Micro-photograph of a coronavirus. Photo: medscape.com here are probably more than a few Filipinos who cannot help feeling a sense of schadenfreude over China’s coronavirus outbreak. Since the Scarborough Shoal standoff in April 2012, China has time and time again rubbed Filipinos’ faces in the dirt. First, it continues to occupy Scarborough Shoal unlawfully. Then China refused to abide by the ruling of the UN’s arbitral tribunal that flatly rejected its preposterous Nine-dash-line claim to the South China Sea. Even today, China continues to cordon-off Scarborough Shoal’s lagoon denying Filipino fishermen access to their historical fishing grounds. The Chinese use their quasi-military Maritime Militia to bully and intimidate Filipino fishing vessels. In June of 2019, a Chinese fishing boat rammed and sank the Gem-Ver, a Filipino fishing boat that had anchored for the night in Philippine waters. Gem-Ver’s 22-man crew were eventually rescued by a Vietnamese fishing vessel. There is an old Spanish saying that translates to “God punishes without using a stick or a stone.” For some Filipinos, what is befalling China today is indeed God’s wrath. China could have easily been the country looked up to by Asia and the rest of the world. They made significant strides in previous decades. They were able to achieve unimagined economic growth. Unfortunately, it seems that those accomplishments went straight to heads of their leaders. Instead of displaying magnanimity, they instead showed arrogance towards Filipinos. China’s leaders simply saw the Philippines as the lowest of low-hanging fruit. The Philippine military appeared incapable of even subduing a ragtag band of rebels like the Abu Sayyaf. And the Philippine president at the time, Noynoy Aquino, was not known for being decisive or having strong convictions. Aquino’s saving grace, however, was that he took China to the United Nations Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague. It was the only viable venue open to him at the time. Then, in 2016, a new president, Rodrigo Duterte, further diminished the country’s already low standing in the eyes of China’s leaders by publicly stating that he would not pursue the claim the Hague court had awarded the Philippines. Duterte, in fact, continues to lobby for closer ties with China while severing ties with the United States and the European Union. This has led some of Duterte’s critics to wonder aloud whether Duterte might actually be a Chinese stooge—a “Manchurian Candidate” placed in office by Beijing to do its bidding. Whether the above is true or not, the fact remains that the coronavirus is affecting China in very significant ways. China’s leaders have to realize that they need the rest of the world, probably more than the rest of the world needs them. The negative backlash they are now experiencing will hopefully be a catharsis for the CCP. Hopefully, China will change its arrogant and hegemonic ways and treat all nations—including the Philippines—as equals. Published 2/2/2020