By Jonathan G. Villaraza
The spokesman of the Chinese embassy in Manila hailed the Senate committee on foreign relations headed by Sen. Imee Marcos for conducting a public hearing on the Reuters investigative report exposing the clandestine psyops conducted by the US Department of Defense in the Philippines against Chinese vaccines.
The Chinese embassy official cited the importance of the hearing, saying "its purpose concerns the lives and health of the Filipino people who, together with the rest of the world, have the right to know the truth."
Reuters validated in its report the US military's smear campaign against Chinese vaccines, particularly Sinovac, which was the first Covid-19 vaccine that reached the Philippines.
The report said the US military establishment conducted the secret disinformation campaign by creating and funding some 300 Facebook and other social media accounts impersonating Filipinos.
These accounts were used to discredit China and its vaccine, along with anti-epidemic materials.
The Chinese embassy official noted at the Senate hearing that the peoples of China and the Philippines supported one another during the Covid-19 pandemic.
He added that China took the lead in providing vaccines and anti-epidemic materials to the Philippines.
It also made available over 57 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines (including 5 million dosage of donation) and a considerable amount of anti-epidemic materials to the latter, making significant contributions to the Filipino people's fight against the epidemic and showcasing China as a responsible major country.
According to the Reuters report and information disclosed during the hearing, the United States not only practiced "America First" but also maliciously obstructed China's assistance to the Philippines in the vaccine and anti-epidemic materials.
The US military even resorted to impersonating Filipinos on the internet and using all means to spread rumors and smear Chinese vaccines.
The Chinese embassy official said these moves were to serve the US geopolitical self-interest of containing and suppressing China while disregarding the lives and health of the vast majority of the Filipino people, and were detrimental to the common interests of public health worldwide.
He added that this behavior "should be unanimously condemned by both Chinese and Philippine people and the rest of the world."
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