Bayan Muna stands vs Sinophobia but notes Chinese gov’t atrocities
MANILA, Philippines – Opposition group Bayan Muna has sided with President Rodrigo Duterte’s stance against bashing Chinese nationals due to the 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV), but it stressed that the atrocities committed by the Chinese government should not be forgotten.
Reps. Carlos Zarate and Eufemia Cullamat clarified on Tuesday that while they do not condone xenophobia, particularly and Sinophobia — that is, prejudice against foreigners and prejudice against the Chinese, respectively — this would not mean tolerating China’s abusive behavior.
“Chinese bashing, especially in social media, on the spread of the now dreaded novel corona virus should now stop, but this should not be taken to mean that we will tolerate or forget the abuses committed by the Chinese government against our people and our national sovereignty,” the lawmakers said in a joint statement.
“But we should not forget the sins of the Chinese government against our national sovereignty. The Chinese government already established seven military bases on the reefs of the Philippines,” Zarate added.
Zarate also stressed that the Filipinos’ fear of possible nCoV infection was not due to the Chinese people but because of the government’s “inadequate” response to the pressing concerns, like the banning of flights from China.
“We should all unite against nCOV and should not blame the Chinese people for the spread of the infection. In fact, it is the inadequate government response to the situation that placed our people in higher risk,” he noted.
Duterte and the government has been drawing flak on social media for a supposed complacent attitude towards the nCoV’s looming threat.
After the government refused to ban flights from China and his call for a meeting the following week despite a confirmed coronavirus case in the country, the hashtag #OustDuterte trended on Twitter, with even some of his ardent supporters joining the fray.
They accused Duterte of prioritizing diplomatic ties with Beijing over the public’s general welfare.
Malacañang officials downplayed the issue, saying that the government is not relaxed, but a Senate hearing on Tuesday found out that only 17 percent of the infected Chinese nationals’ co-passengers were tracked.
READ: #OustDuterte trends as gov’t belies ‘relaxed’ approach to nCoV scare
READ: Duterte not keen on stopping tourist traffic from China
READ: Duque says airlines ‘invoking confidentiality,’ on passenger records
Cullamat said that the primary discussions should revolve on how the government should prepare for nCoV and not on blaming Chinese citizens.
“We should first and foremost talk about how the government should prepare for this sickness,” Cullamat said in Filipino.
“We should not blame Chinese citizens for the spread of nCoV. But the public should know details about this. We need quick, decisive actions and response to this problem because the lives of Filipinos are at stake,” she added.
As of this posting, the latest coronavirus strain that originated in China has infected over 20,000 persons, with 425 dead — including a Chinese patient in the Philippines, which was the first casualty outside mainland China.
The Department of Health said earlier that it was now monitoring over 100 patients for showing symptoms of the nCoV infection.
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