“This is something that has to happen in accordance with Chinese law. So we hope to have the understanding of the Philippine public and also the Philippine government,” Liu said in an interview with reporters in Taguig City.

“And I want to reiterate that the Chinese people have a very friendly approach toward our Filipino friends. The case itself is very unfortunate, which has to happen in accordance with the law, but I don’t want it to be affecting our bilateral relations, which is going to be in the interest of our two countries,” he said.

Liu said the Chinese government would “do everything that [it] can” to allow the convicts and their families to spend time together before the executions.

“And we hope that everything will be smoothed out in the end,” he said. “We are very keen to develop the friendship and good relations between our two countries.”

Continuing dialogue

Liu said the Chinese government had tried its best to grant the Philippines’ requests in connection with the three convicts.

He said he had yet to receive new communication from the Vice President in connection with the March 30 executions.

“I haven’t gotten the letter yet. But I know that the VP, also the President himself, and the Philippine government have been working very hard in conveying the message and concern of the Philippine side about the verdict of the three criminals who trafficked drugs in China,” Liu said.

“We worked very hard on this, so within the limit of the Chinese law, we tried our best to accommodate. And you know the date has been set for the [execution of the] Filipinos,” he said.

Liu indicated that a prisoner swap agreement remained the subject of discussion between the two countries.

“I think there have been some initiatives from the Philippine side, but this is a complicated issue because we have ... differences in our legal system,” Liu said.

“So we have to continue the dialogue and also our effort in finding the possibilities of having a treaty based on mutual benefit. While we are very open to such an initiative, we continue to have consultations with the Philippine government,” he said.

Friendly relations

Ethan Sun, deputy chief of the political section and spokesperson of the Chinese Embassy, said his government hoped that the impending executions would not strain diplomatic ties.

“China has always been committed to developing friendly relations with the Philippines. This position remains and will always be unchanged,” Sun told the Inquirer.

China has executed drug traffickers from, among other countries, Britain, Malaysia and Japan. In these cases, the Chinese government did not heed public appeals for clemency by the foreign governments.

Ramon Credo, Sally Villanueva and Elizabeth Batain are among 227 Filipinos jailed in China on drug charges. The Department of Foreign Affairs said some 70 of them had been sentenced to death but given two-year reprieves at the end of which their sentences would be automatically commuted to life terms.

Asked if other Filipino drug convicts might be executed within the year, Sun said he was not in a good position to answer.

He issued a similar response when asked if China had closed its doors to all Philippine appeals.

‘Isolated case’

In an earlier interview, Sun said he hoped the Philippines and China would cooperate in the future in creating a system to crack down on drug crimes.

He said bilateral relations were not likely to be adversely affected by the impending executions, which he described as “an isolated criminal case in China, involving our two countries.”

China takes a very serious approach toward the death penalty, and has in fact shrunk the range of crimes punishable by death, he said.

Norman Bordadora, Phil. Daily Inquirer