After recently watching hundreds of local civic and business leaders fill a Manila hotel ballroom to take marching orders on Taiwan from Chinese government officials, we can no longer pretend that foreign influence operations are just a theoretical threat to Philippine sovereignty. The October 19 events at Century Park Hotel—hosted by the Philippine Council for the Promotion of Peaceful Reunification of China (PCPPRC) and openly presided over by Chinese officials—is only the most obvious sign of a much deeper and highly sophisticated campaign, one intended to remake Philippine policy to suit Chinese Communist Party (CCP) designs.

After all, Chinatown News TV's anchor Candice Tan told us clearly just how China's Chargé d'affaires Zhou Zhiyong explained why they were all there:

He praised the successive leaders of the Philippine Council for the Promotion of Peaceful Reunification of China for upholding the banner of opposing independence, rallying the patriotic forces of Chinese living in the Philippines, and playing a significant role in promoting the cause of reunification.

PCPPRC 24th Anniversary and 11th Officers Induction Ceremony, October 19th 2025. Source: Screenshot from Chinatown News TV YouTube Channel

For years, I have tracked Beijing's gray-zone tactics in the West Philippine Sea—the vessels swarms, water cannons, blockades and ramming of Philippine ships. This has repeatedly brought me face to face with CCP propagandists, both in China and in the Philippines. That’s why I can say with confidence that what I see happening in many Philippine seafood restaurants, hotel ballrooms and social media pages is gray-zone warfare’s evil twin: a political warfare campaign being waged inside Philippine society itself.

That's also why it would be a grave mistake to see October’s gathering as an isolated incident. In fact, simply by examining transcripts from previous PCPPRC events it’s clear to see the highly choreographed drumbeat of CCP-sponsored political mobilization dating back years, if not decades.

Two years ago, for example, the PCPPRC's 22nd anniversary event in Manila’s Century Seafood Restaurant featured Chinese Ambassador Huang Xilian inducting new officers and exhorting them to “[gather] the strength of overseas Chinese in the Philippines, actively and effectively carrying out anti-independence and promotion of reunification activities.”

PCPPRC 22nd Anniversary and 10th Officers Induction Ceremony, October 21st 2023. Source: Screenshot from Chinatown News TV YouTube Channel

The next day Ambassador Huang traveled south to Zamboanga City to preside over the PCPPRC Mindanao Council's own induction ceremony, in which CNTV reported how its new president Hong Heping brazenly urged its members to “unite around the Party Central Committee and Comrade Xi Jinping”, and calling for “complete reunification of the motherland” as “the common responsibility of the Chinese people at home and abroad.”

Mindanao PCPPRC 6th Anniversary and 3rd Officers Induction Ceremony, October 22th 2023. Source: Screenshot from Chinatown News TV YouTube Channel

The PCPPRC was also enlisted to hold an August 2025 joint symposium with the Chinese Embassy for Beijing’s global commemoration of the 80th anniversary of Japan’s defeat in World War II. Despite the well-known fact that the communists spent most of the conflict in the mountains fighting a resistance war against China’s Kuomintang government, Ambassador Huang was again on hand to claim that “the strong leadership of the Communist Party of China” deserved credit for the “glorious victory”. 

Of course, my many Chinese-Filipino friends would reject this blatant Communist Party gaslighting propaganda outright. They didn’t ask for this. Regardless of how they feel about China, Taiwan, maritime issues or domestic politics, they are not confused about where their patriotic sentiment lies. The idea that they should “unite around the Party Central Committee and Comrade Xi Jinping” would be both laughable and supremely insulting. None would willingly submit to CCP indoctrination, nor should they be judged as anything but Filipinos through and through.

Rather, the only ones trying to segregate Filipinos by their ethnic heritage are the CCP and its acolytes, who are on a global, United Front Work Department-directed campaign to call all “descendants of Yan and Huang” to serve Beijing’s political interests.

PCPPRC events are carried to the public in extraordinary propagandistic fashion almost exclusively in Mandarin with English subtitles by CNTV, the controversial flagship station of Horizon of the Sun Communications, Inc. which acts as an unvarnished mouthpiece for the CCP. 

You think I exaggerate? Consider this:

In covering this 2021 virtual symposium on China’s 1911 Revolution, CNTV's anchor gushed about the proceedings in openly propagandistic style: 

All the guests unanimously expressed that the majority of overseas Chinese must bear in mind the entrustment of President Xi Jinping, to actively carry forward the great spirit of the pioneers of the Revolution of 1911, to make unremitting efforts to achieve the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and the complete reunification of the motherland, and to promote the cause of friendship between the Philippines and China.

PRC Embassy and PCPPRC Joint Symposium on the 110th Anniversary of the Revolution of 1911, October 10th 2021. Source: Screenshot from Chinatown News TV Facebook Page

In fact, CNTV's bilingual narrations frequently frame inductions, speeches and group renditions of the CCP's Mao-era anthem “Ode to the Motherland” as triumphant displays of unity and patriotism. This isn't neutral reporting—it's state-aligned media turning private gatherings into public spectacles that normalize foreign-directed political loyalty for everyday viewers.

These efforts to organize Filipino-Chinese communities behind Beijing's agenda aren't limited to the issue of Taiwan. They already extend to Philippine interests in the West Philippine Sea. Web sites such as the Asian Century Journal relentlessly echo Beijing's claims and attack the Philippine government's legitimate sovereignty defense as illegitimate provocations against China's historic rights. The information environment is being aggressively seeded with narratives that serve Beijing's interests.

The bottom line is this: a remarkably extensive and increasingly sophisticated network of groups is coordinating with CCP and Chinese state officials to organize, influence and undermine Philippine sovereignty, not just at sea but also through media, civil society, and local institutions.

Of course it’s fair to ask, "Ray, aren't you also a foreign influence?" A fair question, but easily answered. As a private U.S. citizen and director of a non-profit who posts, writes and advocates for greater transparency in the West Philippine Sea, I make no secret about my background or my beliefs. 

On the other hand, I don't organize Philippine rallies for any foreign power; I don't vet the local leaders of U.S.-approved civic organizations; I don't demand fealty from Filipino citizens on behalf of the U.S. or any government. I promote open discussion and information-sharing, not shady, state-driven political mobilization amplified professional propaganda channels.

What makes this particularly concerning is that PCPPRC isn't operating in isolation. Major Filipino-Chinese business and civic organizations—including the Federation of Filipino-Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry, the Federation of Filipino-Chinese Associations of the Philippines, and the Philippine Chinese Chamber of Commerce—routinely send representatives to directly participate (and even speak at) these PCPPRC events and, in some cases, hold simultaneous leadership roles.

FFCCCII Vice President Delfin Letran addresses the PCPPRC 24th Anniversary event on October 19th 2025. Source: Screenshot from Chinatown News TV YouTube Channel

This creates a structural integration problem in which mainstream business organizations, which command significant influence in Philippine commerce and have legitimate standing in civic discussions, are being leveraged as platforms for foreign-directed political messaging. Community members who join these business organizations may be unaware that they're entering a space where CCP-aligned political objectives are being advanced.

How bad is it? A CCP report from August 2022 reveals that how International Department Minister Liu Jianchao convened a coordination meeting with leaders of major Filipino-Chinese organizations to align them toward CCP objectives, including supporting Chinese economic development and “championing the one-China principle” on Taiwan. This isn't mere overlap—it's centralized direction.

CCP Central Committee member Liu Jianchao meets with leaders of the PCPPRC and other Filipino-Chinese groups in Manila, August 28th 2022. Source: CCP International Department web site

The October 19th gathering at Century Park Hotel was only the tip of the iceberg. Below the surface is a much larger ongoing campaign of foreign-backed mobilization and messaging—often coordinated, sometimes covert. It is already shaping how Philippine citizens, leaders and institutions perceive their critical national interests.

Given this circumstance, it’s easy to see why Senate Bill No. 2951, the Counter Foreign Interference Act recently filed by Senate Majority Leader Francis Tolentino, is now under consideration by Filipino lawmakers. 

As a foreigner and a friend of the Philippines, I don't presume to dictate your laws. But I can say this with confidence: the iceberg is real and it runs deep. Filipinos will decide for themselves how best to defend their sovereignty, but they should do so with full knowledge of how pervasive this interference has become.