Duterte's Intentions

[not so old china hand]

5 hours ago, Gratefuled said:

What if he suddenly confiscated all passports of foreigners like China has done?  It's possible. How would the home country of those expats living here in retirement react? 

The last time I looked my passport was still in my desk drawer.

Seriously though I do wonder what you are referring to. I have not heard of this happening at any time since the Cultural Revolution over fifty years ago.

The police in Xinjiang - north-west China - have collected passports from Chinese citizens who are members of ethnic minorities that follow Islam (Uyghurs). However if they wish to travel abroad they can go to the police and request that their passports be restored to them. And since they must hold a national ID card they are still free to travel within the country.

China does crack down from time to time on foreigners who overstay their visas. However that is a different issue, as is changing the rules for visa eligibility.

Edited November 30, 2016 by not so old china hand

[Gratefuled]

My response was just a hypothetical one.

Like "what if". 

I'm not paranoid. Stranger things have happened. 

[robert k]

1 hour ago, Gratefuled said:

My response was just a hypothetical one.

Like "what if". 

I'm not paranoid. Stranger things have happened. 

Then we have our 10k free pesos to look forward to.

[Gratefuled]

14 hours ago, robert k said:

Then we have our 10k free pesos to look forward to.

Maybe.

Everything comes with a price.

 

[robert k]

7 minutes ago, Gratefuled said:

Maybe.

Everything comes with a price.

 

There is a difference between being pessimistic and being cautiously optimistic.

In the cost benefit analysis, what would Duterte/ the Philippines have to gain from confiscating all foreigners passports? I bet you can't answer that. There is no gain to be had. You might as well say execute all foreigners? At least then the Philippines would gain some pig feed/fertilizer.

Now, what would it cost Duterte to do something so idiotic as to confiscate all foreigner passports? You might be trying to intimate that Duterte is irrational? The fact that you would go that far leads me to wonder because pointing and saying absurd things could happen is absurd in itself. It would be like me saying that Hillary Clinton could burn down the houses of coal miners...it's theoretically possible but I think most would agree that it's about as likely as Duterte confiscating all foreigners passports. But yes, both are possibilities.

[Gratefuled]

6 hours ago, robert k said:

There is a difference between being pessimistic and being cautiously optimistic.

I am neither one nor the other. I'm just commenting for the sake of conversation.

Nothing more nothing less.

Thanks for your contribution.