Ruili port in Southwest China's Yunnan Province links the country with Myanmar. Photo: IC

Police in several cities in Southwest China's Yunnan Province issued notices on Monday, requiring Chinese nationals in northern Myanmar to register their identities at designated sites by the end of July, a move that aims to crack down on cross-border crimes such as telecommunications fraud.

Chinese nationals staying (residing) in northern Myanmar with exit/entry documents issued by China are required to register their identities by July 31, according to notices issued by police of five cities and prefectures in Yunnan, including Dehong. 

Ruili, a China-Myanmar land border port in Dehong, has experienced two COVID-19 outbreaks due to allegedly illegal crossings.

The police also urged those who cross the border illegally or engage in cross-border crimes against China or Chinese citizens, such as telecommunications and internet fraud, gambling and money laundering, to return to China as soon as possible and confess their crimes. 

Many places in China have been stepping up the fight against telecommunications fraud committed by Chinese nationals in the northern region of Myanmar.

Lishui and Leqing in East China's Zhejiang Province have issued notices urging Chinese in northern Myanmar to return home as soon as possible. The notices were issued on June 12 and May 26, respectively.

Since the beginning of 2020, police across the country have had 2,620 fraud suspects repatriated from Southeast Asian countries.

A staffer in the border police station in Jiegao port, which is located in Ruili, a Chinese city bordering Myanmar, told the Global Times on Tuesday that "the police will deal with the telecommunications fraud cases involving Chinese nationals in northern Myanmar according to the law." 

In 2020, the property losses involved in China's telecom and internet fraud amounted to 35.4 billion yuan ($5.46 billion), Li Ruiyi, vice president of the third criminal court of the Supreme People's Court, said on Tuesday at a press conference.