China Threatens To Deport 100 Filipinos After Philippines Arrests Illegal Chinese Workers
China's foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said the arrested Filipinos have violated Chinese laws and regulations for alleged illegal employment and overstaying.
Recommended For YouGuo's statement came after announcements that immigration authorities launched a special operation involving more than 100 Philippine citizens last August 10.
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The arrests came after the Philippine government conducted a series of operations against allegedly illegal Chinese workers in at least three steel factories in the Philippines.
Sixty-nine Chinese nationals were first arrested last May 15 in Misamis Oriental Province while 37 were placed under custody following a raid in Pampanga Province last July 18. On Friday, August 14, another 10 Chinese citizens were arrested in Davao City.
Philippine authorities claimed the foreigners were manufacturing and distributing defective and radioactive reinforcing steel bars used for construction. They added that the steel bars used in the construction of the nine-storey building in Angeles City that collapsed last May 24 were supplied by the raided Pampanga plant.
Most 'unwanted' Filipino in ChinaMeanwhile, the successive steel plant raids targeting Chinese workers acquired a geopolitical color with Philippine defense secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr.'s presence during May 15 raid. Teodoro denied his presence had anything to do with the Philippine-Chinese South China Sea tensions.
Beijing accused Teodoro of leading what it described as discriminatory enforcement against the Chinese nationals.
Teodoro is actively engaged in debates with Chinese authorities over China's controversial nine-dash line claim over the majority of the South China Sea. He and his family have been banned from entering China since June 11.
The Chinese foreign ministry did not say if the operations against the Filipinos in China were connected to Teodoro.
Filipinos in HK, Macau next?Various reports by Philippine media outfits hinted at Chinese immigration operations against Filipino workers in Hong Kong and Macau. There are more than 200,000 workers in both Chinese territories, some of whom may have overstayed or are lacking work permits.
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