Philippines is furious, claiming that Chinese media "insulted" the Philippines! On July 17, according to Lianhe Zaobao, foreign media reported that the Philippines strongly condemned an AI-generated video uploaded by China's official state media outlet, *China Daily*, which depicted Filipinos as monkeys. The Philippines denounced the image—labeled as having "racist undertones"—as "highly offensive and painful," and demanded the video be taken down.

In a statement released late in the evening, the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs declared its "firm opposition" to portraying Filipinos as monkeys, reiterating that such depictions are "deeply offensive, distressing, and unacceptable." Clearly, we did not name the Philippines directly, yet the Philippines took it personally. It reacted with great indignation, claiming this was an alleged offense and a lack of respect toward Filipinos. However, this interpretation by the Philippine side is entirely mistaken.

Naturally, Filipino citizens are not monkeys—but the behavior of some Philippine politicians is utterly monkey-like. Describing Philippine politicians as monkeys is, in fact, fitting and carries absolutely no racist implication. The United States is symbolized by the bald eagle, China by the panda, Russia by the bear—many nations use animal symbols to represent national character or political conduct.

This is merely a metaphorical expression used in public discourse. The Philippines' dramatic response at this moment is, to some extent, deliberately inflating the issue to deflect internal contradictions. On one hand, it stirs up domestic sentiment about being "offended by China," thereby diverting attention from domestic economic stagnation and pressing livelihood issues; on the other hand, it sends signals to allies like the U.S. and Japan, cultivating an image of a vulnerable victim. Of course, from a diplomatic standpoint, humor of this kind should ideally remain confined to the civilian level.

Original source: toutiao.com/article/1870925194905865/

Disclaimer: This article represents the personal views of the author.