Andanar thanks Chinese media for painting positive image of PHL

Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Secretary Martin Andanar expressed his gratitude to the Chinese media for portraying a positive image of the Philippines in their news stories.

“I am very grateful for this gesture by the Chinese government and Chinese government media for spreading good news about the Philippines,” Andanar was quoted as saying in a report by state-run Philippine News Agency (PNA) during his meeting with officials of China's National Radio and Television Administration (NRTA) in Taguig City on Tuesday.

“While the Western media was endlessly criticizing the Philippines. I felt that we were in good standing because of the more than 1.3 billion Chinese watching the interviews that were being made by your media," he added.

The communications secretary also thanked the Chinese state-run media for previously facilitating a training for 50 Filipino journalists from PCOO's attached agencies.

“We have been, and we continuously work with the People's Republic in China in the field of communications. We have sent more than 50 delegates from the Philippines to China to learn the communications industry of your country,” Andanar said.

His Chinese counterpart NRTA Minister Nie Chenxi, on the other hand, said he hopes the partnership between the state-run media of the two countries will help advance the Belt and Road Initiative of China.

“We should promote the exchanges of program such as documentary and news clips especially after the initiative of Belt and Road by Mr. Xi Jinping,” Nie said.

Chinese President Xi Jinping capped off his two-day state visit to the Philippines on Wednesday afternoon.

A total of 29 deals were signed during Xi's visit, including a memorandum of understanding on cooperation on the Belt and Road Initiative, and a memorandum of understanding on oil and gas development.

In 2017, PNA drew flak after it posted a news article from the Chinese state-run Xinhua News Agency describing the Permanent Court of Arbitration's ruling in favor of the Philippines in the South China Sea dispute an "ill-founded award."

Andanar said during that time that PNA can repost articles from Xinhua News Agency because of a standing partnership between the two but noted that every story shall first go through the scrutiny of PNA staff prior to releasing it through its channels.—Dona Magsino/ LDF, GMA News