11/06/2019
- Images claiming to show four people selling the flags at Manila’s Luneta Park days before the Philippines’ Independence Day have sparked fury online
- Under Philippine law, it is illegal for foreign flags to be displayed in public or used in commercials
Four people seemingly selling Chinese flags at the Luneta Park in Manila. Photo: Facebook
Staged photographs showing vendors selling Chinese flags in a Philippine park ahead of the country’s Independence Day should be condemned if they were an attempt to undermine bilateral relations, the Chinese embassy has said.
The embassy’s intervention comes after the photos, which purportedly show four people selling the flags at Luneta Park in Manila, sparked fury online at the weekend and reignited a debate about Chinese influence in the country.
Under Philippine law, it is illegal for foreign flags to be displayed in public or used in commercials.
Many social media users in the Philippines reacted negatively to the pictures, hitting out at what they perceived as undue influence from Beijing. In one post typical of the public’s response, Facebook user Martin Masadao criticised Philippine President
writing: “Chinese flags are sold in Luneta! Are we going to be a province of China?”
However, an investigation by the national park authorities has since found the four people in the photograph were paid to pose as if they were selling the flags.
JUST IN: National Parks Development Committee clarifies that there are no vendors selling Chinese flags in Luneta Park,and that the trending photos are fake.Their CCTV caught three Filipinos who allegedly paid the vendors to pose as if selling/buying the Chinese flags. @gmanews pic.twitter.com/KlTpazfeTO— Mav Gonzales (@mavgonzales) June 9, 2019
Taking to Twitter on Tuesday, the Chinese embassy noted that the incident had occurred on China-Philippines Friendship Day.
“We noticed the staged photos of [vendors] selling Chinese flags, which have caught widespread attention,” it said. “If this was done with good intentions to celebrate China-Philippines Friendship Day, you are welcome. However, if it was done to undermine the China-Philippine relationship, we condemn it.”
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Manila police on Tuesday said they were searching for suspects “who maliciously ordered the display and selling of Chinese flags in an unauthorised place”.
Anti-China sentiments have been rising in the Philippines over fears the Duterte administration is aligning itself too closely with Beijing.
Duterte: ‘I love China but is it right for a country to claim whole ocean?’
A surge in Chinese migrant workers has also caused resentment domestically. Some Filipinos accuse these workers of taking jobs from locals and adding pressure to the housing market.
On Tuesday, the Philippines announced it would tighten rules for foreign workers. The move follows figures showing that more Chinese workers are entering the country, many of them illegally. Foreign workers will now need a work permit as well as a working visa and a tax number.
Source: SCMP
Posted in China flags, Chinese embassy, displayed in public, foreign flags, illegal, Independence Day, Luneta Park, Manila, Philippine park, row, sold, speaks out, Uncategorized, used in commercials |
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