Latest news with #DeborahWong
CNA
25-05-2025
- Business
- CNA
Foreign interest rises as China's low-altitude economy expo signals sector expansion
China's focus on the low-altitude economy is taking flight. Industry partners tell CNA that they've seen more interest from foreign buyers this year, despite the US tariffs. Deborah Wong reports.
CNA
12-05-2025
- Business
- CNA
US and China to slash reciprocal tariffs by 115 percentage points
There has been a major de-escalation in trade tensions between the world's largest economies. US and China have agreed to slash reciprocal tariffs, dialling down a trade war that has stoked fears of a global economic downturn and set markets on edge. Nick Harper and Deborah Wong report.
CNA
22-04-2025
- Business
- CNA
Unmet romantic demand in China fuels matchmaking scams targeting singles
East Asia Scammers are exploiting China's growing singles population. As demand for matchmaking services grows, so too does matchmaking-related fraud. SINGAPORE: To lure singleton victims, a criminal syndicate recruited female workers from KTVs and bars as 'matchmaking decoys' to spark interest on dating platforms. The ruse worked: 128 people were swindled out of more than 2.5 million yuan (US$342,000). The case is part of a worrying trend in fraud cases related to matchmaking and dating platforms, highlighted by China's top prosecutorial body as it sounded the alarm over scams exploiting the country's growing singles market. From January 2024 to March this year, 1,546 individuals were prosecuted in criminal cases linked to the matchmaking industry, revealed the Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP) in a statement published last Thursday (Apr 17). 'In recent years, demand for matchmaking services has steadily grown - but so too have related illegal and criminal activities,' said the SPP. There are no other statistics available showing whether there has been a rise in such cases. China saw its biggest drop in marriages on record in 2024, with just over 6.1 million couples registering for marriage. It was a 20.5 per cent drop from 7.68 million the year before, according to China's Ministry of Civil Affairs. Almost 30 per cent of 30-year-olds in the country were unmarried in 2023, according to the China Population and Employment Statistical Yearbook 2024 - up from 14.6 per cent a decade earlier. Against this backdrop of shrinking marriages and a swelling pool of singles, illicit matchmaking operations have found fertile ground. Chinese lawmakers have prioritised legislation to crack down on scams and corruption, while improving the country's business environment. This and more as delegates reviewed the standing committee's work report during China's annual Two Sessions. CNA'S Deborah Wong reports. In one case, Wang and four other suspects repeatedly introduced married women to their customers, and scammed six victims into paying 890,000 yuan in cash gifts and referral fees. The SPP also warned that some matchmaking agencies and dating websites do not review the information of registered members, and criminals have made use of this loophole to commit fraud by using falsified identities. One suspect, Xu, scammed a victim of 3 million yuan. Xu met the victim on a dating website and hid the fact that he was married with children. He developed a relationship with her, then fabricated reasons such as investments, parents' hospitalisations and even the death of his mother to scam her. One other case involved a 32-member ring that used fake identities to run investment scams. The suspects, having undergone 'training' from an overseas wire fraud group, posed as successful individuals on multiple matchmaking platforms. They scammed victims out of 16.8 million yuan through fake investment schemes. Some agencies also provided illegal cross-border matchmaking services. Under Chinese regulations, domestic agencies are prohibited from offering or covertly engaging in such services. Some agencies would fly customers out of China to go on blind dates with foreigners, under the guise of business trips or tourism. Others facilitated the entry of foreigners into China - either by helping them apply for short-term visas or, in some cases, through illegal means such as smuggling - all for matchmaking purposes. In one case, four suspects were charged with human trafficking and rape. They had advertised cross-border matchmaking services on the internet, and either took clients overseas to select their 'brides', or brought 'brides' into the country for them to choose from. Another suspect, surnamed Wan, trafficked 46 foreign women into China. Despite knowing that some were already married, Wan repeatedly sold them as 'brides' to single men across multiple regions in the country, profiting 1.33 million yuan in the process. Authorities reminded matchmaking agencies to uphold integrity, abide by the law and provide 'high-quality matchmaking services'. China crime Scams
