Transcript of the above video: 

So for long-time viewers, buckle up, this will be a bit of a longer video. This has kind of been a long time coming. I thought of making this video for the better part of a week, but new news just keeps coming out, and kind of pushes me back on it, so this will be kind of a roundup of what's going on here. There has been a lot of news regarding illegal Chinese Immigration; let's just jump in. 

Initially, I thought of making this video after reading a recent article or from the Nation on X so that is @Thenationth, under the headline: 70k baht to obtain Thai nationality for Chinese infants. Thai Police have uncovered a network that advertised childbirth packages in China. With 70,000 Baht, Chinese children are able to obtain Thai nationality by paying Thai men to falsely acknowledge paternity. A Hospital employee and a district official allegedly helped process the illegal registrations. Investigators found 164 cases involving Chinese nationals with no prior to antenatal records, naming a Thai father." So wow, I think that is an important new data point. I'm kind of a curious as to who these Thais are that are sort of undermining Thailand's Immigration system. 

That said, there is even further information regarding all kinds of interesting things going on from China. This one from Khaosod English on X, that's @KhaosodEnglish on X, quoting directly: "Chinese Embassy spokesperson late on Saturday responded on Facebook to growing cases of crackdown on a criminal network involved in fraudulently obtaining Thai citizenship by stating it has instructed its citizens not to break Thai Laws." Well thanks so much. Quoting further: "The Chinese side has taken note of the relevant media reports. Based on the information made public, the case involves a complex group of individuals who allegedly conspired with others. The relevant Thai Authorities are currently investigating the case in accordance with the law. China will not comment on the specific details of the case. The Chinese Government has consistently instructed Chinese citizens overseas to comply with the laws and regulations of their host countries. China has always handled unlawful conduct in accordance with its laws and regulations. China respects Thailand's law enforcement and judicial processes carried out in accordance with the law" - well clearly its citizenry doesn't really care that much about our immigration laws here, because they are in an organized fashion coming into violate them. That being said, it is good to see I guess that there is official recognition from the Chinese side as to problems associated with this.

You know, on top of that, we are also seeing a lot of reports regarding this situation involving there was a protest in Thailand and there were folks wearing certain masks and then it was discouraged and then there has been this issue associated with like a police patch that they said showed some sort of undue Chinese influence. Long story short, I'm not going to dig into all of that; I don't really want to go there because it doesn't really pertain directly to immigration matters directly. But again as the thumbnail suggests, it's from the old I Love Lucy, and old Ricky, “Lucy, you got some explaining to do.”

Really honestly, Chinese, and their government, there is some explaining to do. It looks like folks are coming down here and just flouting Thai law, and it looks like they are just coming to Thailand and treat it as some kind of, I don't know, hub to conduct illegal activity. Why? And meanwhile, Thailand goes out of her way to be cordial and respectful to Chinese visitors and to China diplomatically. Why are we being treated like this?

Meanwhile, in the latest sort of update that I've seen thus far regarding specifically the nationality side of this, I thought I found it making this one after reading a recent posting from the Thai Enquirer, that is @ThaiEnquirer on X. 

 

Really quickly though, before I get into this posting, I've had folks ask me, they have said, "hey is there any way we can help out? We know your channel is not monetized: we don't necessarily need any legal work at this time, but we appreciate what you put up.” As I have discussed in other videos, my better half and I set up a restaurant here in downtown Bangkok. The name is Pancake Palace, as the name implies, breakfast anytime, including American Diner style food. We've also got a British breakfast on the menu, but we have also got hamburgers, cheeseburgers, hot dogs, chilli dogs, chilli bowls. We've got chicken wings; we have got buffalo wings. For those who are interested, please feel free to check out the links in the description below, come on down and check us out. We would love to see you at Pancake Palace.

That said, let's jump into this, again, Thai Enquirer on X, @ThaiEnquirer on X. 33 arrested in fake Thai father citizenship fraud case. Quoting directly: “Police have arrested 33 suspects in an investigation into a network accused of helping Chinese families fraudulently obtain Thai citizenship for at least 164 children through fake birth registrations. Investigators said the group paid Thai men to falsely acknowledge paternity and allegedly colluded with hospital and civil registration officials to obtain Thai birth documents. Police have secured 35 arrest warrants, with one suspect believed to have fled abroad and another still at large. A Court denied Bell to 27 suspects, including four Chinese fathers, 10 Chinese mothers, and 13 Thai men accused of acting as fake fathers. Police said the investigation is continuing into the network's finances and possible involvement of additional state officials."

So this actually reminds me of a case we reported on going on nearly a decade ago talking about Indian nationals who had been engaging in sham marriages. Apparently, they had corrupted a civil registrar official and on paper were marrying Thai nationals and then using those to get Visa status; using the marriage to get Visa status. It was later discovered when these women started showing up to marry someone else, and they found out they were married already, causing a scandal. This is sort of similar except for now they are faking paternity rather than faking marriage. 

As can be seen, this is serious. 35 arrest warrants issued, 33 actually arrested including 13 Thai nationals, so again, they are not just concentrating on foreign perpetrators here, they are looking at anybody involved in this, and look, Thais take nationality very seriously. National sovereignty is a key concern of any Government in Thailand and Thais themselves, myself included as a naturalized Thai who had to go through the process, I take this seriously as well. I jealously guard my privileges and immunities of Thai citizenship because it took me a lot to get them, and I don't like to see people doing this fraudulently. Clearly though Law Enforcement is looking into the matter, and clearly there is action being taken. We will be keeping folks updated on this channel as the situation evolves.