China’s attempt to influence Philippine public opinion has failed, winning only Duterte zealots, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo appointees, and a smattering of broadsheets and tabloids whose reach could not possibly overturn the overall negative attitude to Xi Jinping and his squatting Coast Guard ships and maritime fisheries boats in the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ.)
The September 2024 report of AidData, a research laboratory of the College of William and Mary of the US affiliated with the Global Research Institute, entitled “Investing in Narrative: How Beijing Promotes its Development Projects in the Philippines” amply describes the architecture of China’s media influencing campaign in the Philippines, from the dubious consent sharing partnerships (CSPs) with the Manila Bulletin, Manila Times. Philippine Daily Inquirer, Philippine Star, Business Mirror, Philippine News Agency (PNA), the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) and Philippine Information Agency (PIA), to the op-ed by the Chinese ambassadors, columns by pro-China commentators and tie-ups with an alphabet soup of radio-TV networks as well as “training” workshops in China for rural and urban journalists. Asia Society Philippines also collaborated in producing the report.
AidData has also monitored China’s lending program worldwide for tears and noted that various countries never enjoyed debt restructuring or loan condonation with China, unlike what European, American, Japanese, and multinational lenders do. This explains why many African and Asian nations have called for the cancellation of a host of Chinese projects under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), all designed to speed up the movement of China’s exports and imports. Released on Sept. 6, 2024, the report was written by Bryan Burgess, Timothy Joseph G. Henares, Eun Young Kim, Divya Matthew, Jonathan A. Solis and Narayan Sritharam. The report is useful since it shows that despite China’s frenzied efforts to win acceptance in the Philippines, the reverse apparently happened.
China does not realize that it cannot convince Filipinos that all the stories that its journalists turn out cannot find acceptance among discriminating Pinoys. All because they think press freedom has been hostaged by Beijing. Thus, both Freedom House and Reporters Without Borders (RSF) rank China as among the worst countries for free and open media. In its 2024 Freedom in the World report, Freedom House gave China a score of 0 out of a possible 4 on independent media while RSF placed China at 172nd among 180 countries. “China has detained more journalists than any other country in the world, continues to exercise strict control over information channels, implementing censorship and surveillance policies to regulate online content and restrict the spread of information deemed sensitive or contrary to the party line,” RSF argued.
China is not trusted by Filipinos, with polling by Social Weather Stations (SWS) in 2016 showing China had a +10 rating only to sink to -40% late in 2023 and indication that despite 15 years of cajoling and blandishments through loans and investments that never materialized, Filipinos only have contempt for Beijing. Take note that the swing represents a 50% reduction of support for China. Xi Jinping cannot overcome that. How do you expect Filipinos to believe in China as a friend when they are snatching maritime features within its 220-mile EEZ? China’s benevolence wilts when it propagates its haughty claims of protecting its “indisputable sovereignty” in Philippine waters? There is cognitive dissonance right off the bat. China doesn’t understand that using the carrot one day a week would erase the impact of using the carrot for six days to pummel the Philippines.
“Of course, narrative building is easier said than done. Beijing has more control over the inputs—its preferred messages and distribution channels—than the outcomes. Since the early 2000s, Beijing has employed various direct and indirectmedia influence tactics to cast the PRC as an attractive economic partner interested in development cooperation and mutual benefit, as well as a critical player in facilitating regional stability,” the report revealed. China may control the inputs but Philippine publications may mangle Beijing’s message, which has happened to the Inquirer and, to a lesser extent, to the Philippine Star. The only consistent pro-China newspaper is the Manila Times and it has been the case in the past 15 years. The South China Morning Post (SCMP) may be privately owned by Ali Baba of Jack Ma but it has abided by the line promoted by Beijing. Ma remains a member of the Communist Party of China (CPC.)
China has claimed that it plunked in $9.1 billion in development finance to the Philippines between 2000 and 2022. The 10 most expensive China-financed projects in the Philippines include: The three coal-fired power plant projects (Dinginin, Lanao Kauswagan, Mariveles); two railway lines, the North-South Commuter Railway (NSCR) and the Subic-Clark Railway Project; two water-related investments (Manila Water Co., Kaliwa Dam), two telecommunications investments (Safe City Project, Chelsea Logistics acquisition of 2GO Group), and; the Clark Global City Project. Many of these projects are in the doldrums, with the Kaliwa dam’s environmental compliance certificate (ECC) swiftly approved during the Duterte regime despite the protests from the Dumagat and Remontado indigenous communities. No one reads the glowing reports about “cooperation for mutual benefit” propagated by Chinese spin masters. They profit as our pockets are burned.
Aside from the flagging propaganda campaign, China has apparently used the internet to deploy its trolls and crones that praise all Beijing projects, including those that other countries would take over. There are at least 10,000 China surrogates using bogus accounts while a pro-China lobby has been trying to win over civil society organizations (CSOs) with little success. In fact, the Chinese sponsored forum venue in Quezon City has been seeking groups that would hold their events in the place, with free “pan de sal” as “pabaon” to all those who materialize. This is the more intriguing propaganda operation since they take the like of the aggressor rather than the prey. It would be a pleasure for Filipinos to read how AidData would analyze such an operation, which is backed up by some columnists and commentators who also freelance as Duterte avatars.
