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Chinese Filipinos: The ties that bind

The world’s first Chinatown was established in the Philippine capital Manila in 1594.

Chinese Filipinos: The ties that bind [Ted Regencia/ Al Jazeera]
The world’s first Chinatown was established in the Binondo district of the Philippine capital Manila in 1594 [Ted Regencia/Al Jazeera]
By Ted Regencia
Published On 8 Jul 20158 Jul 2015
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Manila, Philippines – In 1861, a villager from the Chinese province of Fujian, sailed across South China Sea to start a new life in the Spanish colony of the Philippines.

Settling in his adoptive home, Co Yu Hwan became Catholic, and adopted the name Jose Cojuangco. He would become the great-grandfather of the first female Philippines president, Corazon Cojuangco Aquino, mother of the current president, Benigno Aquino III.

For centuries, migration and trade have bound the Philippines and China. Long before Spanish, American and Japanese colonisers conquered its shores, Chinese junks plyed the seas between mainland Asia and the islands the would become the Philippines.

In 1594, the world’s first Chinatown was established in the Philippine capital Manila.

The Chinese influence has become embedded into the country’s identity, becoming distinctly Filipino – from country’s national hero, Jose Rizal to its Fujian-style noodles, pancit canton.

Unlike Spain, the US and Japan, China has never fought any war against the Philippines.

And yet today, Manila and Beijing find themselves on opposite ends of a geopolitical conflict, with the Philippines on the side of its two former occupiers, the US and Japan.

During a recent visit to Tokyo, President Aquino even made reference to Nazi Germany while denouncing China’s reclamation activities at the Mischief Reef, a territory also claimed by the Philippines.

On July 7, an arbitration court in The Hague formally took up the Philippine case against China. But Beijing has refused the court’s jurisdiction.     

The dispute, with protests and calls for a boycott against China, has also brought forth a debate on the allegiance of Chinese Filipinos.

One prominent novelist, F Sionil Jose was denounced for suggesting that Chinese Filipinos cannot be trusted in the event of a conflict with China. One US-based Filipino called the statement “dangerous”.

Another Filipino scholar, Caroline Hau, in condemning the “scare tactics” wrote, “I consider myself a Filipino above all, and am proud of both my Filipino and Chinese heritage.”

Follow Ted Regencia on Twitter @tedregencia

Chinese Filipinos: The ties that bind [Ted Regencia/ Al Jazeera]
Binondo was established by the Philippines' Spanish colonisers for the Catholic Chinese residents of Manila [Ted Regencia/Al Jazeera]
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Chinese Filipinos: The ties that bind [Ted Regencia/ Al Jazeera]
For centuries, migration and trade have bound the Philippines and China [Ted Regencia/Al Jazeera]
Chinese Filipinos: The ties that bind [Ted Regencia/ Al Jazeera]
Before the Japanese invasion of Manila during World War II, Binondo was the financial capital of the country [Ted Regencia/Al Jazeera]
Chinese Filipinos: The ties that bind [Ted Regencia/ Al Jazeera]
Many Chinese Filipinos, including President Aquino, trace their roots to Fujian and Guangdong provinces of China [Ted Regencia/Al Jazeera]
Chinese Filipinos: The ties that bind [Ted Regencia/ Al Jazeera]
Long before Spanish, American and Japanese colonisers came to the Philippines, Chinese traders were doing businesses in the Philippines [Ted Regencia/Al Jazeera]
Chinese Filipinos: The ties that bind [Ted Regencia/ Al Jazeera]
The Chinese influence has become embedded into the country’s identity, becoming distinctly Filipino [Ted Regencia/Al Jazeera]
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Chinese Filipinos: The ties that bind [Ted Regencia/ Al Jazeera]
Aside from Filipino and English, most Chinese Filipinos speak either Hokkienese or a Cantonese language [Ted Regencia/Al Jazeera]
Chinese Filipinos: The ties that bind [Ted Regencia/ Al Jazeera]
During the American colonial period the US Chinese Exclusion Act was also put into effect in the Philippines, restricting Chinese immigration into the country [Ted Regencia/Al Jazeera]
Chinese Filipinos: The ties that bind [Ted Regencia/ Al Jazeera]
The first Filipino Catholic saint, Lorenzo Ruiz, was a known resident of Manila's Chinatown. An estimated 70 percent of Chinese Filipinos are Roman Catholics [Ted Regencia/Al Jazeera]
Chinese Filipinos: The ties that bind [Ted Regencia/ Al Jazeera]
While the financial district of the country has moved elsewhere, Manila's Chinatown remains a bustling business destination [Ted Regencia/Al Jazeera]
Chinese Filipinos: The ties that bind [Ted Regencia/ Al Jazeera]
From its Fujian-style 'pansit canton' noodles, to its 'hotatay' egg drop soup and soft tofu 'taho' dessert, Chinese food has become part of the regular Filipino fare [Ted Regencia/Al Jazeera]


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