Oct. 25, 2023

Myanmar Junta Angry at China over Controversial Movie Blockbuster

Myanmar’s junta has expressed its displeasure with China over the release of a blockbuster film, No More Bets, that depicts human trafficking and fraudulent schemes that is similar to the situation of the country’s lawless northern reaches. The film has reportedly “tarnished” Myanmar’s reputation, and the junta’s consul-general in southwest China’s Nanning has raised concerns about the “storylines related to Myanmar” and reports that Chinese nationals are worried about visiting Myanmar. By: Wee

Distributed by Niu Vision Media

No More Bets is a Chinese film inspired by true events portraying a computer programmer being trafficked to an unrevealed nation in Southeast Asia where they become entangled in the fraudulent organisation. Though the film did not explicitly state the country, however, both Myanmar and Cambodia have raised their concerns regarding the content as they will impact their countries negatively.

Despite the controversies surrounding the show, the film has been propelled to fame as evidently from the $547 million revenue upon release in one month. It has risen to claim the title as the second-highest grossing Chinese film of the year. The film has broken record for earning $88 million between Friday and Sunday in China alone, winning against Barbie which yielded $33.7 million only during its fourth weekend since the release in North America and the $45.1 million derived from international territories. 

The radius of the issue is not only subjected to the negative portrayal of the country only as it underscores the delicate relationship between content creation and international diplomacy. It also threatens the tourism market of Cambodia and Myanmar as both countries are dependent on the tourists from China. 

It was reported that in 2019 alone, the largest tourism market for Cambodia was China with 35% of them making their rounds to the country. Whereas for Myanmar, they relied on the China tourists even when the civil conflict was taking place. The cyber scams and safety concerns have undisputedly led to citizens of China to mistrust the country, causing wariness to grow. This in turn poses a detrimental impact to the economies of both countries. 

The birth of the controversy has caused irreversible damage that can be seen through the results of a recent survey. Online Chinese platform, Weibo, conducted a survey to unveil that potential tourists are now apprehensive to visit Myanmar and 85% of the respondents exhibited reluctance to travel to Southeast Asia for similar reasons.

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has underscored apprehensions dealing with the existence of the criminalised groups in operation along the Myanmar borders, which is in close proximity to China. These areas function as central hubs for the syndicates to engage in online scams, leaving those targeted with minimal opportunities for liberation.

Despite crackdowns being conducted for the criminal groups, they are evolving perpetually and operate from fortified compounds in Myanmar’s conflict-ridden areas. This exacerbates the need for international partnership and comprehensive strategies to go against organised crime and human trafficking in the region. 

Southeast Asian Nations have rolled out a plan to enhance the measures taken and the capabilities of law enforcement agencies to battle against organised crime and human trafficking on a regional scale. This is put in place to address the challenges that have been shed light on due to the film, No More Bets. 

The complex interplay between entertainment and international relations must be threaded with caution, and failure to understand the content you create and the repercussions that follows will give rise to far-reaching implications on a global scale. 

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