Rights defenders slam Chinese media's monkey video

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY — The superpower may be different, but it is reading from the same racist script.

This was how progressive group Bayan Muna and human rights defenders characterized the slur perpetrated by state-backed China Daily, as groups strongly condemned the recent depiction of Filipinos as monkeys, calling it a “recycled imperialist tactic straight out of the American colonial playbook.”

Former Bayan Muna Rep. Carlos Isagani Zarate slammed the offensive media content, which circulated amid renewed discussions on the Philippines’ 2016 Arbitral Award victory, as a “dangerous provocation” that strips away mutual respect among nations.

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“Reducing Filipinos to racist caricatures is a grave insult to our people’s dignity and a dangerous provocation that undermines the mutual respect that should exist among nations,” Zarate said in an emailed statement on Friday.

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Zarate pointed out that the racial slur is not an isolated incident but a familiar pattern of propaganda historically used to justify foreign domination.

He likened the Chinese media’s portrayal to the early years of United States colonization, when American officials deliberately depicted Filipinos as backward, childlike, and unfit for independence to mask their expansionist agenda in the Asia-Pacific.

“Today, we are seeing the same imperialist script recycled — only the actors have changed,” Zarate noted.

“Whether it comes from Washington or Beijing, racist portrayals that belittle Filipinos serve the same purpose: to treat our people as inferior and reduce our nation to a pawn in the geopolitical rivalry of major powers.”

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‘Deeply disheartening’

Bishop Felixberto Calang, convenor of Initiatives for Peace and Dialogue (InPeace), did not mince words in condemning the recent rhetorical attacks, saying that such tactics expose a disturbing desperation from the foreign power.

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“It is deeply disheartening that the People’s Republic of China had to resort to racist slurs. This cheap, desperate tactic exposes their sheer lack of respect for our dignity and sovereignty as a people. When a foreign power stoops this low instead of facing the issue squarely, it only proves the absolute bankruptcy of their position,” Calang told the Inquirer.

Fr. Raymond Ambray of the Diocese of Tandag told the Inquirer that the dehumanization of Filipinos by China is symptomatic of their hegemonic desire to make the Philippines their veritable province.

“It is a brazen disrespect to the sovereign Filipino people who lived meaningfully since time immemorial. By reducing us to mere animals, China expressed its real outlook on us: never an ally or a partner but as subjects of their exploitation,” Ambray said.

He added: “I strongly condemn such wanton disregard of mutual respect as neighbours and even as economic partners as it endangers our OFWs working in their territory or their allied states. By reducing Filipinos to mere monkeys, our leaders must be alarmed that China cannot be trusted after all.”

For Raymond Marvic Baguilat, head legal officer of the University of the Philippines Institute of Human Rights, there is no justification for a civilized nation to make racist remarks.

The Philippines defends its territory in accordance with the rule of law, grounded in its Constitution and international law, he argued, adding that if the Chinese government truly had a valid basis for its claims, it should have participated in the arbitration process.

‘Regional bully’

“It chose not to. Instead, it resorts to racist rhetoric and engages in dangerous actions against our Coast Guard vessels and fisherfolk,” Baguilat told the Inquirer on Friday.

Bayan Muna emphasized that such dehumanizing narratives do not foster people-to-people solidarity but instead reinforce Beijing’s image as a “regional bully.”

While standing firmly by its nationalist and anti-imperialist principles in defending Philippine sovereignty, the group pointed out that diplomatic and territorial differences must never descend into racial attacks.

“No political dispute, including disagreements over the West Philippine Sea and the 2016 Arbitral Award, can ever justify racism,” Zarate said.

The group demanded that Chinese media organizations and state-affiliated entities immediately withdraw the offensive portrayals.

Simultaneously, Bayan Muna urged both the Philippine and Chinese governments to exercise restraint and pursue peaceful diplomatic engagement rather than prioritizing “geopolitical grandstanding and great-power rivalry.”

“Our history is one of resistance against colonialism and foreign domination,” Zarate said, calling on Filipinos to remain vigilant.

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“We must never allow any country — whether from the West or the East — to diminish our dignity or treat Filipinos as less than equals.”

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