A Talk with a Nearby Foreigner

by Charles Uy

A few days ago, I was at the dorm lobby with my girlfriend when we were suddenly approached by a Chinese foreign exchange student. This student was undergoing his graduate studies in journalism and it was second visit to the Philippines and Ateneo. He began by asking us some mundane questions about the dorm and when it was built and what was it for. Eventually the topics turned to the Philippines in general. Language, culture and how it all related to the Chinese. I tried my best to give him a history of the Chinese in the Philippines from what I learned from my History classes and in turn, he gave me some history and perspective on the Chinese and how they viewed the Philippines.

It was strange hearing how their values were so different from ours, that somehow the prevailing Chinese stereotype in the Philippines holds true. The way the exchange student talked about how intensely pragmatic the Chinese are, and how highly they value the idea of high income equals secure future. Stranger still was how, talking about the Philippines with him made me realize that our country isn’t very simple at all. Sure, a person can be aware of the thousands of islands that exist, the multitude of languages that are present, the different cultures that exist but it never really hit me that all this was in the Philippines. In a way, I took it for granted that the Philippines was this insane melting pot of culture that historically has been really mixed and confusing and remains so to this day.

What did I take away from the long talk with the foreign exchange student? That we often take things for granted. In this case, country and history. Many times in our discussion, travel was mentioned and how that it would be an eye opener and a mind widener, but when I think of that kind of travel, I think out of the country. Places in Europe and Africa and the rest of Asia were the destinations in mind, not the places in the Philippines.  I believe that there exists a lot of untapped knowledge and perspective around the Philippines. Differing cultures mean differing values and each culture would give a different perspective on our own, similar to how religions giver perspective to other religions.

In a way, this made me realize that there exists a lot if wisdom from sources local to us, but maybe we just haven’t been looking at it, or taking it seriously. The Philippines has a rich history within it and I believe we are taking it for granted too often. Many people in the Philippines’ past still have much to teach us.


How does this relate to philosophy? I guess I could say it all comes back to awareness and the broken world, maybe on a more literal broken world level. We still have a large disconnection with other cultures, even though with today’s technology that shouldn’t be much of an issue. We continue to be absorbed by our own problems locally that maybe we fail to see the wisdom that other countries can provide to help with our situation.

I Have Good Intention of Promoting Mutual Understanding

by Hubert Cua

This blog post is written in response to clarify some of the things raised in the class and to prevent problems and clashes caused by misunderstanding. Communication opens doors.I have good intention of promoting mutual understanding.Everything in this blog post does not connote anything bad or offensive. This blog post is not directly related to philosophy, but is indirectly related to philosophy.

There are many terms, like Filipino Chinese or Tsinoy that refers to people with Chinese blood in the Philippines. However, these terms are broad and have meanings that differ across various people.In understanding Filipino Chinese or Tsinoy, we need to bring out some specific terms for clarity. As a result, I will personally translate and define simply some of our exact terms in Mandarin. (The formal definitions are far more complex.)The terms Oversea Chinese and Oversea Chinese Nationals are in some ways related to the terms Oversea Filipino and Oversea Filipino Worker. If the Oversea Chinese came out before 1979, they are referred as Early Oversea Chinese Nationals. If the Oversea Chinese came out after 1979, they are referred as Late Oversea Chinese Nationals. (The Open Door Policy of China was made in 1978 and implemented in 1979. Year 1979 is usually, but not always, used as basis for clarity.) Oversea Chinese Nationals, whose nationality in the paper was changed due to naturalization law, is called Oversea Chinese. The descendants of Oversea Chinese Nationals are referred either as Oversea Chinese or as Pure (Blooded) Chinese Descent.  The term Pure Chinese Descent is used to contrast Filipino with Chinese Descent, which refer to mixed bloods.


People usually refer to Oversea Chinese as businessman. This is actuallyvery generalized stereotype. Let me explain how this started. Since Xia Dynasty (about 4000 years ago) to the first half of Qing Dynasty (before year 1839), China was generally, but not specifically, one of the most prosperous or even the most prosperous country or group of states in the world. First Opium War then started in 1839. Within 110 years (1839 – 1949), China was attacked, colonized and imperialized by numerous countries and was forced to sign more than 300 unequal treaties. (People usually, but not always, accept that there are 10 major invaders and some minor invaders.) China also experienced Civil War until People’s Republic of China was founded on October 1, 1949. As a result, China became very poor. Some Chinese also came out to earn money back home during and after these 110 years.These Early Oversea Chinese Nationals, especially in the Spanish era, worked very hard under very low wages and very poor conditions. Eventually, they turned from lowly workers to businessman. During Spanish era, their stereotype was blood suckers, stingy and the like, because they generally spend very little and bring home the rest. During and sometime after the Chinese Civil War, the stereotype of Oversea Chinese Nationals was either Communist or Nationalist. (By the way, now, the form of government of China is not communism. It is translated as China’s Specialty Socialism or Socialism with Chinese Characteristics.) Now, the stereotypes of Oversea Chinese are rich, businessman and etc. Since we are talking about openness or acceptance of differences in philosophy, I would like to stress that some of these stereotypes are true in some cases and to some extent, while other stereotypes are false in some cases and to some extent.First, the stereotype of Chinese as businessman is not true in China and is true only in some countries and in some cases oversea. Second, I admit that there are still some older generations who oblige the younger generations to go to business. Whether we agree or not, we need to understand both the side of the older generations and the side of the younger generations. On one side, the younger generations want to pursue their own field of interest. On the other side, the older generations want the sons or daughters to continue what they worked very hard for. It’s not easy to rise from lowly workers to businessman.

Some Filipinos think that both the older and the younger generations of Oversea Chinese generally do not marry non-Chinese, because of discrimination. I admit discrimination exists in both sides, but in reality, not marrying non-Chinese is not a sort of discrimination. Let me explain how this started. Quite a number of Early Oversea Chinese Nationals, especially during the Spanish era, marry Filipina, because almost all of the Chinese Nationals who came out were male. Now that the ratio between male and female Oversea Chinese is almost 1:1, Pure Chinese Descent generally do not marry Filipino or Filipina, because of various reasons. The reasons can be any combinations of the some reasons I wrote below. One, this is to preserve the Chinese lineage. Two, this is to preserve the Chinese surnames. Three, this is to have blood purity. Four, this is to have cultural purity.Five, this is to prevent cultural conflict.Chinese culture is indeed different from other cultures. What is correct for Chinese may be wrong for non-Chinese. This also goes for its vice-versa. Six, this is to show great importance and great trust to other Chinese. Seventh, this is to show national and ethnic solidarity. Eighth, this is because of looking at marriage, not only as something personal, but also as something representative of our country. During dynastic era, marriage symbolizes peace and friendship between two states. An example would be the marriage between a palace servant Wang Zhaojun of Han Dynasty and Huhanye of Xiongnu. Another example would be the marriage between Princess Wencheng of Tang Dynasty and Songzanganbu of Xizhang. (Tibet) Ninth, this is because oflooking up to fellow Chinese. Again, this is not discrimination, because looking up on fellow Chinese does not mean looking down on non-Chinese. Now, I hope some would understand why not marrying non-Chinese is not a sort of discrimination. In fact, it is not only the Chinese who practice this. Many countries and ethnics, including some Filipinos, also practice this. I guess some Filipinos practice this with lesser intensity. I think that this is only highlighted because Oversea Chinese, not including Filipinos with Chinese Descent, is a minority in the population living in the Philippines.