Hostage diplomacy

SKETCHES

- ANA MARIE PAMINTUAN

Philippine and Chinese officials like to say that despite the maritime conflict between the two countries, which could take ages to resolve, there are many other aspects of bilateral ties that can be pursued and strengthened.

Among the most promising and benign aspects are "people-to-people" exchanges, such as in cultural and educational activities.

Like it or not, however, the people-to-people exchanges between the Philippines and China now seem to be heading inexorably downhill.

One example is the Philippine run of the fantasy animation movie "Ne Zha 2," touted as China's highest-grossing film ever following its global release this year ($2.145 billion so far in box office receipts). It was shown in Manila last month, but as far as I can tell hardly made a ripple in our country.

It must be noted that for many years now, cinemas, with their stiff rates, have been struggling to attract Filipino audiences when streaming services provide near-"unli" movies and binge-worthy TV serials (with subtitles) for a monthly fee that's less than the cost of one theater ticket.

A colleague who watched "Ne Zha 2" also said that the tepid Pinoy response could be because the adventure film has a dark theme that is not usually associated with animation movies.

The possibility of an anti-China sentiment, of course, cannot be discounted in the Pinoy reception to the movie. Such sentiments, which are not unique to the Philippines, have stymied China's efforts to project global soft power—something that the South Koreans have been doing almost effortlessly.

But then the Koreans are not moving aggressively for hegemony and (in the case of the Philippines) squatting in our sovereign waters.