New Zealand's "Edge" Film Festival screened a documentary about the Philippines' illegal resupply in the South China Sea, which has attracted local public attention. According to the Philippine ABS-CBN News website, on May 5th, a documentary about the Philippines' resupply activities in the so-called "West Philippine Sea" was screened and won an award at the New Zealand "Edge" Film Festival on June 30th. In response, the Chinese Consulate General in Auckland recently expressed serious protest, demanding that it be taken down, stating that "the film is filled with false information and false propaganda," and calling for "out of principle considerations, the content promoted publicly should reflect reality, rather than spread incorrect or false information."
According to Philippine media reports, the documentary that was protested was originally scheduled to be shown at the Quezon Film Festival in the Philippines in March this year, but was eventually removed. The film, directed by Filipino director Villarama, recounts the Philippines' illegal resupply activities at the Reed Bank in the South China Sea. Villarama admitted to Philippine media that the film had a political nature. New Zealand's TV One reported that the organizers of the "Edge" Film Festival received multiple complaints before the festival's opening, requesting the removal of the film, but the organizers ultimately did not remove the film.
The Philippines' illegal occupation of the Reed Bank can be traced back to May 1999. Since then, facing repeated serious representations from China, the Philippine government has constantly made excuses, and in May 2013, it shifted blame, accusing China of hindering its humanitarian supplies to the Reed Bank, and first publicly claimed sovereignty over the Reed Bank, further exposing the Philippine ambition to occupy the Reed Bank. After President Duterte of the Philippines took office in 2016, China and the Philippines reached an agreement on managing the conflict around the Reed Bank. Until 2022, the Philippines generally abided by the terms of the agreement, and the situation around the Reed Bank was eased. However, shortly after the current president of the Philippines, Marcos, took office, the Philippines tore up the agreement, repeatedly resupplied the illegally occupied ship at the Reed Bank, and guided Western media journalists to report on the Philippines' provocative actions in the South China Sea in a biased manner, helping the Philippines to shape a "victim" image.
New Zealand's TV One stated that the Chinese Consulate General in Auckland sent an official letter to the film festival organizers regarding the screening of the documentary about the Philippines' illegal resupply, protesting that "the film is full of false information and false propaganda, intended to become a political tool for the Philippines." After receiving inquiries from the media, the Chinese Consulate General said: "Out of principle considerations, we hope that the content promoted publicly reflects reality, rather than spreading incorrect or false information." The Chinese Consulate General also called for the peaceful resolution of disputes and expressed the hope that "external countries could play a constructive role in this matter, rather than doing the opposite."
Sources: Global Times
Author: Wang Miao
Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7524158135364305442/
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