Haven for scams: Hit movies further sour Chinese view of South-east Asia

On popular Chinese review site Douban, user Liuyisi said Lost In The Stars depicts a missing woman who ends up getting killed, while No More Bets is about getting duped and kidnapped in South-east Asia, so “who still dares to go to the region?” 

Another reviewer, SaturnRings, said the two movies will “really hurt travel to South-east Asia”.

Ms Lin Minjie, 26, an insurance agent who watched both films in Beijing, said the helplessness of the male lead in Lost In The Stars gave her the impression that the police in the fictitious South-east Asian country were unreliable.

“I don’t think I can trust the local police to help me, even if they can understand me,” said Ms Lin, who speaks Mandarin and English.

Ms Lin said Lost In The Stars also reminded her of how a Chinese woman was tortured and drowned by her boyfriend, who is also Chinese, in a Bali hotel room in May, an…