Excerpted from Tulay Monthly, Chinese-Filipino Digest 1, no. 6 (November 13, 1988), p. 7. Throughout the long history of the Chinese presence in the Philippines, they have made significant contributions to Philippine life – not just in the field of commerce but more importantly to the propagation of Christianity and the perpetuation of the Filipino […]
First published in Tulay Montly, Chinese-Filipino Digest 1, no. 5 (October 7, 1988), p. 7. The Chinese Filipino, up to this point in time, can consider himself lucky. The democratic processes work for him. He has been welcomed into the body politic of the nation. The discrimination and second-class citizen treatment are exceptions rather than […]
First published in Tulay Fortnightly, Chinese-Filipino Digest 23, no. 18 (February 15-March 7, 2011): 5. Although Chinese surname 莊 (Ching in Hokkien, Zhuang in Mandarin) ranks outside the 100 most populous surnames in China, it ranks 12th among Chinese in the Philippines. We can trace its origin to Chu Zhuang Wang (楚莊王). He was king […]
First published in Tulay Monthly, Chinese-Filipino Digest 1, no. 4 (September 11, 1988): 10. Part II As a result of higher education and closer contact with Filipino and Western values, younger generations of ethnic Chinese women have rising expectations of sexual equality. Unlike their mothers, they complain today of sexual discrimination outside of the home […]
First published in Tulay, Chinese-Filipino Digest 1, no. 3 (August 1988): 10. The history of Chinese women in Southeast Asia has been a recent one. Most of the early Chinese who came to the Philippines were traders or laborers who left their wives and families in China. Thus, even as late as 1903, there were […]
First published in Tulay Fortnightly, Chinese-Filipino Digest 24, no. 24 (May 22-June 12, 2012): 5. Chinese surname 丁 (Ting in Hokkien, Ding in Mandarin) ranks 28th among Chinese in the Philippines and 48th in China. The Chinese character 丁 is quite simple: the capital letter T with a hook at the bottom of the vertical […]
First published in Tulay Monthly, Chinese-Filipino Digest 1, no. 7 (December 11, 1988): 12, 16. Introduced as a teacher of a graduate course on Contemporary China at the UP Asian Center, I was met with a blank stare which ‘seemed to suggest that I might as well go teach in a monastery. After lecturing to […]
First published in Tulay, Chinese-Filipino Digest 1, no. 3 (August 1998): 4. So, the ethnic Chinese are moving back into Chinatown (Chronicle, July 20, 1988). This is good news for Chinatown real estate developers and brokers, but bad news for the assimilation effort. Judging from reports, concern over security appears to be the primary motivating […]
First published in Tulay Fortnightly, Chinese-Filipino Digest 24, no. 22 (April 24-May 7, 2012): 5. Chu in Hokkien, Zhu in Mandarin, 朱ranks 27th among the Chinese in the Philippines. In China, it ranks 13th, mainly because Zhu is the imperial surname during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). China’s emperors had tens or even hundreds of wives […]
“More Filipino than many Filipinos.” — Teodoro F. Agoncillo “Through his unselfishness and heroism, General Paua had earned the gratitude of the Filipino nation to whose freedom and welfare he dedicated his life. He loved the Philippines as his own country …” — Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo “The ferocity with which he contested every inch of […]