China tightens punishment for telecom, cyberspace fraud from northern Myanmar: procurator-general

China has tightened punishment for telecom and cyberspace fraud from northern Myanmar in accordance with law over the past year, Supreme People's Procuratorate Procurator-General Ying Yong said on Saturday in Beijing.

While delivering a work report of the Supreme People's Procuratorate at the ongoing third session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC), China's national legislature, Ying highlighted the progress that Chinese procuratorial organs have made in cracking down on telecom and cyberspace fraud from northern Myanmar over the past year.

"In punishing the crime of telecom and cyberspace fraud in accordance with law, 78,000 suspects were prosecuted in 2024. In the year, the Supreme People's Procuratorate, in coordination with the Ministry of Public Security, supervised the processing of major cases including telecom and cyberspace fraud from northern Myanmar, with the prosecutorial organs concerned prosecuting 39 suspects from the crime syndicate operated by the Ming family and its associated criminal gangs, to mete out severe punishment for them," he said.

Based in northern Myanmar, the notorious Ming family and criminal syndicates related to it conducted abduction, illegal detention, abuse and murders targeting Chinese citizens, as well as used telecommunications networks overseas to commit fraud against Chinese citizens, opened online casinos for Chinese citizens to gamble, and organized Chinese women to go abroad for prostitution.

Members of these groups face charges of fraud, murder, intentional injury, illegal detention, casino operation, drug trafficking and forced prostitution.

China tightens punishment for telecom, cyberspace fraud from northern Myanmar: procurator-general

China tightens punishment for telecom, cyberspace fraud from northern Myanmar: procurator-general

China tightens punishment for telecom, cyberspace fraud from northern Myanmar: procurator-general

China and Greece launched their first joint archaeological project at the Chinese School of Classical Studies at Athens on Friday.

Located in western Greece, the Aggelokastro project marks the first time that Chinese archaeologists have participated in leading roles of an excavation project in a core region of Western civilization.

The project is an important part of systematic cooperation between the Greek Ministry of Culture and the Chinese School of Classical Studies at Athens, and has been approved as part of a five-year joint archaeological program.

Aetolia-Acarnania, where Aggelokastro is located, has been an important area for Greek archaeological studies since the 19th century.

"Within the Aetolia-Acarnania area during the Hellenistic period (323 BC-31 BC), that's around China's late Warring States Period to early Han Dynasty, an Aetolian League was formed, and there were extensive cultural exchanges across the Eurasian continent. Now we can say that the ruins were a significant small city-state at that time. It is also hoped that we could discover some clues of ancient long-distance trade," said Li Xinwei, head of the Chinese School of Classical Studies at Athens, which was founded in November 2024 as the first research institute on classical civilizations established in Greece by an Asian country.

China, Greece launch first joint archaeological project, seeking clues of ancient trade