{"id":845341,"date":"2025-05-02T20:11:56","date_gmt":"2025-05-03T01:11:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/05\/02\/malacanang-says-only-criminals-unwelcome-after-china-warning-vs-unstable-ph\/"},"modified":"2025-05-02T20:11:56","modified_gmt":"2025-05-03T01:11:56","slug":"malacanang-says-only-criminals-unwelcome-after-china-warning-vs-unstable-ph","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/05\/02\/malacanang-says-only-criminals-unwelcome-after-china-warning-vs-unstable-ph\/","title":{"rendered":"Malaca\u00f1ang says only criminals unwelcome after China warning vs \u2018unstable\u2019 PH"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"primary\">\n<article id=\"post-2950982\">\n<p><template id=\"tmpl-rappler-speechify-button-play\"><br \/>\n\t<\/template><\/p>\n<p><template id=\"tmpl-rappler-speechify-button-upgrade\"><\/p>\n<p><\/template><\/p>\n<p><template id=\"tmpl-rappler-speechify-cta\"><\/p>\n<p>Already have Rappler+? <br \/> to listen to groundbreaking journalism.<\/p>\n<p><\/template><\/p>\n<div>\n<div id=\"ai-summary-section-container\">\n<p id=\"ai-summary-warning-label\">This is AI generated summarization, which may have errors. For context, always refer to the full article.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p><img width=\"1525\" height=\"843\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rappler.com\/tachyon\/2025\/04\/20250402b-PCOBriefingUsecCastro.jpg\" alt=\"Malaca\u00f1ang says only criminals unwelcome after China warning vs \u2018unstable\u2019 PH\" fetchpriority=\"high\" loading=\"eager\" decoding=\"async\"  ><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t&#8216;EVERYONE WELCOME.&#8217; Undersecretary Clarissa Castro of the Presidential Communications Office briefs the media on Wednesday, April 2. \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\tPresidential Communications Office\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p><em>&#8216;Chinese citizens and businesses in the Philippines are faced with higher security risks,&#8217; the Chinese embassy in Manila says in a &#8216;safety reminder&#8217; <\/em>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>MANILA, Philippines \u2013 Malaca\u00f1ang Palace sought to downplay the Chinese embassy\u2019s \u201csafety reminder\u201d to citizens travelling to the Philippines on Wednesday, April 2, by pointing out that \u201call are welcome [to the Philippines]\u2026 except, of course, those who commit crimes.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<div data-youtube-id=\"2tio_43PKsY\" data-title>\n<p>\n\t<img decoding=\"async\" srcset=\"https:\/\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/2tio_43PKsY\/default.jpg 120w, https:\/\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/2tio_43PKsY\/mqdefault.jpg 320w, https:\/\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/2tio_43PKsY\/hqdefault.jpg 480w, https:\/\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/2tio_43PKsY\/sddefault.jpg 640w\" data-sizes src=\"https:\/\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/2tio_43PKsY\/sddefault.jpg\" alt=\"Malaca\u00f1ang says only criminals unwelcome after China warning vs \u2018unstable\u2019 PH\" loading=\"lazy\"><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u201c<em>Ang kanilang mga travel advisory is just a normal consular function of China. At we can assure China na hindi na po tayo nagta-target ng particular nationality \u00a0or particular national na para I-harass. Tandaan po natin, lahat po dito ay welcome, except po, of course kapag gumagawa po ng krimen. I-implement po natin kung ano po ang batas<\/em>,\u201d said Undersecretary Clarissa Castro in a briefing.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>(Their issuance of a travel advisory is just a normal consular function of China. And we can assure China that we do not target particular nationalities or a particular national to harass. Everyone is welcome in the Philippines, except those who want to commit crimes. We will implement what is in the law.)\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The day prior, the Chinese embassy in Manila issued a consular notice to its citizens in Chinese. Hours after Castro\u2019s briefing, the embassy then made public an official English translation of its notice.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>In its notice, the Chinese embassy in Manila said: \u201cConsidering the recent unstable public security situation in the Philippines and growingly frequent harassment of Chinese citizens and businesses, witnessing more frequent occurrence of political assemblies, protests and demonstrations nationwide, Chinese citizens and businesses in the Philippines are faced with higher security risks.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>It also reminded its citizens to \u201ckeep a close watch on local security situation and step up safety awareness and emergency preparedness,\u201d \u201cminimize non-essential outings and stay away from political gatherings or crowded venues,\u201d and \u201cremain vigilant against potential security traps and schemes\u201d while \u201ccomplying with local laws and regulations.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Castro, during the briefing, made no reference to the supposed \u201cmore frequent occurrence of political assemblies\u201d or \u201cgrowingly frequent harassment of Chinese citizens and businesses.\u201d Instead, the Palace official connected the Chinese embassy\u2019s \u201creminder\u201d to the crackdown on Philippine offshore gaming operators or similar operations, which Castro noted involved \u201cmostly Chinese nationals.?<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u201c<\/strong><em>So, malamang po ay isa ito sa nagiging isyu po. Pero, muli ang DFA ay open po for discussion regarding this at i-assure natin muli ang China na wala po tayong tinatarget na particular national<\/em>,\u201d she added.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>(Maybe that\u2019s one of the issues. But again, the Department of Foreign Affairs is open for discussion regarding this and we assure China that the Philippines does not target particular nationals.)\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>In making reference to \u201cpolitical assemblies, protests and demonstrations nationwide,\u201d the embassy was, most likely, referring to pocket gatherings or prayer rallies organized by former president Rodrigo Duterte to demand that he be returned to the Philippines. The former president is detained at the International Criminal Court in The Hague over a crimes against humanity case related to his bloody drug war.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The Philippines\u2019 2025 midterm election campaign period, meanwhile, began in February 2025. This has meant sorties and political gatherings daily across the Philippines.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The embassy did not specify by what it meant in speaking of \u201cgrowingly frequent harassment of Chinese citizens and businesses,\u201d although in the first quarter of 2025, the Philippines made public the arrest of Chinese nationals suspected to have conducted espionage operations in the country.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>China\u2019s foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun, in a briefing on April 2 in Beijing, also declined to provide specific information on the \u201charassment\u201d that the embassy mentioned.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGiven the current conditions on travel safety in the Philippines, the Chinese Embassy in the Philippines issued a security alert. There is much relevant media coverage, which you may refer to,\u201d said Guo. <strong>\u2013 Rappler.com<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div id=\"moodmeter\">\n<div>\n<p>How does this make you feel?<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><span>Loading<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"Avatar photo\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rappler.com\/uploads\/2023\/05\/IMG_5021-scaled-250x250.jpg\"  height=\"250\" width=\"250\" decoding=\"async\">\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>\t<template id=\"cx_after-article-template\"><\/p>\n<article data-is-main-site=\"{{item.mainsite}}\">\n<p><h3>{{ item.sitename }}<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n<p>\t<\/template>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rappler.com\/philippines\/malacanang-response-only-criminals-unwelcome-china-warning-citizens-unstable-country\/\" class=\"button purchase\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Already have Rappler+? to listen to groundbreaking journalism. This is AI generated summarization, which may have errors. For context, always refer to the full article. &#8216;EVERYONE WELCOME.&#8217; Undersecretary Clarissa Castro of the Presidential Communications Office briefs the media on Wednesday, April 2. Presidential Communications Office &#8216;Chinese citizens and businesses in the Philippines are faced with<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":845342,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32304,143620],"tags":[13297,143619],"class_list":{"0":"post-845341","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-criminals","8":"category-malacanang","9":"tag-criminals","10":"tag-malacanang"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/845341","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=845341"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/845341\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/845342"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=845341"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=845341"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=845341"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}