Ziya, my six-year-old granddaughter, came home from school Monday and reported that it is Batas Militar (Martial Law) week at her school in Quezon City. She and her classmates were commanded by the seventh graders, who acted as soldiers imposing discipline. They were not to talk or sing outside the classroom, among other things. Ziya’s […]
Mei Lan Fang (梅蘭芳 1894-1961) was a famed Peking Opera actor in China. When the Japanese invaded China and occupied Shanghai, Mei stopped his stage performances and lived in seclusion at home. Chu Min Yi (褚民誼), the executive secretary and minister of foreign affairs of the puppet government then under Wang Jing Wei (汪精衞), attempted […]
The May 30th Movement (五卅運動) was a major labor and anti-imperialist movement sparked by the killing of Chinese protesters at the Shanghai International Settlement (or concession) on May 30, 1925. The protesters were demonstrating against the Japanese No. 8 Cotton Mill whose Japanese foreman shot dead Gu Zhenghong (顧正紅), a labor leader, on May 15. […]
The late Co Tec Tai (許澤台), legal name Ong Yong, father of Tulay columnist Dr. Willie Ong, shared a true story about an incident he witnessed during the Japanese occupation of Manila during World War II. He narrated the story in an article he wrote in 1994 in memory of his uncle Co Liong Peng […]
When the second Sino-Japanese war broke out in 1937, Ma Ben Zhai (馬本齋), a Muslim, responded to the call to fight the Japanese invaders. He led his younger brother, organized the Muslim army volunteers, and joined in the struggle against the Japanese. Ma’s volunteers struck against the Japanese troops several times. They made the enemy […]
First published in Tulay Fortnightly, Chinese-Filipino Digest | January 19-February 1, 2016 | vol. 28 nos. 15-16 | It is well known that Pedro Paterno, a prominent leader of the Propaganda Movement of the 19th century, is a Chinese mestizo, just like many leaders and famous figures of the movement. Not as known is the […]
The famous Chinese Volunteer Fire Brigade was organized mainly because of two fires that almost devastated Chinatown in Manila – the 1962 fire in Divisoria and the 1968 fire that started on Ongpin Street. These made the Chinese community realize they had to rely on themselves and get organized to effectively fight the fires they […]
First published in Tulay Fortnightly, Chinese-Filipino DigestSeptember 20-October 3, 2016 | vol. 29, No. 8 issue On April 24, 1911, Lin Jue Min (林覺民), then 24, a native of Fujian and schooled also in Japan, wrote his father and his wife a farewell letter (與妻訣別書) before joining the Guangzhou (Canton) uprising against the Manchu regime.Part […]
First published in Tulay Fortnightly, Chinese-Filipino DigestSeptember 6-19, 2016, vol. 29, no. 7 What does Francisco Balagtas, the “Prince of Tagalog Poets,” have got to do with Binondo?Balagtas was a significant part of Binondo’s cultural history, according to a book by Fred Sevilla.Most historians refer to Binondo as the economic center of the Philippines during […]
First published in Tulay Fortnightly, Chinese-Filipino Digestvol. 29 | no. 14 | December 20, 2016-January 16, 2017 In 1221, the army of the Northern Jin (金) Dynasty (1115-1234) moved southward to attack Qi Zhou (蘄州) of the Song Dynasty. At the time, the term of Li Cheng Zhi (李誠之) as governor of Qi Zhou prefecture […]