Facebook, TikTok and other Lao language social media networks are full of ads seeking Lao women for marriage with Chinese men, but one government official told Radio Free Asia that the notices are often just a cover for human trafficking groups.
“Whoever needs a Chinese boyfriend can contact us for a dowry of 100-120 million kip” – equal to US$4,520 to US$5,420, one ad reads.
“Furthermore, with good looks and beauty, you can get up to 150 million kip (US$6,780), plus a piece of gold, a new phone and a visa to China.”
Human trafficking is rife in Laos and other Southeast Asia countries where people who live in poverty and are desperate to improve their lives are easy targets for traffickers.
One of the middlemen, who like other sources in this report requested anonymity for security reasons, told RFA that younger women can expect to receive more money if they agree to a marriage. The bride must be between 18 and 35 years old, he said.
“We’ll look at their photos and backgrounds, for example, whether they have been married before or if they have children,” he said.
The whole process takes a month or two. It’s quicker if the woman already has a Lao passport; then they can just get a tourist visa for the woman before the new couple moves to China, he said.
“If you stay with the man for some time, then you can ask for a new phone,” he said. “But for the gold and cash dowry, they pay in advance.”
‘Crucial to increase awareness’
But a government official who works in an anti-human trafficking unit in northern Laos warned that many women don’t realize that they will be in an abusive situation until they have arrived in China.
Because the government has a limited budget, authorities almost never have the capacity to investigate the marriage agreements or the middlemen, he said.
“For some, they don’t care about marriage,” he said of the middlemen. “They only care about money.”
The state-run Lao Phattana newspaper warned its readers to "thoroughly research" the offers as the ads may have been posted by "unscrupulous individuals."
“This kind of advertisement could potentially be part of a human trafficking scheme, as many people have already fallen victim to similar scams in the past,” it said on Aug. 17. “It is crucial to increase awareness and caution.”
A Lao woman who lives in Vientiane said she’s also seen a lot of Chinese marriage ads recently. She cautioned that the marriages can sometimes result in an abusive situation.
“Getting married with Chinese men could be good or bad depending on the man,” she said. “Many Chinese men are good, some others are bad. I have a Chinese husband. Luckily, he’s a decent guy.”
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A resident of Luang Namtha province – the father of two daughters – urged authorities to focus more investigations on the middlemen. The offers of large dowries in the ads is suspicious, he said.
“They are the ones who post the ads on Facebook,” he said. “Right now, the ads are everywhere – on Facebook and TikTok.”
Aside from the social media ads, some Chinese men sometimes just go in person to local markets where they walk around and ask young girls, women or their parents if they are interested in marriage, another Luang Namtha province resident told RFA.
“At the largest market of the province, I have seen Chinese men walking around with an interpreter and talking to people, saying that they need wives,” she said.
Translated by Max Avary. Edited by Matt Reed and Malcolm Foster.