oppressive wind /Kangxi radical 118

"I'm going to rejoin your ideological ranks, and I'll probably even go to Russia to talk to Putin and tell him that I'm fighting the world with both of your countries: the Chinese, the Filipinos, and the Russians. It's the only way."

I was really taken aback when I read this tall tale of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte in Beijing. EspeciallyWords like "ideology" make one wonder if the Philippines is joining the socialist camp.

(indicates contrast)"Against the world" is a provocative phrase that seems to come only from the mouth of the President. The Philippines wants to take on the world, China and Russia do not. Xinhua News Agency and other major official media have also silently downplayed this statement.

In this speech, Duterte also said he wanted to work with the U.S."parting of ways", "not only militarily, but also socially and economically", a statement that led to a crescendo of patriotic netizens, who chanted "marking the complete bankruptcy of the U.S. Asia-Pacific strategy ".

However, it took less than a day for the slap in the face to even happen, and upon returning home, Duterte's first order of business was to explain and the U.S.The meaning of "parting of the ways," he said, "is not about severing ties" and "it's in the best interest of the U.S.-Philippine relationship to maintain it."

Anyone who is familiar with Duterte knows that it is a matter of consistency for him to make such off-the-wall statements.

If backtracking is still within the realm of diplomacy, his repeated crude and nasty remarks are hardly to be listed with a politician in a suit.

He insulted Obama as"Son of a bitch", while the contemptuous term "son of a bitch" has also been applied to Pope Francis, who, in response to a rape case, laughed and said, "The woman was so beautiful, I should have been the first to fuck her! ". However, these outlandish statements do not seem to have prevented Filipinos from giving him high approval ratings. It was the Filipinos themselves who voted him into office.

Immediately after assuming the presidency, Duterte began to fulfill his previous promises to voters: to fight drug crimes and boost the economy. The trip to China can be seen as one of his attempts to bring in funds to boost the economy.

In the fight against drugs, Duterte has raised the flag of irony, ordering that drug dealers be shot on the spot without trial and even encouraging civilian lynchings. In his first year in office3For more than a month, more than2000A number of drug dealers, including children and innocent civilians, were shot dead in the streets.

It is certain that such violent methods, in which the legal process is ignored, are inevitably accompanied by the indiscriminate killing of innocents. Shooting without trial means that there is no proof of death, and some coerced and innocent people are likely to be shot arbitrarily. It cannot even be ruled out that Durte has massacred opponents in the name of fighting drug traffickers.

And this supreme state power of violence, if left unchecked, has a great potential to slowly expand into all areas of society and could fall on everyone at any time, leading the entire country into a reign of terror.

Paradoxically, Filipinos have been largely unaware of the potential threat of terror, and Duterte has won praise across the Philippines for his iron-fisted fight against drugs. When the United States and other Western countries accused him of serious human rights violations, Duterte threatened to expel U.S. troops in the Philippines and even withdrew from the United Nations.

On the other hand, Duterte has shown no posture of backing down in the face of rising nationalist sentiments in the Philippines, and before his visit to China, Duterte gave a speech to reassure Filipino patriots:"I understand that public opinion in the country is concerned that the government's closer ties with China may affect the Philippines' maritime rights and interests, but on the issue of maritime sovereignty, the government will not budge and will not accept China's bargaining." Once in China, however, Duterte changed his demeanor, saying the South China Sea ruling was "just a piece of paper with four corners."

Anti-Chinese Sentiment Remains High in the Philippines

At the same time, we should also note that even if Du denies the South China Sea ruling, it does not mean that he is giving up the Philippine's claim of sovereignty over the South China Sea.

Right now Duterte seems to be trying to find a delicate balance between two growing demands in the Philippines: faster economic growth and rising nationalism.

Which of his words were true and which were false seemed elusive.

Then, simply don't believe anything he says. Next stop, Duterte's destination is Shinzo Abe's Japan, will he say something then that will make Japan happy and Chinese patriots stomp their feet in anger?

It's really not a sure thing.