China yesterday warned its nationals to avoid visiting the Philippines, citing a foiled bomb plot against the Chinese embassy in Manila and the danger of criminal gangs.
“Given the worsened security situation in the Philippines, the consular department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs urges Chinese citizens not to travel to the Philippines for the time being,” a ministry statement said.
The warning came after three men were arrested last week over an alleged plot to bomb the Chinese embassy, the international airport and the business premises of ethnic Chinese tycoons.
In Beijing, Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Hua Chunying (華春瑩) urged the Philippine government to do more to protect Chinese citizens.
Aside from the alleged bomb plot, Hua cited “criminal gangs” who had targeted Chinese citizens and businesses.
Philippine Justice Secretary Leila de Lima said last week that the bomb plot may be linked to a fringe politician who had been involved in a string of anti-Chinese protests. However, the Philippine military dismissed the alleged bomb plot, calling the fringe politician a crank who posed no real danger and saying his “bombs” were merely firecrackers. Police arrested him, but then quickly released him.
Diplomatic relations between China and the Philippines have been extremely tense in recent years due to a dispute over competing territorial claims in the South China Sea.
In response to the travel warning, the Philippine Foreign Ministry released a statement saying it had been liaising with Chinese diplomats to ease their concerns.
Many foreign governments warn their nationals to avoid large parts of the southern Philippines due to the threats of kidnapping, but there are no blanket advisories similar to China’s to avoid the entire country.
The travel warning was released just before reports emerged that armed men abducted an 18-year-old Chinese man on the strife-torn southern island of Mindanao late on Thursday.
Senior Inspector Leo Castillo said the gunmen had not been identified, but it was believed to be another case of kidnapping for ransom, a common crime in the south committed by Muslim rebels. Castillo said the parents of the abductee, a store manager, were Chinese nationals.
However, a spokeswoman at the Chinese embassy in Manila said yesterday that diplomats were still trying to confirm if the abducted man was a Chinese citizen.
POLITICAL AGENDA: Beijing’s cross-strait Mid-Autumn Festival events are part of a ‘cultural united front’ aimed at promoting unification with Taiwan, academics said Local authorities in China have been inviting Taiwanese to participate in cross-strait Mid-Autumn Festival celebrations centered around ideals of “family and nation,” a move Taiwanese academics said politicizes the holiday to promote the idea of “one family” across the Taiwan Strait. Sources said that China’s Fujian Provincial Government is organizing about 20 cross-strait-themed events in cities including Quanzhou, Nanping, Sanming and Zhangzhou. In Zhangzhou, a festival scheduled for Wednesday is to showcase Minnan-language songs and budaixi (布袋戲) glove puppetry to highlight cultural similarities between Taiwan and the region. Elsewhere, Jiangsu Province is hosting more than 10 similar celebrations in Taizhou, Changzhou, Suzhou,
The Republic of China (ROC) is celebrating its 114th Double Ten National Day today, featuring military parades and a variety of performances and speeches in front of the Presidential Office in Taipei. The Taiwan Taiko Association opened the celebrations with a 100-drummer performance, including young percussionists. As per tradition, an air force Mirage 2000 fighter jet flew over the Presidential Office as a part of the performance. The Honor Guards of the ROC and its marching band also heralded in a military parade. Students from Taichung's Shin Min High School then followed with a colorful performance using floral imagery to represent Taiwan's alternate name
COGNITIVE WARFARE: Chinese fishing boats transmitting fake identification signals are meant to test Taiwan’s responses to different kinds of perceived incursions, a report said Chinese vessels are transmitting fake signals in Taiwan’s waters as a form of cognitive warfare, testing Taipei’s responses to various types of incursions, a report by the Institute for the Study of War said on Friday. Several Chinese fishing vessels transmitted fake automatic identification system (AIS) signals in Taiwan’s waters last month, with one mimicking a Russian warship and another impersonating a Chinese law enforcement vessel, the report said. Citing data from Starboard Maritime Intelligence, the report said that throughout August and last month, the Chinese fishing boat Minshiyu 06718 (閩獅漁06718) sailed through the Taiwan Strait while intermittently transmitting its own AIS
CHINESE INFILTRATION: Medical logistics is a lifeline during wartime and the reported CCP links of a major logistics company present a national security threat, an expert said The government would bolster its security check system to prevent China from infiltrating the nation’s medical cold chain, a national security official said yesterday. The official, who wished to stay anonymous, made the remarks after the Chinese-language magazine Mirror Media (鏡周刊) reported that Pharma Logistics (嘉里醫藥物流) is in charge of the medical logistics of about half of the nation’s major hospitals, including National Taiwan University Hospital and Taipei Veterans General Hospital. The company’s parent, Kerry TJ Logistics Co (嘉里大榮物流), is associated with the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA), the
RSS