A reprise to Boycott Chinese Products

What is this I have heard that tour operators and travel agencies in China have effectively cancelled the trips of their clients bound for the Philippines? And is the report also true that a Chinese flotilla (that is how I call group of about 30 Chinese vessels), described as fishing boats, has recently descended on some islands in the Spratlys, escorted by Chinese Maritime boats?

If these bits of information are validated, then I can say that China, conscious of our embarrassing predicament of utter helplessness, is ganging upon us both in the economic and political fronts. Who knows, it is also using its tremendous clout in other flanks unknown to our authorities or unseen by our observers? However its offensive form looks like, China’s obvious intention is to annex a part of our territory and judging from the relentlessness of their reported actions, I see no reason for them to stop their belligerence, not until they have successful occupied of our island territories.

In all candidness, our government is helpless. It may file diplomatic protests on China’s tactics, but these complaints are bound to fall on deaf ears. We may resort to all modes of settling disputes, short of war, enumerated, listed and discussed in the revered works of legal scholars and embodied, as well, in multi lateral treaties, yet I foresee that not one of these modes will be fruitful. And, more so, if the aim of that body of principles called Public International Law is the outlawry of war, the Philippines cannot go to war against China.

Despite the abundance of other issues to express my mind on, I prefer to dedicate this column today, on the more recent acts of the People’s Republic of China. This is actually the third time I write about their unfriendly acts. There are many other observers who share my view and have, in much better prose, condemned this aggression. Yet, while we uniformly lament over our government’s inutile response to the provocations made by our giant and powerful neighbor, we, as a people, have refused to take a united stance, or to make known of one, if any.

Take the case of a suggestion to boycott Chinese goods. I echoed it here. Speaking from a realistic rather than a political position, I pointed to the numerous purchases of products manufactured in China, that were of inferior quality. Government officials even described some of them to be potentially dangerous and hazardous. True, there was a deluge of positive messages I received from Filipino citizens supportive of the plan, but no one has yet taken the personal cudgel to translate this feeling into a collective national action.

Can you imagine if all Filipinos completely refuse to buy all Chinese made products? We shall reap positive consequences as I foresee that certainly, we shall not be on the losing end of the economic situation. The most glaring advantage is that we can boost the productivity of Filipino manufacturers who are producing competitive goods. If we buy only Philippine made goods, we generate a huge local patronage. With such massive support by the citizens, Pinoy factories can improve their products in quality and even lower their prices substantially.

 I am not aware of any other citizenry who has done it. American markets are flooded with Chinese products. I am told that this is also happening in Europe. We stop buying goods made in China as our collective expression of indignation to the kind of bullying we, as a nation, are being subject to. To approximate its maximum effect, let us make this effort purely an initiative of the ordinary citizens.

I repeat this call in the presence of the reservations aired by some Filipino merchants, mostly of Chinese ethnicity, Of course, they have interests to protect. While apparently legit, their concerns are less than nationalistic. The integrity of our nationhood is at stake here and our business brothers must realize this. Since we cannot fight the Chinese in the battlegrounds they have chosen, we can attract the attention the world over to our legitimate cause, if we can show our unity in this effort, unless of course, we are ready to give up our territory.