The earthquake in Myanmar has now killed over a thousand people. In the face of nature's power, humans are very small, and many areas still have not restored communication, suggesting that the death toll may rise further.
In the face of this earthquake, what many Chinese people are most concerned about, besides the collapsed buildings in Bangkok, is whether the scam parks in Myawaddy have been destroyed.
We can look at the map; the epicenter of the earthquake is only 280 kilometers from Ruili in Yunnan but 620 kilometers from Myawaddy, which is relatively far, even farther than Chiang Mai from the epicenter.
Although Ruili and Chiang Mai have suffered some damage, it is not too severe. Bangkok, which is far but heavily affected, has many high-rise buildings, and the situation is quite serious due to a special circumstance.
Since the buildings in Myawaddy's scam parks are not tall, and many parks are built by Chinese companies, the construction quality should be fine.
However, according to information circulated online, there are still some problems, such as people taking advantage of the earthquake to steal cash from the scam parks and flee.
Usually, strict management prevents people in the scam parks from escaping, but when a major earthquake occurs, it is indeed a rare opportunity to take a chance amidst the chaos.
Some took advantage of the chaos to steal money and run. The boss uses both kindness and authority, saying on one hand that he has notified the military station and the consequences will be severe if caught. On the other hand, he says if the money is returned, all will be forgiven. Do you think he really will forgive and forget? The lessons from Prigozhin are still vivid.
Since the scam artists operate globally, I see many people online saying that the number of scam calls they received has decreased after the earthquake.
Currently, rescue efforts are ongoing, many areas still have no signal, and communication towers are down, so scam artists are not very active.
But we shouldn't be too optimistic. Once the rescue is over and signals are restored, scam artists will likely resume their old tricks and continue scamming.
Moreover, they might become even more rampant.
Although the scam artists are not Burmese, they are related to the protection of local warlords. Frankly, the government develops these harmful industries because it lacks funds.
After this earthquake, Myanmar, which was already lagging, is now in an even worse situation. Reconstruction needs funding, but where will it come from?
This earthquake has destroyed the main historical monuments in the Mandalay region, the world's largest palace, and devastated the local tourism industry, destroying one of the few means of earning foreign exchange.
This has added to the economic woes of Myanmar.
In such a situation, they might have to resort to desperate measures, possibly supporting the scam industry even more.
So, I think that after this earthquake, the scam industry might quiet down temporarily due to the collapse of communication towers, but it might become even more rampant after some time.
