The leader of the Asia-Pacific International Holdings Group, closely associated with fraud cases in Southeast Asia (hereinafter referred to as "Asia-Pacific Group"), She Zhijiang, was arrested and imprisoned a few years ago, but the story here continues.

According to recent media reports, the "Myanmar Asia-Pacific International Smart Industry New City" built by the Asia-Pacific Group (hereinafter referred to as "Asia-Pacific Park") is operating normally, managed by She Zhijiang's apprentice and another prison mate. Gambling and fraud businesses still exist in the park. Actor Liu Xing was tricked into the Myanmar telecom fraud park and was rescued, which also brought keywords such as "KK Park" and "human trafficking" back into the hot search.

She Zhijiang, also known as She Lunkai, alias Tang Lunkai, has also used the English names Dylan She or Kriang Kai Tang, She Lunkai, and Dylan Jiang.

Originally from Shaodong, Hunan, China, She Zhijiang changed his nationality to Cambodian in 2017. He has been operating the Asia-Pacific Park as the chairman of the board of directors of the Asia-Pacific Group, which has been accused of human trafficking, telecommunications fraud, and online gambling. She Zhijiang was also accused of operating illegal gambling businesses in China earlier and was arrested in Bangkok, Thailand, on August 10, 2022, by Thai law enforcement under an Interpol red notice, awaiting extradition back to China.

Unlike She Zhijiang, who has received widespread international attention, his partner in the Asia-Pacific Group—a Hainanese overseas Chinese with many "chamber of commerce" titles, Zhong Baojia, appears to be quite "low-key". Qingliu Studio noticed that as of the end of 2024, he is still active and had visited the UAE to inspect projects.

Zhong Baojia, also known as "Zhong Baojia" or "Wang Qiang", claims to be "the first person in China's private airport investment". In his early years, he invested in real estate and airports in Hainan, Fujian, and other places, and has been active in Hong Kong, China, and Southeast Asia as the vice president of the Federation of Chinese Overseas Businessmen.

According to some press releases, the Asia-Pacific Group was jointly established by She Zhijiang and Zhong Baojia. After their cooperation, She Zhijiang joined organizations such as the Federation of Chinese Overseas Businessmen where Zhong Baojia was involved.

Various phenomena show that Zhong Baojia's involvement in the business of the Asia-Pacific Group is very high. He is not only responsible for the initial project inspection and construction but also for attracting investment and applying for Thai casino licenses. Additionally, another important figure in the Asia-Pacific Group has a closer relationship with Zhong Baojia. Ma Dongli, the executive director of the Asia-Pacific Group, operates the company located in Beijing with Zhong Baojia and they both hold shares in a company in Hong Kong.

For a long time, the Asia-Pacific Group has promised to invest $15 billion in Myanmar's Karen State, but She Zhijiang, who made his fortune from online gambling, was accused of illegal gains amounting to 150 million yuan, which is obviously not enough compared to the astronomical figure he promised to invest.

Is there another investor behind She Zhijiang?

Key Partners

One of She Zhijiang's more important public appearances was at the 14th World Chinese Business Conference in September 2017. Under the name "Tang Lunkai" and as the chairman of the board of directors of the Asia-Pacific International Holdings Group, he signed an investment agreement on the Myanmar Asia-Pacific Gutter Valley Economic Special Zone project with General Soe of the Karen State government of Myanmar.

The person signing at the front was She Zhijiang, but according to the president of the Federation of Chinese Overseas Businessmen at the World Chinese Business Conference, the project was led by Zhong Baojia for inspection and was able to sign and appear at such an occasion as the World Chinese Business Conference.

The president stated that before the World Chinese Business Conference, the Federation of Chinese Overseas Businessmen specially sent a delegation led by Vice President Zhong Baojia to visit Myanmar in advance, meeting relevant departments and the government of Karen State, and inspecting investment cooperation projects in Myanmar.

Some promotional materials show that the Asia-Pacific International Holdings Group was jointly established by Zhong Baojia and She Zhijiang, with She Zhijiang serving as the chairman of the board and Zhong Baojia as the chairman of the supervisory board.

In a large number of promotional photos, Zhong Baojia usually stands in the center of the crowd with She Zhijiang, occupying the C position.

Afterward, She Zhijiang joined a large number of associations and held multiple titles, thereby gilding his own face, some of which overlapped with the organizations where Zhong Baojia was involved. From the timing of entering the organizations, Zhong Baojia was a senior or guide to She Zhijiang.

Zhong Baojia was elected as the vice president of the National Federation of Overseas Chinese Businessmen in 2012 and has been active in the organization for a long time. After starting the Asia-Pacific project, She Zhijiang, under the name "She Lunkai", was elected as the executive vice president of the Federation of Chinese Overseas Businessmen in December 2017.

Additionally, according to reports, She Zhijiang was also employed as a researcher at the Maritime Silk Road Research Institute of Hainan Normal University in 2019. The senior predecessor, Zhong Baojia, donated a Confucius bronze statue to Hainan Normal University as early as 2011, signed a donation agreement with Lin Qiang, the vice president of Hainan Normal University at the scene, and subsequently became an advisor to the university affairs of Hainan Normal University.

Moreover, a so-called chamber of commerce organization is actually founded by Zhong Baojia himself.

She Zhijiang claimed to be the chairman of the China-ASEAN Economic Corridor Promotion Association, but the organization is actually a company established by Zhong Baojia in Hong Kong. The data shows that the company is jointly held by Zhong Baojia, Ma Dongli, and Ding Haicheng.

Qingliu Studio found that Ma Dongli and Ding Haicheng have intersections with Zhong Baojia in different companies and have close relationships.

The Asia-Pacific Group is registered in Hong Kong, China, with its headquarters located in Bangkok, Thailand. From the current shareholding, Zhong Baojia does not hold shares in the Asia-Pacific Group's companies in Thailand and Hong Kong, but often appears in other related companies of Asia-Pacific.

Zhong Baojia's another position is the chairman of Asia-Pacific Industrial Real Estate Company. This may refer to a company registered in 2018, originally named "Quangang International Holdings Limited", renamed "Myanmar Karen State Asia-Pacific Industrial Real Estate Limited" in 2020. The data shows that Asia-Pacific Industrial Real Estate Company has been wholly owned by Ding Haicheng for many years.

In the Asia-Pacific Wisdom Development (Beijing) Science and Trade Co., Ltd. registered in Beijing, its Weibo is certified as "Asia-Pacific Wisdom" and uses the "Asia-Pacific International Holdings Group" logo as its avatar. In the historical shareholder list of the company, Zhong Baojia and Ma Dongli appeared.

Ma Dongli and Ding Haicheng, respectively from Hainan and Fujian. Hainan and Fujian are precisely the two main bases of Zhong Baojia in the early days.

Zhong Baojia, self-described as a Malaysian returnee with ancestral roots in Quanzhou, Fujian, was engaged in engineering construction, real estate investment, and airport investment in Hainan, Fujian, and other places in his early years.

Zhong Baojia, also known as Zhong Baojia, was known as "Wang Qiang" in his early years when he was investing in Hainan.

According to the introduction, Zhong was the general manager of the Haikou office of Macau Weixiong Real Estate Company and founded Hainan Weizhi Decoration Engineering Co., Ltd. Business information shows that these companies and many associated companies were held by "Wang Qiang" as a shareholder or legal representative. Later, he invested in Zhoukou City Jinguang Investment Development Co., Ltd. with the overseas Chinese Xie Bingcong in the Philippines to develop the "Guandi Shangcheng" building in Zhoukou City, Henan, also under the name "Wang Qiang".

In 1992, Zhong founded Hainan Tongao Economic Development Investment Co., Ltd. in Hainan, undertook the local "Ethnic Style Street Project", and held it under the name "Zhong Baojia". However, the project was eventually shelved due to the cancellation of the land certificate, and Hainan Tongao has been in court with the Wuzhishan government until 2023, requesting a retrial for compensation.

In addition, Zhong also invested in airports in Hainan and Fujian, claiming to be "China's first person in private airport investment". Zhong Baojia has stakes in Hainan Tongao Air Passenger and Cargo Transport Co., Ltd. and Fujian Sanming Airport Co., Ltd.

Named as overseas warehouses, actually engaged in gambling and fraud?

Zhong Baojia's involvement in the daily operations of the Asia-Pacific Group is very high. He is not only responsible for the initial project inspection but also for early business promotion, construction commencement, and investment attraction, as well as the application for Thai casino licenses.

The Asia-Pacific Group has always packaged the park as a legitimate business, with the earliest statement being the "overseas warehouse" industrial park.

A press release in November 2019 showed that the Asia-Pacific International Holdings Group, in cooperation with the Hainan Provincial Overseas Chinese Federation, held the "Belt and Road" Myanmar Asia-Pacific New City Industrial Park + Overseas Warehouse Promotion and Exchange Meeting, attended by dozens of local shoe, umbrella, and building material enterprises. At that time, the promotional points for the park were "to create the Asia-Pacific New City Science and Technology Industrial Park (clothing, shoes, hats, umbrella industrial park + overseas warehouse), commercial, cultural and tourism district".

According to an interview with Ma Dongli, the executive director of the Asia-Pacific Group, the Asia-Pacific City project includes a science and technology industry area, a financial and commercial area, and an ecological agriculture area, which is a comprehensive international city integrating technology, entertainment, tourism, culture, and agriculture, expected to accommodate a population of 700,000.

In January 2020, the important landmark building of Asia-Pacific New City, Xinyongli Building, held a groundbreaking ceremony. She Zhijiang did not appear, and the groundbreaking ceremony was mainly led by Zhong Baojia, with Ma Dongli, the executive director of the Asia-Pacific Group, and Chen Ji, the deputy general manager of the group, also attending.

In May 2020, the official website of a company owned by Zhong Baojia released the investment promotion for Xinyongli Building, stating that the office building had been basically completed and was expected to be delivered by the end of August that year.

The investment promotion revealed the details of the project, such as: Xinyongli Building covers an area of about 10,000 square meters, with a height of 15 floors, as the tallest building in Asia-Pacific Industrial Park and even the entire Miao Wa area, with a construction area of 32,000 square meters. The first floor is 5.5 meters high for commercial use, which can be mezzanined to increase the business area. Floors 2 to 4 are 4.2 meters high for high-end office floors, and floors 5 to 15 are high-end apartment dormitories, each accommodating 4 to 8 people, designed with 6 fast high-grade elevators. The promotion shows that the building implements 24-hour closed management.

Under these business packages, the Asia-Pacific Group may actually be advancing the plan to open a casino.

On April 24, 2022, Zhong Baojia, as the chairman of the supervisory board of the Asia-Pacific Group, was invited to attend a meeting of the Thai Special Committee, which mainly considered and studied the investment model and business of setting up comprehensive entertainment venues. The content included considering and studying the establishment of comprehensive entertainment venues, obtaining revenue and taxes from legal casino businesses, preventing and resolving casino issues, and the spread of electronic gambling machines and online gambling.

Reports indicate that the Asia-Pacific Park is used to take over customers transferred from Manila, Philippines, Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and other emerging casinos, with several online gambling companies and cash transaction illegal casinos inside. The Asia-Pacific Group claims that its special zone has exclusive gambling rights in the Karen State Gutter Valley area, but according to the investigation by the Myanmar government, Asia-Pacific began operating casinos before they were legalized.

In the Asia-Pacific Group team, there are no shortage of veterans in operating online gambling and offline gambling.

The actual controller in front, She Zhijiang, operated an online gambling platform in China in his early years, with illegal gains amounting to 150 million yuan. He was arrested in Thailand in 2022 due to an international arrest warrant and is awaiting extradition to China, facing charges of operating illegal gambling businesses.

She Zhijiang's early company in Cambodia, INTER-ASIA INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS CO.LTD, was taken over by a Koy KIENG MENG as director in 2019. Koy KIENG MENG, at the end of 2022, obtained a Cambodian casino license under the name of another company, with the casino named Peak Casino.

Chen Ji, the deputy general manager of the Asia-Pacific Group, is also a "person with status" in China. He once served as the editor-in-chief of "Hunan Safety and Disaster Prevention" magazine and claimed to be the deputy editor-in-chief of "Cultural and Historical Review" magazine. Chen Ji claimed that after retiring in 2013, he was invited to Vietnam to serve as the executive general manager of the Royal International Holdings Group. According to media reports, the Royal International Corporation (RIC) is the operator of the largest casino near Hanoi, Vietnam, the Royal Ha Long Casino.

Since 2015, Chen Ji has been employed by the Philippines Asia-Pacific International Holdings Group, successively serving as the executive director, minister of the group's culture department, and deputy general manager of the group. Additionally, Chen Ji also serves as the executive vice president of the China-ASEAN Economic Promotion Association founded by Zhong Baojia and as the executive vice chairman of the She Lunkai Foundation at Ateneo de Manila University in the Philippines.

Chen Ji is originally from Shaoyang, Hunan, and is a fellow townsman of She Zhijiang. After She Zhijiang went abroad, he changed his nationality to Cambodian in 2017, and Chen Ji also changed his nationality to Filipino after joining the Asia-Pacific Group in 2016.

In addition to operating illegal casinos, the Asia-Pacific Group faces another serious accusation of fraud and human trafficking. Moreover, the GASO International Rescue Organization pointed out that She Zhijiang is also one of the masterminds of another infamous park, the "KK Park", which is considered the "final station" for human trafficking in Southeast Asia, suspected of illegally detaining thousands of victims who may face organ harvesting if they cannot pay a high ransom.

In a statement issued in September 2023, She denied the above statements and also denied operating a fraud company. He emphasized that the Asia-Pacific Group is engaged in real estate investment and urban operation businesses.

Recently, foreign media were invited by the Asia-Pacific Group to visit the park, learning that there are at least nine casinos in the park. Although the Asia-Pacific Group strongly argued that there are no fraud and human trafficking businesses in the park, media interviews with locals revealed that the fraud business still exists.

Clearly, after She Zhijiang's imprisonment, the story of the Asia-Pacific Group continues.

According to reports, after She's arrest, She's apprentice He Yingxiong and prison mate Wang Fugui operated the Asia-Pacific Park.

As the scamming area in northern Myanmar became notorious and was purged, it is rumored that the scamming group has moved its base to Dubai, UAE.

Interestingly, the recent activity of She Zhijiang's low-profile partner Zhong Baojia was that in November 2024, he led a delegation of the Federation of Chinese Overseas Businessmen to the Chinese General Chamber of Commerce in the UAE for a meeting and exchange.