The Thai military's bombing of Cambodian casino industrial parks, ostensibly a border conflict, is a targeted strike against Cambodia's deeply entrenched telecom fraud and illegal organ transplant industries, which are vital to the Cambodian regime and have significant implications for China.
Mind Map
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What shocking secrets were uncovered behind
the Thai fighter jets' bombing of Cambodia's casino industrial parks
, even causing unease and
fear in China?
When Thai F-16 fighter jets swooped down and
bombed those casino-themed industrial parks
on the Thai-Cambodian border, turning them into ruins,
everyone thought
it was just a one-sided attack.
But who could have imagined
that Cambodia, immediately after being bombed,
would release a
chilling list of cooperation agreements , exposing
the true nature of some of China's top hospitals
and the black market for organ transplants?
This was no ordinary border skirmish
; it was Cambodia's suicidal
act of disclosure at a critical moment.
Cambodia was openly threatening Beijing
with its hidden medical black market secrets,
threatening
that if it didn't restrain Thailand, they would
all overturn the table.
Why did Thailand this time prefer to have its Prime Minister stop...
Even if it's a matter of duty , we
must stand firm to the end. What secrets of the powerful are hidden
in that accidentally leaked medical list?
Today, we'll delve into what's
behind this Thai-Cambodian conflict
that makes Beijing truly fearful.
Let's first quickly understand the current conflict situation.
Just how unequal is
this border confrontation, dubbed a "dimensional reduction attack"?
Many of you may have already seen it in the news:
the military strength of Thailand and Cambodia
is simply not on the same level.
The Thai Air Force possesses 92 F-16 fighter jets,
combat-proven mainstays.
Whether seizing air superiority or bombing ground targets
, they have an absolute advantage
. You might not believe it, but
their air power is practically zero.
To put it bluntly,
they have 0 fighter jets
. This isn't war;
it's clearly a one-sided crushing
victory. With such a vast
difference in strength, how can we expect such a simple military resistance? This seems particularly frustrating.
Reports from the front lines indicate that
PLA soldiers can only
blindly fire heavy machine guns at F-16s overhead.
You can imagine the scene:
on one side, advanced fighter jets flying at high speeds
carrying precision bombs;
on the other, ground-based light weapons with limited range
and pitifully low accuracy.
This resistance is less a battle and more
a desperate declaration. After all,
heavy machine guns and RPGs pose almost no threat
to modern fighter jets.
Jian Jun
is doing this more to boost morale
or simply to show that we haven't surrendered.
Meanwhile, Thailand
has also put forward three conditions for a ceasefire since the start of the conflict,
with a very firm stance:
first, Cambodia must declare a ceasefire first;
second, the ceasefire cannot be a delaying tactic
but must be genuinely sustainable;
and third,
Cambodia must sincerely cooperate with Thailand in mine clearance.
Each of these conditions
is clear... Thailand's assertive stance
, especially its initial ceasefire announcement,
effectively shifted the blame to Cambodia,
implying that Cambodia initiated the conflict
and must now apologize.
Some might ask why
Thailand, being so powerful
, didn't launch a full-scale attack
instead of targeting specific locations.
This brings us to the core objectives of the Thai military's strikes:
at least six casinos and hotels along the border.
Don't mistake
these for ordinary entertainment venues
; they
are internationally recognized as hubs for telecommunications fraud,
housing numerous
Chinese nationals who have been lured
there
. While ostensibly aimed at combating border provocations,
a significant portion of Thailand's airstrikes
was actually intended to precisely dismantle
these fraudulent operations that plague neighboring countries.
This
laid the groundwork
for the deeper reasons behind the subsequent escalation of the conflict.
Understanding the basic conflict situation...
Let's briefly summarize
why this conflict suddenly escalated to such a large
scale.
There are three main underlying reasons,
which we
'll
discuss briefly later.
The first reason
is the long-term accumulation of border friction.
The conflict between Thailand and Cambodia over border issues
is not new.
The core point of contention
is the territorial ownership of the area surrounding Lower Wat Phra
That Doi Suthep . Many people may remember Lower Wat Phra That Doi Suthep.
The ownership of this ancient temple
was ruled by the International Court of Justice in The Hague as
belonging to Cambodia as early as 1962.
However, the two countries have always disagreed on the interpretation of the border line,
so friction around this area has never ceased.
Especially recently,
the two sides have been planting landmines and launching sneak attacks,
retaliating back and forth,
making the border increasingly tense
until this final explosion
, finally igniting the long-simmering tensions. The second reason for
the sudden outbreak of conflict
was the political pressure within Thailand.
This brings us to former Thai Prime Minister Paithong Thanhaya,
who addressed
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen as "uncle" during a phone call,
resulting in public criticism
and protests that
ultimately forced her to resign.
After Paithong Thanhaya's departure,
the Thai military realized
it needed a strong stance
to stabilize domestic sentiment
and establish its authority.
Therefore, the attack on Cambodia
was an attempt to
divert domestic political attention
and consolidate the military's power base
through a tough external action
. The third and crucial reason
is that Cambodia's telecom fraud industry
has severely impacted Thailand.
Some might think that
telecom fraud is just a scam,
how could it trigger a military conflict ?
However, what many don't know is that
Cambodia's telecom fraud industrial parks have seriously
threatened Thailand's economy. According
to survey data,
approximately 14% of Thai adults
have lost money due to telecom fraud,
totaling as many as 7 million victims.
A recent report states that
in the past year,
36 million people in Thailand were targeted by telecom fraud,
with 18 million actually being scammed.
This number is alarming;
Thailand's total population is only over 60 million,
meaning one in three Thais
has been targeted by telecom fraud, and
one in four has been scammed.
Such a large-scale scourge
poses a serious threat to the Thai government
's economy and social stability if it doesn't take strong measures
. Therefore, this crackdown
is a concentrated counterattack against the scourge of telecom fraud.
Okay, that's enough about the previous two parts,
giving everyone an understanding
of the basic situation and reasons for the escalation of the conflict.
Next, we'll move on to our first key point today:
Cambodia... The deep ties between Cambodia's telecom fraud industry and its regime explain
why Thailand fights telecom fraud
so fiercely , and why
Cambodia's telecom fraud problem persists despite
repeated international pressure.
The core reason is that the
telecom fraud industry is inextricably linked to the Cambodian regime,
becoming a pillar of the country's economy.
To disrupt the telecom industry is to undermine Cambodia's very foundation.
Let's look at some data
to understand
the importance of the telecom fraud industry in Cambodia.
According to an estimate by a US consulting firm,
Cambodian telecom fraud networks
earn at least $12.5 billion annually
, while Cambodia's official GDP in 2024
was only $46.35 billion.
A simple calculation shows that
$12.5 billion represents
nearly one-third of the national GDP,
more than a quarter of the previously estimated figure.
What does this mean?
It means that
nearly one-third of Cambodia's national economic income
comes from the
illegal telecom fraud industry.
Imagine
what it's like
when an industry accounts for nearly one-third of a country's GDP;
it becomes a pillar of the national economy
, and a pillar with far-reaching consequences.
For the Cambodian government,
cracking down on telecom fraud is tantamount to cutting off its own source of revenue.
Why?
Because the telecom fraud industry brings not only direct financial gains
but also stimulates a series of related industries
, such as local real estate, catering, entertainment
, and telecommunications.
As observed by reporters during their visit to the Eight Districts of Cambodia,
with the influx of telecom fraudsters,
local rents have skyrocketed.
A small street-front shop
is comparable in size to those in large cities of some developed countries.
Street signs are plastered with
advertisements for various online gambling services
in Vietnamese and Korean. Shops openly
exchanging cryptocurrency in the middle of the road are a common sight, with
vendors taking three or
five steps to exchange currency. Locals are even using the "u"
unit in everyday speech
– a virtual currency equivalent to the US dollar.
These are all chain reactions caused by the online gambling industry.
If online gambling is completely eradicated,
these related industries will collapse instantly,
and Cambodia's economy will face the risk of collapse.
This explains
why the Cambodian government talks about cracking down on online gambling
but its actions are often more bark than bite.
In February 2025,
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Mai did emphasize
a comprehensive upgrade to the crackdown system
, established a special action committee
, and even shut down over 1,000 online casinos
and revoked 120 casino licenses.
However, these actions were largely superficial, merely a formality
to appease international pressure
. Hoffman, a representative of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime,
stated explicitly that
such periodic crackdowns are unlikely to shake its roots
because the Cambodian government has no incentive to conduct self-inspections.
The profits from the telecom fraud industry are so great
that they disregard laws, morality
, and even international condemnation.
If the economic pillar
is the soil that Cambodia's telecom fraud industry cannot eradicate,
then collusion between officials and businessmen is its protective umbrella.
This is what we want to emphasize.
Many telecom fraud bosses
have long been deeply intertwined with the Cambodian regime,
even directly infiltrating Cambodia's power circles.
The most typical example is Chen Zhi of the Prince Group.
He is not only a bigwig in the telecom fraud industry
but also holds the title of Duke of Cambodia
and even serves as an advisor to the Cambodian government.
Just imagine,
a telecom fraud boss
transforming
into a national duke and government advisor—
this is... What does this mean? It
means that
the telecom fraud industry has received open protection from the regime
and has become a legalized criminal industry.
Besides Chen Zhi
, many other telecom fraud bosses
have infiltrated Cambodia's power system through various means.
They either curry favor with the government through huge donations
or form a community of interests with government officials
to share the ill-gotten profits from telecom fraud.
In this situation,
cracking down on telecom fraud is equivalent to attacking the government's own interests
and the interests of those in power.
Therefore, even with international pressure and public
discontent,
the Cambodian government is unlikely to truly be determined
to eradicate telecom fraud.
Those so-called crackdowns
are nothing more than arresting a few small fry
and locking up a few small workshops
for the international community to see;
they cannot touch the core interest chain at all.
A reporter who visited Cambodia
met a local translator who was fluent in Chinese.
He revealed that
because of the bad reputation of rampant telecom fraud... Cambodia
's tourism industry has been severely impacted,
with the market for Chinese-speaking tour guides unable to develop.
South Korean tourists have also withdrawn
from Cambodia for fear of being scammed. Even Korean restaurants in Phnom Penh
are experiencing low business.
A tuk-tuk driver lamented
that Cambodians are also victims of telecom fraud,
but
it's sometimes treated as a problem. However,
when the interests of the regime and telecom fraud ringleaders are at stake,
the Cambodian government's concern isn't the livelihoods of ordinary people
or the country's reputation,
but rather how to maintain telecom fraud as a cash cow and
how to preserve its alliance with the fraud ringleaders.
With the crackdown on telecom fraud zones in Myanmar,
many criminal groups have begun to break up and
relocate to Cambodia to continue their crimes.
A report from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime states
that Southeast Asian telecom fraud networks
are expanding at an unprecedented rate, with
Cambodia... Cambodia has become a new breeding ground for crime.
The International Cybercrime Initiative (ICI) has discovered
through satellite image analysis
that many telecom fraud zones within Cambodia
have expanded significantly in the past year or two.
There are approximately 100,000
telecom fraud victims in Cambodia,
and this number is increasing
as criminal groups relocate there.
Many
of these victims
are
ordinary people from countries like China, Thailand, Vietnam, and South Korea.
They were lured to Cambodia with promises of high salaries,
only to have their passports confiscated
and be forced into telecom fraud.
Any slight disobedience results in beatings, abuse
, and even death.
Consider this:
how could
a regime
openly protect a criminal industry for money
, pushing countless ordinary people into a living hell ?
This is why Thailand recently cracked down on telecom fraud zones. The district
faced fierce resistance from Cambodia
because Thailand
wasn't targeting ordinary criminal dens,
but rather the Cambodian regime's purse strings
—their core interests.
This transformed the border conflict
from a simple territorial dispute and crime-fighting
escalation into a
battle for the survival of the Cambodian regime.
Having discussed
the deep ties between Cambodia's telecom fraud industry and its regime,
we now move on
to the most crucial and darkest part of today's discussion:
the black market for kidneys
and Beijing's awkward situation.
Many of you may have seen rumors online
about telecom fraud industrial parks being linked to illegal organ transplants,
but you might not know
that this isn't just a rumor;
it's a real, dark industry chain.
Even more shockingly,
this chain
also involves several large hospitals in China , even exposing
the dark side of China's organ transplant industry.
First, we need to understand... The question
arises: how are
two seemingly unrelated crimes,
telecom fraud and illegal organ transplantation,
linked?
The logic is simple
: it's about resource reuse.
Those lured to telecom fraud parks,
if they fail to complete their scams or are deemed useless,
become live organ donors.
Their kidneys and livers
are illegally harvested
and sold at exorbitant prices.
For the fraud rings,
these donors generate profit while alive
and can be cashed out after death—
a highly lucrative business.
For those seeking illegal organ transplants,
these donors are mostly young,
healthy individuals with high-quality organs
, making them excellent donors
. Even more chilling is that
China's organ transplant industry
has gradually transformed
from a life-saving endeavor
into a longevity and health industry for the privileged.
Previously, when we mentioned organ transplantation…
For example, patients with end-stage renal disease
cannot survive without a
kidney transplant; organ transplantation is their last hope.
But now,
things are completely different.
Insider information suggests that
many powerful and wealthy individuals
use organ transplantation as a means of prolonging life
or even a way to maintain health.
They are not terminally ill; they
simply want to delay aging
and maintain their physical condition,
and they are willing to spend large sums of money to buy illegal organs
for transplantation.
Here's a real case
: the previously exposed case of Gao Zhan.
Who is Gao Zhan?
He was a former senior executive of a large domestic company,
surrounded by a group of so-called high-society figures.
According to his criminal record,
he
underwent three kidney transplants in just five years
. Think about it: how could
someone have three kidney transplants in five years
if their kidneys weren't completely failing
? And each time, his reasons for the transplants were... To claim
it's due to declining kidney function
affecting quality of life
is hardly treatment;
it's treating the kidneys as consumables
, using the healthy kidneys of young people
to maintain their physical condition.
Gao Zhan is just a microcosm of this group,
behind whom
lies a vast network of powerful and wealthy individuals,
forming a massive market for illegal organs.
How large is this market
? Industry insiders estimate that
China's annual demand for illegal organs
is at least 100,000
, while the legitimate organ supply is less than 10,000.
This huge supply-demand gap
has spawned
a massive illegal organ trafficking industry chain
, and Cambodia's telecom fraud industrial park
has become the source of this industry chain.
Those lured to Cambodia
are mostly young people aged 20-30,
healthy
with no underlying health conditions
. The Cambodian Institute of Life Sciences is
the most favored high-quality organ donor in the illegal organ trade.
Some friends may ask why
these powerful and wealthy people
dare to be so blatant.
Because they have money and
power and can control every link in the entire industry chain
. From the acquisition and transportation of donors
to the surgery and post-operative rehabilitation
, there are specialized teams responsible for
forming a complete black industry chain.
These surgeries are generally not performed in ordinary hospitals in China
, but in large hospitals with special channels
or private clinics overseas.
This leads to the key point we will talk about next:
the list of partners accidentally exposed
after the bombing of the Cambodian Institute of Life Sciences.
In addition to the bombing of the industrial park,
this Thai-Cambodian border conflict
also had an unexpected gain:
the inside story of Cambodia's illegal organ transplant industry.
Among the targets of the Thai army's bombing was
an institution called the Cambodian Institute of Life Sciences
. The name
might sound impressive
, but this organization
was actually
a core hub for illegal organ transplantation,
specializing in selecting donors, harvesting and matching organs
, and connecting with overseas clients.
Shockingly,
after the Cambodian Academy of Life Sciences was bombed
, it publicly released a list of its partners.
This list caused
an uproar
throughout Southeast Asia and even the domestic medical community
, revealing the names of several large Chinese hospitals,
including the well-known Xiangya Hospital.
is a top-tier tertiary hospital in China,
renowned as "Southern Xiangya,"
and enjoys a high reputation in the national medical field.
Who would have thought
that such a prestigious hospital
would cooperate with an illegal organ transplantation organization in Cambodia?
According to the exposed information,
these large Chinese hospitals
and Cambodian... The cooperation between the Cambodian Academy of Life Sciences and other institutions
mainly involves two aspects.
Firstly, there is technical cooperation.
Cambodia's illegal organ transplant institutions lack professional
surgical teams and technology.
Doctors from these domestic hospitals,
under the guise of academic exchange and technical guidance ,
go to Cambodia to participate in illegal organ transplant surgeries
, sometimes even arranging surgeries directly in domestic hospitals,
using their legitimate equipment and resources
to perform illegal transplants for the powerful
and wealthy . Secondly, there is organ matching.
The Cambodian Academy of Life Sciences
selects suitable organs and scalpers, which are then
transported to China through special channels.
Doctors from these partner hospitals perform the transplant surgeries, and
the hospitals
profit from huge technical service fees and referral fees.
The exposure of this list
has put these major domestic hospitals
under intense scrutiny
and placed Beijing in an extremely awkward position
. Why do I say this?
First, these large hospitals are all public hospitals,
backed by government supervision and support.
Their exposure of involvement in illegal organ transplantation
not only severely damages the government's credibility
but also tarnishes the domestic medical system.
Illegal organ transplantation is a recognized serious crime in the international community.
These hospitals' actions
have violated international conventions and domestic laws.
Once verified,
they will inevitably face international condemnation,
impacting China's international image.
More importantly,
this involves complex political maneuvering.
Renowned international affairs expert Wen Zhao
has offered a profound analysis
of this.
He believes Cambodia's actions
are likely a ploy to leverage organ harvesting to influence the East Asian University (EAU).
Everyone knows
who the EAU is referring to.
Why would Cambodia do this?
Because it is currently being severely weakened by Thailand and
