citing safety concerns for Chinese fans traveling to Thailand. Comedian Zhao Benshan has also postponed a performance in Bangkok on the same day.

Thanet Supornsahasrungsi, head of the tourism association in Chonburi province, south of Bangkok, said 30% to 40% of Chinese tour groups had canceled hotel reservations in the area. While the impact may be short-lived, the incident has dealt another blow to the Chinese tourism industry in Thailand.

On the Xiaohongshu platform on January 9, the search for "How to cancel a trip to Thailand?" yielded 380,000 posts.

After learning about the incident of actress Wong Jing, Shawna Li (living in Zhejiang province) and three other friends canceled their trip to Thailand from January 28 to February 4.

"We changed our mind because of safety concerns, especially as four women traveling together. I had never been to Thailand, which everyone said was affordable and fun. I thought it might be a little unsafe, but not to this extent," Ms. Li shared.