A video of Thailand’s Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra has been shared in Chinese-language social media posts that claim it shows Paetongtarn saying she is ready to rescue Chinese citizens from Myanmar if Beijing gives the order.

By Larissa Liao, Kevin Krolicki and Poppy McPherson BEIJING/BANGKOK (Reuters) - The abduction and cross-border rescue had all the makings of the kind of action script struggling Chinese actor Wang Xing had hoped to land – only not as a reality star.

The abduction of a young Chinese actor, who was trafficked from Thailand to Myanmar, prompted an unusually powerful public-pressure campaign and official actions.

Thai authorities denied Wednesday there was an immediate plan to send back to China 48 Uyghurs held in the country's detention centres.

At the same meeting, authorities from Myanmar, China, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam agreed to arrest leaders of criminal syndicates, dismantle telecom fraud centres, and "make every effort" to coordinate the rescue of those trapped there, according to CCTV.

The AP’s vast network of sources and collaborative reporting led to the first report on detained Uyghurs in Thailand who face deportation and persecution

In this photo provided on condition of anonymity, Uyghur detainees who say they are facing deportation back to China, where they fear persecution and even death, sit in an immigration detention center in Bangkok, Thailand, in February 2024.

The Southeast Asian nation is the third jurisdiction in Asia to recognize same-sex marriage after Taiwan and Nepal.

Thai media outlets reported on Tuesday that the Thai prime minister will visit China early next month to strengthen bilateral relations and rebuild Chinese tourists' trust in Thailand's safety as a tourist destination after a series of telecom scams were exposed.

The surprise statement by new US Secretary of State Marco Rubio urging Thailand not to deport 40-plus Uyghurs who are currently being detained in Thailand to China has shone a much-needed spotlight on these illegal entrants.

Everyone agreed that cosmopolitan Bangkok has evolved in myriad ways, emerging as a world city at a time when great colonial ports formerly thought of as world cities -- Shanghai and Hong Kong in particular -- are shedding foreign residents and turning inward.