Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun denied that former president Rodrigo Duterte tried to seek asylum in China but was denied before he was arrested under an International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant on crimes against humanity of murder.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun (Photo courtesy of Embassy of China in the Philippines)
“Let me point out in particular that Mr. Duterte’s visit to Hong Kong was a private vacation trip,” the official said in his regular press conference on Monday, March 24.
“We have never received the so-called application for asylum to the Chinese government from former president Rodrigo Duterte or his family,” he added.
Guo asked that the media be more “careful” about publishing information based on their sources.
“We hope people from the media can be careful about the so-called ‘information from sources,’ either unfounded or ill-motivated, and do not easily believe what they hear,” he said.
According to reports, the former president tried to seek asylum in China, but was denied and forced to return home to Manila, where he was arrested on the basis of the ICC warrant enforced by the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) and the Philippine National Police (PNP).
He was then sent to The Hague, Netherlands where he is currently detained while awaiting trial.
After appearing last March 14 to officially hear the charges against him and be informed of his rights under the Rome Statute, Duterte’s next hearing would be the confirmation of charges on Sept. 23.
During his six-year term, the former president had forged friendly ties with China despite Beijing’s increasingly aggressive actions in the South China Sea.
He also scrapped the 2016 Arbitral Tribunal victory that invalidated the basis of China’s nine-dash-line claim, calling it a “piece of paper” that can be thrown away.