WHILE the decline in Chinese investments into the Philippines* has obviously been due to the souring of relations between the two countries — what with even our top officials like Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. calling China criminals of international law — another factor has been a rising fear of kidnappings of Chinese citizens in the metropolis.

The Philippine National Police's Anti-Kidnapping Group has reported that kidnapping cases have drastically decreased in the first half of the year, with only 12 kidnapping incidents, about half of the 22 cases in 2023.