Once again, the Chinese Embassy issued a statement asking the Philippine government to also ban offshore gaming as it had been prohibited in China for the longest time.
The call of the Chinese Embassy comes in the heels of all the recent brouhaha about the operations of POGO (Philippine Offshore Gaming Operations) in the country that tends to put China in a bad light, as if all the illegal activities stemming from illegal POGO is its fault.
The Chinese Embassy reiterates that POGO should be prohibited in the Philippines, noting how many Chinese citizens get hooked and end up as victims of this ‘social ill.’
The Chinese embassy, in a statement, is again appealing for the Phiilippine govenment to totally ban Philippine offshore gaming operators and refrain from making “baseless” accusations against China regarding illegal activities of POGOs which it had been discouraging from day one.
“We appeal to the Philippines to ban POGO at an early date so as to root out this social ill. And we firmly oppose any baseless accusation and smearing against China in connection with POGO,” the embassy said.
It also assured of China’s willingness to work closely with Philippine authorities to stop illegal gambling operations that spawn criminal activities in the country, ranging up to serious crimes like kidnapping for ransom, human trafficking and even murder.
“The vast majority of the Chinese citizens involved in these cases are victims of the Philippine offshore gambling industry. The Chinese government is committed to protecting the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese citizens,” the statement said.
“POGO is detrimental to both Philippine and Chinese interests and images as well as China-Philippines relations,” the statement stressed.
The embassy also bared that Chinese and Philippine law enforcement agencies have always maintained close communication and cooperation in conducting many joint operations in the past and up to now, in an effort to rid the country of cross-border gambling and telecom fraud.
“Since 2018, nearly 3,000 Chinese citizens implicated in the cases have been repatriated with joint efforts of both sides. In the past year alone, China has assisted the Philippines in shutting down five POGO hubs and repatriated nearly 1,000 Chinese citizens,” the embassy stated.
This is not the first time that the Chinese government had called for a ban on this form of gambling.
Since offshore gaming had been banned in China for long, its citizens cannot get involved in such activity. This is why they go to the Philippines where they can do their thing, away from their country’s prohibition.
Why not totally ban it here, therefore? Your guess is as good as mine.
