BY ASHZEL HACHERO

THE United Opposition (UNO) yesterday asked Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao to suspend all business dealings with the Arroyo government to preserve the good standing and reputation of the People's Republic of China before the global community.

The request was contained in a letter sent to Premier Wen by UNO president and Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay through Chinese Ambassador Song Tao.

"We believe that a policy of temporary disengagement by Chinese companies from the present Philippine leadership will promote good relations between our two countries," Binay said.

He said by suspending its dealings with the Arroyo administration, the Chinese government would erase a negative perception that it gave soft loans in exchange for rights to explore Philippine territory.

Binay said while the opposition recognizes the assistance provided over the years by Chinese government, a series of scandals hounding the Arroyo administration have put Chinese firms undertaking high-profile projects in a bad light.

Among these projects are the $329 million NBN-ZTE broadband deal, the $465 million cyber-education project, the $900 million SouthRail project and the $500 million NorthRail project.

The cyber education project will link all administrative units of the Education department including the central office, 17 regional offices, 187 division offices and 37,792 public schools.

The North and SouthRail projects aim to provide transport service for passengers and goods to and from Metro Manila, Central and Northern and Southern Luzon including the resource-rich Calabarzon area and even the Bicol region.

This transport service is expected to address the problem of heavy traffic in Metro Manila going to the north and south, and is supposed to decongest Metro Manila by encouraging urban development in the provinces.

The government is being questioned for alleged irregularities involved in the implementation of the NorthRail project as critics pointed out there was no public bidding.

Another controversial agreement with China, Binay said, is the Joint Marine Seismic Undertaking (JMSU) which also includes Vietnam.

The JMSU calls for a joint seismic study on 142,000 square kilometers of areas in the South China Sea including the disputed Spratly island group.

Various sectors and lawmakers have criticized the JMSU as a "sell-out" of Philippine territorial sovereignty and are calling for an investigation.

Binay said it was "regrettable" that the good names of legitimate Chinese corporations "have been dragged into the mess."

China is the third largest export market of the Philippines after Japan and the United States.

Government figures showed the annual bilateral trade between the two countries reached $8.2 billion last year as it grew steadily at the rate of 41.31 percent since 2001.