Chinese ambassador to the Philippines: Reassess travel ban

Chinese Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Huang Xilian on Monday called on the Philippine government to reassess the travel ban that it imposed on mainland China and its special administrative regions.

Speaking before the Association for Philippines-China Understanding, Huang said any decision that will be imposed to curb the spread of COVID-19 should be based on science.

“We hope to see scientific and calm response and scientific measures to be taken, to prevent the spread of the virus here. We hope there will be a reassessment of the situation so that unnecessary measures will be lifted. On the other hand, of course, we respect the decision of the government of the Philippines. I understand its concern to safeguard the health and safety of its people,” Huang said.

When asked to react on Senator Panfilo Lacson’s statement that the travel ban imposed by the Philippine on Taiwan was more a result of the One-China policy, the ambassador replied, “We hope there will be reasonable reaction to the epidemic. We don’t encourage overreaction from any country. We do appreciate the One-China policy.”

Huang said Chinese tourists make 160 million outbound trips each year.

“There will be big blow on tourism industry of this country,” Huang warned as he cited reports from the Philippines’ Department of Tourism that losses in the local tourism industry could reach P42.9 billion from February to April this year.

Huang assured the public that the Chinese government is doing everything to prevent the further spread of the disease, saying “the situation is still quite severe in the province of Hubei, especially in Wuhan. But the situation is improving remarkably especially in those majority area of China out of Hubei province.”

Huang reported that in the 31 Chinese provinces, there are now 2,048 confirmed COVID-19 cases with 105 deaths. There are also 1,563 suspected cases.

“Is COVID-19 preventable, controllable and curable? In my understanding, the answer is yes and yes. We are fully confident that we’ll beat the virus,” the ambassador added. — RSJ, GMA News