People
The Philippine Chinese
Of the 2.1 million Chinese (4% of the population) presently living in the Philippines, 85% were Philippine born. However, the fact remains that only 30% are Filipino citizens by birth or naturalization. This is because those born in the Philippines of Chinese parents have dual citizenship and are considered Filipinos only when they elect Philippine citizenship.
Chinese presence in the Philippines goes back at least to the year 200 A.D. In 1658, the diary of Fa-Hian was discovered, describing the Philippines at the beginning of the 3rd Century under the name Ma-i, derived from the word Mait, then a kingdom in Mindoro.
In the 14th century, trade relations between China and the Philippines were already extensive. The Chinese bartered silk, porcelain, colored glass and beads for hemp, pearls, shells, and yellow wax of the natives. Because of early trade relations, Chinese settlements were established in The Country before the Spanish conquest. In 1571, the Spaniards found 40 Chinese merchants with their families settled in Manila. Other settlements were later discovered in Mindoro and in an area of Luzon which later became Pangasinan province.
The Spaniards segregated the Chinese from the rest of the local community to keep them under surveillance and to facilitate collection of taxes. In 1582, the Spaniards created the Parian, a Chinese settlement located at what is today Mehan Garden. In 1683, the Parian was transferred to Binondo, which is still known today as Chinatown.
Because the Chinese were basically merchants, they were welcomed for the merchandise they brought despite being regarded as an economic threat by the Spaniards and the Filipinos. Many times in history, hostilities broke out. Bloody massacres of the Chinese occurred in 1603 followed by two revolts in 1639 and 1662, initiated by the Chinese. After that, suspicion and latent hostility continued to characterize the Filipino attitude towards the Chinese. In 1924, the Quiapo Riot took place, followed by another in San Pablo City in 1931 when thousands of Chinese were killed. But later in this century, massacres and revolts never reached the extent of those in other Southeast Asian countries e.g. Malaysia and Indonesia.
During the US era, the Chinese first prospered as Spanish restrictions were eliminated. However, in 1902 the Chinese Exclusion Act of the US was made effective in the Philippines. Immigration of Chinese was totally prohibited and the policy of "the Philippines for the Filipinos" was introduced as a medium for anti-Chinese acts. Furthermore, Philippine ownership of retail trade was ordered.
Today, the Chinese are in the process of assimilation. A concentration of Chinese in their own communities apart from those of the Filipinos is only maintained in Manila among the older Chinese. It is no longer the case with the younger generation and among Chinese in the provinces. The Chinese today wear Western style clothing.
A barrier to assimilation is a degree of prejudice and envy on the part of the ordinary Filipino of non-Chinese extraction. On the one hand, as noted in an editorial in Tempo April 18, 1990, "A trendy theory argues that the reason why some of our neighbors have attained the superstar status as NIC (newly industrialized country) is the influence of Chinese culture. At the core of this culture is Confucius basic teaching that rights have limits, that responsibility accompanies the exercise of individual rights, among other virtues.
"That is why, it is suggested that Taiwan, Singapore, Hongkong with their Chinese populations have leaped ahead of the other Asian nations to economic prosperity. Another factor is that since time immemorial the Chinese have been the businessmen in Asia."...
"In the case of the Philippines, such a chic theory needs revising. True the bulk of its population is Malay Filipinos. But look again: many of the economic leaders of the Philippines are Chinese-Filipinos or Chinese who have joined the mainstream. They are the ones moving the economy."
But on the other hand this success has its drawbacks as cited in the Manila Standard of Feb. 7, 1990, "...a large part of this prejudice stems from the fact that Filipinos of Chinese descent by and large have achieved more than the other citizens of our country - and, as a result, have earned the envy of many. Both our envy and amor propio make it extremely difficult to attribute the higher levels of success of our Filipino-Chinese contemporaries to the skill, hard work, discipline and frugality they demonstrate as individuals as well as to the solidarity, cooperation and mutual assistance they exhibit as a community. It is so much more comforting to our egos to credit the success of Chinese-Filipinos to illegal and immoral business practices that victimize their fellow Filipinos. This rationalization is doubly attractive: it explains why we are poor and they are rich."
The rejection of Chinese-Filipinos by Malay Filipinos was similarly stated by The Manila Standard, Jan. 27, 1990: "...we should ask ourselves whether the symbolism of our exclusion from the celebration of the Chinese New Year stems not so much from our not being a part of one or the other Chinese family as from our own unwillingness to accept so many of the Chinese members of our community into our own fellowship. Our policies on citizenship, for instance, are flawed by a major inconsistency: we are willing to extend citizenship to foreigners who invest large sums of money here; yet, we are unwilling to extend it to many of our local born Chinese who, together with their grandparents ...have invested their lives and fortunes here. Until we accept the Chinese members of our community into our own fellowship, we cannot expect to become a real part of their celebration of the Chinese New Year."
The celebration of Chinese New Year during February is observed in a comparatively low key fashion, as it is a family affair, or is maintained as a tourist attraction for Chinese from Hong Kong, as many Chinese-Filipinos now celebrate the same Calendar New Year as do the Filipinos. Many Chinese also observe Christmas as they have become Christian although among the older and sometimes traditional younger Chinese Taoism, Buddhism, and Confucianism. The Filipino-Chinese also observe All Saints' Day November 1 instead of the traditional day for remembrance of the dead on April 5. Another step taken towards integration was their change of the three syllabic Chinese family names to Filipino surnames. Some authentic Filipino surnames of Chinese origin are Bengson, Locsin, Tanseco, Ongpin, and Cojuangco, the maiden surname of Philippine President Corazon Aquino.
In spite of far reaching integration, the Chinese still maintain their own hospitals and schools in The Country teaching Chinese languages (Fookien, Mandarin, Cantonese), songs, drama and dances. Furthermore, Chinese organizations are still formed according to one's family name, place of origin, or field of business and trade.
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