MANILA – More Filipino lawmakers on Wednesday urged President Marcos to send Chinese Ambassador Jing Quan back to Beijing and declare him persona non grata as the word war between the two countries escalated with the Chinese Embassy in Manila engaging in social media combat on its Facebook page.
On Wednesday alone, the embassy issued short but stinging retorts—a series of seven posts as of press time—parrying separate statements from Senators Francis Pangilinan, Panfilo Lacson and Vicente Sotto III, Akbayan party list, Bicol Saro Rep. Terry Ridon, Las Piñas Rep. Mark Anthony Santos and Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr.
“Mr. President, if you can send [former President Rodrigo] Duterte, [Apollo] Quiboloy, and [former Speaker Martin] Romualdez to jail, declare [Philippine offshore gaming operators] illegal and have them shut down, assert our sovereignty against Chinese aggression, then you can most certainly send this arrogant, insulting, crude, and insolent alien back to his country of origin,” Pangilinan said in a social media post on Tuesday night.
“I have witnessed and thus know that you have what it takes, Mr President. But if you don’t use it, you lose it. Send this poor version of a foreigner, this hooligan back home,” he added.
The embassy responded to Pangilinan’s statement by saying: “Using thuggish, hooligan-style language to launch personal attacks on others—is this the calibre and standards of a Philippine senator? Is this the diplomacy and prudence that the [Department of Foreign Affairs] claims to uphold?”
Decisive action
At the House of Representatives, 10 lawmakers, including Senior Deputy Minority Leader and Mamamayang Liberal Rep. Leila de Lima, and Akbayan Representatives Chel Diokno, Percival Cendaña and Dadah Ismula, filed House Resolution No. 1562 seeking Jing’s expulsion from the country.
The resolution echoes several Senate measures earlier filed after the ambassador remarked that China could easily win an armed conflict with the Philippines.
“Under the Constitution, the President, being vested with executive power, holds primary authority to conduct foreign relations … and must therefore take decisive action in response to statements and conduct that undermine national sovereignty and threaten the country’s security,” the resolution stated.
It was also signed by Lanao del Sur Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong, Las Piñas Rep. Mark Anthony Santos, Albay Rep. Cielo Lagman, Dinagat Islands Rep. Kaka Bag-ao, Pinoy Workers Rep. Karl Legazpi and Zamboanga del Norte Rep. Adrian Amatong.
Doubling down
They doubled down on their call to expel Jing, with Amatong joining their ranks in a show of defiance against potential retaliatory entry bans from Beijing.
“Yesterday, nine House lawmakers issued a joint statement against the Chinese ambassador’s threats toward our nation,” Akbayan said in Filipino in a Facebook post. “China placed these lawmakers on a ‘list’ in an attempt to intimidate them, but it backfired completely.”
“Today, 10 House members filed a resolution declaring the Chinese ambassador persona non grata. From nine patriotic lawmakers, we are now ten,” Akbayan said.
The embassy responded to the resolution with another post captioned: “Okay, it’s been put on the list. As you wish.”
In another post, it responded to a news article about Ridon calling on the President to instead deport Jing as well as those running the embassy’s social media operations.
“Why don’t you suggest closing the entire embassy?” the embassy retorted.
Internet trolls?
Earlier on Tuesday, Sen. JV Ejercito raised the possibility that China may be using social media trolls to spread propaganda that would sow division among Filipinos over the country’s territorial sovereignty.
He made the statement during a budget hearing at the Senate where Teodoro was present, noting that his social media page was flooded with comments within minutes after he reacted to Jing’s statement.
In response, Teodoro said China’s People’s Liberation Army employs influence and propaganda activities as part of its broader strategy, pointing to the United Front Work as a pillar of the Chinese Communist Party.
Ejercito himself was targeted by the embassy’s Facebook page on Tuesday by sharing a post from last May by Linglong Tire, a Chinese tire manufacturer, showing Ejercito endorsing it.
“Chinese brand ambassador? How do you feel?” the post was captioned.
Ejercito has urged fellow Filipinos to be vigilant against moves that exploit social media to deepen divisions over matters of national interest.
In 2016, an article by independent, nonprofit media organization National Public Radio quoted a Harvard study estimating that the Chinese government fabricates about 488 million social media posts each year.
‘Talk to him’
In 2021, independent American think tank Council on Foreign Relations reported that China’s internet trolls have gone global and are “more aggressively pushing propaganda on foreign social media networks.” It said the trolls “pose serious threats to economic security, political stability, and personal safety worldwide.”
Taking up the cudgels for Jing, Sen. Robin Padilla urged other government officials to speak with the ambassador in person.
“If you have an issue with someone, you need to talk to them in person so you can get to know them. Maybe they should talk to you in person, too, so they know why I said he is educated, a gentleman, and direct,” Padilla said on Wednesday.
Senator Lacson, meanwhile, told the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) that it was not a failure of diplomacy to call out a diplomat “for his undiplomatic conduct toward high-ranking elected officials of his host country and politely asking his government to recall him […]”
“It is a dignified act of preserving bilateral relations,” Lacson said.
In a post quoting Lacson, the embassy also addressed the DFA: “Holding Philippine high-ranking elected officials accountable for reckless, inflammatory remarks and constantly smearing and maligning a neighboring country and urging them to watch their words and handle matters diplomatically is about preserving bilateral relations. It is not a failure of diplomacy.” —With a report from Keith Clores
ANN/Philippine Daily Inquirer