The Chinese Embassy in the Philippines says Beijing has not banned travel to the country by the Chinese. In a statement, Ambassador Huang Xilian described tourism as an “important component of practical cooperation between China and the Philippines.”
The statement followed an assertion by Philippine Senate President Migz Zubiri, who said the ban was established due to rising crime in the Philippines online gaming industry. Zubiri told fellow senators, “Because of the problem of (Philippine Online Gaming Operations, or POGOs), the Philippines now is blacklisted and Chinese tourists are discouraged (from going to) to the Philippines.”
Though China’s embassy called the statement “misinformation,” it reiterated its opposition to POGOs, which solicit offshore customers, including those in Mainland China.
“Opening casinos to attract Chinese citizens as primary customers constitute gambling crimes,” the statement said. “The Chinese government and law enforcement have been taking tough measures to combat all forms of gambling.
“Most of the recent crimes targeted at Chinese citizens in the Philippines are related to POGO. The Chinese government cares about and protects the safety and legitimate interests of each and every overseas Chinese citizen … and (has) stepped up cooperation on cracking down POGO-related criminal activities against Chinese citizens in the Philippines.”
Thousands of Chinese nationals working in the Philippines are expected to be deported this month as officials continue their crackdown on POGOs, according to the Department of Justice (DOJ). It began last month following reports of kidnappings and other crimes in the industry, especially against POGO workers themselves.
“What is alarming are videos and pictures circulating on social media about murder, kidnapping and prostitution in POGOs,” said DOJ spokesman Mico Clavano.
Last week, the Chinese ambassador said those crimes “not only harm China’s interests and China-Philippines relations, but also hurt the interests of the Philippines. It is therefore widely believed that social costs of POGO far outweigh its economic benefits to the Philippines in the long run, and POGO should be tackled from the root so as to address the social ills in a sweeping manner.”
As for a tourism blacklist, he said, “Tourism is an important component of practical cooperation between China and the Philippines, which has helped further deepen long-time friendship between the two peoples.
“Before the Covid-19 pandemic, close to 2 million Chinese nationals traveled to the Philippines in 2019, making China the second largest source of tourists. We expect more Chinese tourists to come to this country after the pandemic.”
