On September 21, Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Huang Xilian, exchanged views with Philippine Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla on stepping up law enforcement cooperation between China and the Philippines and jointly cracking down on POGO-related crimes in their communication.

Ambassador Huang said that the Chinese government firmly opposes and takes tough measures to combat gambling. According to the Chinese laws and regulations, gambling in whatever form by Chinese citizens, be it online gambling or gambling overseas is illegal. It is reported that most of the recent crimes targeted at Chinese citizens in the Philippines are related to POGOs. It is appreciated that relevant Philippine law enforcement agencies rescued a number of Chinese citizens and shut down some POGO companies during their recent operations. The Chinese Embassy has kept close communication and coordination with the Philippine side. Crimes induced by and associated with online gambling not only harm China’s interests and China-Philippines relations, but also hurt the interests of the Philippines. The Chinese government protects the legitimate rights and interests of overseas Chinese citizens in accordance with the law anywhere at any time. The Chinese side stands ready to step up law enforcement cooperation with the Philippine side so as to well protect the safety and legitimate rights and interests of Chinese citizens in the Philippines. The Chinese side welcomes the Philippine side to take strong measures to crack down on crimes related to POGOs, and tackle its root cause so as to address the social ills in a sweeping manner. The Chinese Embassy in the Philippines will continue to strengthen communication and cooperation with the Philippine government and law enforcement agencies in particular in this regard, and handle deportation among other issues in a constructive manner.

Justice Secretary Remulla said that the Philippine side will continue the crackdown on illegal activities, and expect help on deportation among other issues from the Chinese side. The Philippines and China will firm up cooperation efforts so as to achieve mutually beneficial objectives.