Can China and the Philippines mend their strained ties?

 

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr is in China for his first overseas trip as leader.

The Philippines and China have had a strained relationship in recent years – the next stage of which both sides are looking to shape during President Ferdinand Marcos Jr’s visit to Beijing.

Manila has historically been a close ally of the United States, but that relationship cooled somewhat under last Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, who forged closer ties with Beijing.

What’s in store for the Philippines after Marcos’ win?

 Ferdinand Marcos Jr. won the presidency more than 30 years after his father was pushed from power.

Ferdinand Marcos Junior has been inaugurated as president of the Philippines.

His father was the controversial leader Ferdinand Marcos Senior, who was forced out of office in a 1986 popular uprising.

Ferdinand Marcos Jr set to achieve landslide win in Philippines Presidential Elections | DW News

 Speaking to his supporters on Tuesday, Marcos Junior urged people to judge him by his actions, and not by his family history. His win marks a return to power of the Marcos family which is accused of running a brutal dictatorship, before a 'People Power' revolution restored democracy to the country in the 80s. On Monday, he thanked his supporters for their work.

The Marcos's Make A Comeback In The Philippines

 After the fall of Ferdinand Marcos in the mid 80's after several decades of dictatorial rule and the lotting of the Philippine treasury by the family you might conclude that political redemption wouldn't be possible.   Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is on the verge of becoming the next president of the Philippines with the daughter of Rodrigo Duterte  as his vice president. The presidency of Rodrigo Duterte has been nothing short of a human rights and free speech disaster.   It's been estimated that Duterte's war on drugs has cost the lives of 30,000 Filipinos along with the destruction of a free press.   ABS-CBN the most widely watched news channel was forced to close after the government refused to issue a new broadcast license over its criticism of the Duterte  government.  Marcos Jr. has fully embraced the attacks on the media and the war on drugs. 

Ferdinand Marcos Jr, the son and namesake of the late dictator, is set to become the Philippines’ next president after taking an unassailable lead in the election, signalling an extraordinary rehabilitation of one of the country’s most notorious political families.

With more than 70% of the votes tabulated, Marcos Jr had more than 23.5m, far ahead of his closest rival, the current vice-president, Leni Robredo, a former human rights lawyer, who had 11.1m. The size of his lead means a comeback by his opponents is not possible.

Supporters dressed in red shirts, his campaign colour, gathered outside his camp’s headquarters in Mandaluyong City on Monday night, waving the flag of the Philippines as passing cars sounded their horns.

Authoritarian rule makes a comeback in the Philippines.  

Philippines 2022: Authoritarian nostalgia vs hopes of reform

 

As Filipinos vote for a new president, what can they expect for media and free speech? Plus, Taiwan’s political satirists – taking digs at China.

Nostalgia for the days of dictatorship; Filipinos go to the polls as journalists prepare for life post-Duterte.

Voters in the Philippines will go to the polls for a presidential election that pits frontrunner Ferdinand Marcos Jr, the son and namesake of the late dictator, against a human rights lawyer who has promised a transparent government.

Marcos Jr, known as “Bongbong”, whose authoritarian father plundered billions of dollars from the state and presided over rife human rights abuses, has maintained a strong lead in opinion polls in the run-up to Monday’s vote. If elected president, it would mark an extraordinary rehabilitation of one of the country’s most controversial political families.

Marcos is trailed in the polls by Leni Robredo, the current vice-president and a human rights lawyer who has advocated for marginalised groups. As vice president – a position elected separately from the president – she has frequently clashed with president Rodrigo Duterte, and has condemned his so-called “war on drugs’, which has killed as many as 30,000 people according to some estimates, and prompted an investigation by the international criminal court.