Chinese targeted by Philippine nationalism - People's Daily Online
A Chinese citizen sustained life threatening injuries after being shot in Meycauayan inBulacan Province of the Philippines on Saturday. He is the third Chinese citizen to betargeted in the Philippines in the space of five days after two Chinese nationals wereabducted on September 8 and 11. One escaped, but the other is still missing. Although thePhilippines is suffering from a deteriorating security situation, the spate of incidentstargeting the Chinese over the past week inevitably prompts the public to connect them tothe escalation in tension between Beijing and Manila.
China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and National Tourism Administration have bothadvised Chinese tourists to avoid travelling to the Philippines. Many travel agencies havesuspended services to the Philippines, which means its tourist industry is bound to sufferheavy losses.
Beijing has urged Manila to arrest the criminals and guarantee the safety of Chinesecitizens in the Philippines. However, we can't expect the warnings will yield instant results.In 2010 eight Hong Kong tourists died in a bus hijacking in Manila and in 2013 afisherman from Taiwan was shot dead by the Philippine Coast Guard. The Philippinegovernment failed to adopt immediate measures each time.
To begin with, the Philippine authorities are a major agitator of a nationalist and anti-China sentiment among its population, which can easily turn into extremism. Plus, thegovernment of the Philippines lacks the ability to manage safety issues. Consequently,certain criminals may take advantage of this anti-China mood as a cover to increase thelikelihood of escaping punishment for their crimes.
Poor social governance, an anti-China sentiment and a Western-style democratic systemwhere nationalism can foment wantonly make the Philippines a quasi-rogue state. Dealingwith it is aimed at guaranteeing the safety of Chinese citizens there, but the key lies in notgoing there for the moment.
The simple promise to "guarantee the safety of Chinese citizens in the Philippines"emanating from Manila came so easy, but lacks any particular sincerity from itsauthorities or support from its police. We demand that Philippine President BenignoAquino III makes a public apology for the serial attacks on Chinese citizens and severelyreprimands the criminals, which may add to our confidence in the Philippine governmentensuring the safety of Chinese citizens. Apart from this, Manila should take actions tocrack down on provocations emanating from the extreme anti-China sentiment.
We will not sever our engagement with the Philippines as it is our near neighbor.Nevertheless, given what it has done recently, we are highly suspicious of whether it iscapable of abiding by international laws. We advise Chinese citizens not to travel there inthe near future, which, while being an act of caution to ensure one's safety, is also awarning signal to the Philippines.
A Chinese citizen sustained life threatening injuries after being shot in Meycauayan inBulacan Province of the Philippines on Saturday. He is the third Chinese citizen to betargeted in the Philippines in the space of five days after two Chinese nationals wereabducted on September 8 and 11. One escaped, but the other is still missing. Although thePhilippines is suffering from a deteriorating security situation, the spate of incidentstargeting the Chinese over the past week inevitably prompts the public to connect them tothe escalation in tension between Beijing and Manila.
China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and National Tourism Administration have bothadvised Chinese tourists to avoid travelling to the Philippines. Many travel agencies havesuspended services to the Philippines, which means its tourist industry is bound to sufferheavy losses.
Beijing has urged Manila to arrest the criminals and guarantee the safety of Chinesecitizens in the Philippines. However, we can't expect the warnings will yield instant results.In 2010 eight Hong Kong tourists died in a bus hijacking in Manila and in 2013 afisherman from Taiwan was shot dead by the Philippine Coast Guard. The Philippinegovernment failed to adopt immediate measures each time.
To begin with, the Philippine authorities are a major agitator of a nationalist and anti-China sentiment among its population, which can easily turn into extremism. Plus, thegovernment of the Philippines lacks the ability to manage safety issues. Consequently,certain criminals may take advantage of this anti-China mood as a cover to increase thelikelihood of escaping punishment for their crimes.
Poor social governance, an anti-China sentiment and a Western-style democratic systemwhere nationalism can foment wantonly make the Philippines a quasi-rogue state. Dealingwith it is aimed at guaranteeing the safety of Chinese citizens there, but the key lies in notgoing there for the moment.
The simple promise to "guarantee the safety of Chinese citizens in the Philippines"emanating from Manila came so easy, but lacks any particular sincerity from itsauthorities or support from its police. We demand that Philippine President BenignoAquino III makes a public apology for the serial attacks on Chinese citizens and severelyreprimands the criminals, which may add to our confidence in the Philippine governmentensuring the safety of Chinese citizens. Apart from this, Manila should take actions tocrack down on provocations emanating from the extreme anti-China sentiment.
We will not sever our engagement with the Philippines as it is our near neighbor.Nevertheless, given what it has done recently, we are highly suspicious of whether it iscapable of abiding by international laws. We advise Chinese citizens not to travel there inthe near future, which, while being an act of caution to ensure one's safety, is also awarning signal to the Philippines.
