DFA won’t meddle in Hong Kong protests

MANILA, Philippines - The pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong may be a blessing in disguise for the Philippines insofar as its territorial dispute with China is concerned, Rep. Walden Bello of party-list group Akbayan said yesterday.

But the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said that rallies staged by Akbayan at the Chinese consular office in support of Hong Kong protesters did not reflect Philippine policy.

Foreign Affairs spokesman Charles Jose said Akbayan protests were an “individual initiative, not to be interpreted as meddling in the internal affairs of China and Hong Kong.”

He said their right to assemble was guaranteed by the Constitution, and could not be stopped by the government.

Bello believed the Hong Kong protests could “play a part in the Filipinos’ struggle to secure their country’s sovereignty in the West Philippine Sea.”

“While the Hong Kong citizens may not fully share our rightful claim in the West Philippine Sea, their democratic struggle, which directly challenges the autocratic governance of the Chinese communist government, could hopefully contribute in chipping away its hostile policy in the region and bring it back to the democratic, legal and peaceful process of resolving the territorial dispute,” he said.

Occupy Central, a civil disobedience campaign calling for universal suffrage in Hong Kong, officially began last Sunday around the government offices in Tamar, Admiralty.

Akbayan expressed its support and solidarity for the Hong Kong pro-democracy protests.

“The struggle for democracy will always be a just struggle. It is an inherent right of all. We Filipinos are not unfamiliar to such a struggle having been subjected to a brutal 14-year dictatorship,” he said.

He said Akbayan deplored the use of violence by the Hong Kong police against the protesters last weekend.

Former interior secretary Rafael Alunan, who headed the West Philippine Sea Coalition, agreed with Bello.

“China’s undemocratic and hawkish behavior must be pushed back from within and by free peoples everywhere,” he said. 

Bello urged the DFA to look after the safety of Filipino workers in Hong Kong, many of whom have reportedly joined the protests.

He said the workers should touch base with democracy movement leaders so they would understand their demands and goals.

The DFA would not comment on the situation in Hong Kong, but urged the estimated 185,000 Filipinos in Hong Kong to avoid venues of demonstrations.

“We reiterate our advice to Filipinos in Hong Kong to avoid places where demonstrations are taking place for their own safety and protection. We’re monitoring what’s happening there primarily for the sake of Filipinos. We’re just after their welfare and safety,” Jose added.