Sichuan Chengdu 38-year-old man Liu Xiuhong, who has been back in the country for more than twenty days, recently spoke to the media for the first time about his harrowing 79-day ordeal in Myanmar before being rescued. During an interview with mainland media, visible on his hands were overlapping scars, and there were still unhealed wounds on his body.
September 21, “Red Star News” reported that Liu Xiuhong recalled that on June 9, he flew from Guangzhou Baiyun Airport to Bangkok, Thailand. Before leaving, he told his family that the trip was to “settle a business deal in person for a repayment.” Upon arrival, he was first arranged to rest at a hotel, and a few hours later someone came to pick him up by car.
While taking a nap in the car, he woke up in a remote forest. The other party held a gun to him, forced him to hand over his phone, ID cards, and other items. He was then blindfolded, taped on the mouth, and forcibly transported to another car. It was then that he realized he was unable to escape.
After the car stopped, he was taken to a chicken coop where another man’s head was bleeding – that person was beaten for attempting to escape. After a brief rest in the chicken coop, they walked for two hours along a mountain road, escorted by 10 people dressed in “green military uniforms,” and arrived at a small village inside Myanmar where a total of 4 people were detained. Upon their arrival, they witnessed another person who had just been deceived and did not comply with discipline being surrounded and beaten unconscious by over a dozen people; subsequently, the assailants turned to beat three other obedient individuals, simply because they did not like them. Witnessing all this, he dared not resist further, waiting for an opportunity.
Following this, his phone was first turned off, then displayed “account exception” and shut down, cutting off contact with his family completely.
Liu Xiuhong stated that after entering the compound, he was transferred to three different “military stations” one after another.
He recalled that the managers had told him that people under 35 in the compound were easier to sell, and at 38, he was considered a less desirable candidate.
At the first selling point, he developed a relationship with a local “supervisor.” This supervisor was covered in blood after helping a fellow villager escape and getting beaten by the boss. Being knowledgeable in traditional Chinese medicine, Liu Xiuhong diagnosed that without proper treatment, the wound might get infected, so he taught the supervisor to use Amoxicillin and iodine to reduce inflammation. A few days later, the wound scabbed over. To repay him, the supervisor instructed him to claim to others that he could only send simple messages using a phone and could not type, so that even if he were beaten, he would not risk his life; and promised that if he ultimately could not be sold, they would contact his family to raise money for his release. He stayed in this place for half a month and remained unsold.
Approximately half a month later, as no buyers came forward, he was transferred to the second location. Due to his medical knowledge, he became a temporary “doctor,” treating colds, fevers, and dispensing medication for others. Among the group of individuals awaiting sale, he was the only one who was not beaten; any slight mistake – eating too much, appearing disagreeable – would result in a beating for the others.
At the third location, two individuals under control attempted to escape and seize the guard’s firearm. At that time, Liu Xiuhong was there as a watcher. In the end, they failed to escape, and the two gun grabbers were beaten half to death, while he himself was injured by the gun butt, a wound that has not fully healed to this day. Subsequently, potential buyers visited, and the boss sold him as a “gift.”
He described himself at that time as the “gift” in the “buy one, get one free” offer.
After being sold, the fraud boss demanded that he memorize scam techniques specifically targeting divorced or older women, starting with emotional manipulation. Refusing to comply, even after half a month, he received beatings. The foreman told him, “If I don’t beat you, the leader will beat me. One of us will always take the beating.” Subsequently, he was confined daily in a small dark room measuring only 6 square meters, crowded with six people and lacking seats, beds, or lighting, infested with insects, and his wounds remained unhealed. He once thought his life might end in that place.
A turning point came through an unexpected opportunity when he noticed that the boss had a severe cough. He then examined the boss’s pulse and diagnosed it as emphysema, warning that without treatment, it could develop into lung cancer. Initially skeptical, the boss later confirmed his diagnosis after a hospital check-up and allowed him to provide treatment. In exchange, the boss permitted him to go outside for sunlight and switched his accommodation to a single room.
After losing contact, his sister immediately launched a rescue operation, spending over 50 days shuttling between the Thai authorities and other relevant agencies, continuously spreading pleas for help through the media. These messages eventually reached the boss to whom Liu Xiuhong belonged. Upon learning of the widespread media coverage, the boss proactively said to him, “Your sister is looking for you, with the media broadcasting everywhere. Get ready to go.” He then arranged armed personnel to allow him to contact his family.
In the end, his sister spent approximately 300,000 RMB to redeem him. After being missing for 79 days, he reunited with his family on August 26 and returned to Chengdu on September 4.
On September 16, Liu Xiuhong, in Chengdu, spoke to “Red Star News” with visible new and old scars on his hands.
Liu Xiuhong said that his ability to come back alive was largely due to his knowledge of traditional Chinese medicine, which earned him more survival space than other abductees. Even after returning home, he still suffers from frequent nightmares and struggles to sleep through the night.
He cautioned everyone: do not believe in “get rich abroad opportunities”; they are all traps. Many people who were deceived did not return; he considered himself “one of the luckiest groups.”