By Martin Petty
MANILA, Aug 8 (Reuters) - China took aim at the Philippines
on Thursday for undermining its crackdown on cross-border
gambling, saying many of its citizens lured to work in online
gaming firms were being cheated, extorted and exposed to "modern
slavery".
Vast sums of Chinese money were ending up in the Philippines
via money laundering and underground banking, China's embassy in
Manila said, adding that its citizens were being illegally
recruited into an industry that was fuelling social problems and
crime at home.
It said citizens' rights were being violated and dozens were
kidnapped, tortured and physically abused by local employers who
confiscated their passports.
It urged "concrete and effective measures to prevent and
punish the Philippine casinos ... and other forms of gambling
entities for their illegal employment of Chinese citizens and
crack down (on) related crimes that hurt the Chinese citizens."
Philippine offshore gaming operators, better known as POGOs,
are big boon for the country's economy, however, with China's
insatiable appetite for gambling helping to fuel office and
residential demand and drive retail spending and a mushrooming
of businesses catering for Chinese. The industry is highly opaque and its scale is almost
impossible to measure, with the official numbers of operators
and workers in the Philippines believed to be hugely
understated, and little incentive to target unlicensed
businesses that are bringing money into the economy.
The Chinese complaint comes as prominent Philippines
lawmakers and some ministers have started calling for tighter
controls on Chinese entering the country, saying many are
working illegally on tourist visas.
It also comes amid strains in ties between the two historic
foes that had warmed under Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte,
largely due to what Manila sees as a pattern of provocation this
year by Chinese coastguard, military and fishing militia in the
South China Sea. Presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo said he was not aware
of any official communication from China about abuses.
"My suggestion then is they should file a formal complaint,
so that this particular concern will be raised in the
appropriate agencies of the government. So we can properly
respond," he told a regular briefing.
The Chinese influx started in 2016, coinciding with the rise
of Duterte, who backed the gaming regulator's move to license
internet gambling.
The number of Chinese work permit holders quadrupled in the
two years since Duterte took office to about 110,000 in 2018,
government data showed, making China the biggest source of
expatriate workers in the Philippines. That compared with nearly
5,000 issued to Japanese 5,000 and just over 600 to U.S.
nationals.
A report backed by the Chinese state last month singled out
Macau's biggest junket operator, Suncity, for causing harm to
China by facilitating online gaming and proxy betting worth one
trillion yuan ($142 billion) annually.
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