Stamp out these evil trafficking farms

It was more than luck that led to Chinese actor Wang Xing being swiftly released from a fraud farm after going missing at the Thai-Myanmar border.

Some useful information can be drawn from the incident.

One, fraud farm operations involving organized human trafficking are still rampant in the region despite the military crackdown on the notorious Ming clan that, before its eradication, was one of the four infamous clans dominating the Kokang region in northern Myanmar.

The others are the Liu, Bai and Wei clans.

Two, the swift release of a shaven-headed Wang suggested that Thai authorities had full knowledge of the situation and were able to intervene if they had wished to.

According to the Security Bureau here, 28 Hongkongers had been lured and trapped in these farms like the mainland actor. Although 16 have been released, 12 are still held captive.

The language used by the rescue task force was rather mild, saying these Hongkongers' freedom of movement was "restricted."

Apparently, the language spoken prior to departure was carefully crafted, probably for some diplomatic purposes.

But make no mistake, these victims are being held captive at these human-trafficking farms.

If the authorities used a stronger term, it would more accurately reflect the seriousness.

A score of people, many Chinese, have been lured to the region over the years and are being held captive in these farms run by criminal syndicates.

Thailand is being used as a major corridor by these syndicates. Many of the victims were reported to have landed there first before being picked up by scam members disguised as job recruiters.

While the majority have been unable to leave, Wang's release was a kind of miracle thanks to a post by Wang's girlfriend that spread like fire in the mainland.

As a result, even Hong Kong singer Eason Chan Yik-shun had to cancel his concert in Bangkok in February after many mainlanders cancelled their trips to Thailand due to safety concerns.

The swift response by the Thai authorities was more than welcome, showing anything is possible if there is a will.

If nothing was done to contain the rippling effect of Wang's kidnap, would Thailand's tourism, which is so important to the country, have suffered a major blow?

It is believed that this was the major question facing Thai authorities.

Since Wang's release, hope has been rekindled for many families and Thailand should intensify its efforts to help secure the release of all individuals still held captive at these evil farms - both for the victims' sake and its own economic interest.

Yesterday, a crowd-sourced document circulating on Chinese social media platform Weibo was reported to have collected over 1,000 names of missing mainland Chinese within a day of the document's launch.

It is not too late for Hong Kong to send a team to Thailand to work to gain the freedom of Hongkongers still held captive in those farms.

The SAR government can do more. For example, could it consider raising the current travel alert to a higher level for those planning to visit Thailand, which would put greater pressure on the authorities concerned?