MANILA, Philippines – The Chinese Ambassador himself supports the Philippine government’s move to file charges against the Chinese student who threw taho at a policeman.

Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo said the taho-throwing incident  at the Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT3) was the first topic discussed during Zhao’s courtesy call with President Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday, February 21.

Zhao praised Police Officer 1 William Cristobal for how he handled Chinese student Zhang Jiale’s behavior.

“He first extended his greeting and commendation to the police officer that was the subect of a taho-throwing. He said he saw the video and Ambassador Zhao said he was impressed by the professionalism and restraint exhibited by the police officer,” Panelo said on Thursday, February 21.

The Philippine National Police filed assault charges against Zhang, while immigration officials arrested and detained her as they work on her deportation – moves the Chinese envoy supported. 

“[Zhao] said that in the Philippines, we should prosecute foreign nationals including Chinese who violate our laws in the same way that the Chinese government will prosecute foreign nationals who violate their laws,” said Panelo.

Zhao had also supposedly told Duterte that the Chinese government “does not tolerate” the kind of behavior Zhang displayed.

Invitation to China, deals

Apart from the taho incident, Zhao also brought up other matters to the Philippine President.

He invited Duterte to attend the Belt and Road Forum in April. Chinese President Xi Jinping had extended the same invitation to Duterte during his November 2018 Manila visit.

Zhao also asked Duterte to start implementing the various memoranda of agreement the Philippines and China have signed.

“He suggested to the President if he could already implement the memorandum of agreement that we had with respect to our shared interest,” said Panelo.

Among such deals is the memorandum of understanding  on joint oil exploration signed during Xi’s November visit. – Rappler.com