I am going to talk to you tonight on the subject of Sino-Philippine Relations in the hope that what I have to say will cement further the friendly ties between our two countries. When we consider that China and the Philippines have maintained relations for a good ten centuries, the impossibility of covering the subject fully and adequately in the brief span of a speech becomes at once apparent. I shall, therefore, confine myself only to those aspects of our relationship which are of timely and immediate interest. If I touch on some unsolved problems affecting Chinese and Filipinos, my purpose is not to stir up animosities, but to stress the need for mutual understanding and mutual forbearance between us so that our friendship may be preserved and further strengthened.
Now, we can look back with satisfaction to more than a thousand years of neighborly intercourse between our two countries. Historically, there is documentary evidence of trading activities between your ancestors and mine as early as the tenth century, A. D., in the reign of the Sung Dynasty. The first Chinese immigrants to the Philippines were attracted by the wealth of the country in natural resources. They found it "a fertile field for their activities, be it in agriculture, trade or industry." However, the Chinese influx to our island group did not really begin until after the conquest of the Philippines by the Spaniards in the sixteenth century. When the Spanish colonizers established themselves in Manila in 1571, they found about 150 Chinese well settled there. By 1588, this small number rose to 10,000, and by 1603, to 30,000. The tide of immigration has continued since then until today there are an estimated 300,000 Chinese residents in the Philippines.
In general, the Chinese that have come to live with the Filipinos have been peaceful, industrious and enterprising. Except for some scattered occasional clashes, there has been no serious public disorder between Chinese and Filipinos in the long history of our relations. It is true, the Chinese settlers stage various tragic revolts against the Spanish government in the islands, but the Filipinos, too, had their grievances against Spanish rule.
In 1574, the Chinese pirate Limahong entered the outskirts of Manila with an invasion force, and succeeded in establishing a foot-hold in Pangasinan north of Manila, but he was eventually defeated and driven away. About a hundred years later, or in 1662, the Chinese General Koxinga who had recaptured Taiwan from the Dutch sent emissaries to Manila to demand tribute from the Spaniards, but he was rebuffed, and thereafter caused no further trouble. From that time on and for the next three hundred years to this day, there has been complete peace between our two peoples. It is a fact well appreciated by us that in our struggle for independence against Spain, the Chinese were on the side of the Filipino revolutionaries, and in our fight against Japanese occupation in World War II, they gave valuable help to our Filipino guerrillas.
Our centuries-old association with the Chinese in the Philippines has left a profound mark upon the economic, social and cultural life of the Filipino people. Intermarriage between Chinese and Filipinos accounts for the fact that our most revered national hero, Jose Rizal, had Chinese blood in his veins and the further fact that no less than 10 percent of our population of twenty-two million, including some of our most distinguished citizens, both dead and alive, are, or were, of Chinese ancestry.
As we recall the vicissitudes of our long historic relationship, it is to be noted that in recent years, specially since the emergence of the cold war, our two republics have been drawn much closer than ever before by a new danger, the danger of International Communism to the continued existence of a free and civilized society. We must cope with this danger together, or we shall perish separately.
The firm and consistent policy of the Philippine Government to give Nationalist China full support in the United Nations and conversely, not to recognize the Peking regime—to have neither official nor commercial dealings with the Chinese Reds—is dictated by the Filipinos' awareness of the menace of Communism to their way of life. It is also predicated on their conviction that the Government of the Republic of China, now temporarily established in Taipei, is the true and rightful government of the Chinese people and the legitimate guardian of Chinese culture and traditions.
But the two countries at present have problems that could, and do, ruffle their cordial relations. These problems are, however, local in character—local in the sense that they stem from the lawful exercise by the Philippine Government of its sovereign duties to regulate the behavior and activities of aliens in the Philippines, and to enforce the laws applicable to them. It would be a mistake to minimize the importance of these problems. They can arouse bitter feelings on both sides, as in the case of the recent dispute over the deportation of erring Chinese citizens from Manila. Fortunately, these issues, again as proven by the Chinese deportee problem, now happily solved, are not incapable of amicable settlement. It would be foolish for both nations to allow such local matters to undermine their relationship which must remain firm and strong to meet the Communist challenge. The Philippines is not much farther from the mainland than Taiwan, and both are within easy reach of Communist jet planes on activated air bases along the South China coast. Those poised for attack from these bases are too close to the heart of the Philippines for comfort.
At this juncture, I should like to point out that with the thorny issue about the Chinese deportees disposed of, the only remaining major problem between Manila and Taipei is that concerning the overstaying Chinese temporary visitors in the Philippines. Talks have been resumed between Philippine Foreign Secretary Serrano and Chinese Ambassador Tuan to solve this problem once and for all, and it would be inadvisable for me to comment on the subject while the matter is under negotiation in Manila. However, to create a better climate for the settlement of the problem, it may be helpful to re-state here certain facts, already known to the public.
These approximately 2,700 so-called overstaying Chinese visitors had been allowed entry into the Philippines under temporary visitors' visas which had long since expired. They represent but a small portion of the 300,000 Chinese now residing in the Philippines. Most of them had come from the Chinese mainland. When their time was up, China had fallen into Communist hands, and they pleaded not to be shipped back to the mainland for fear of Communist mistreatment.
With due regard for their plight, our immigration authorities did not expel them outright from the country although they had overstayed their visas in clear violation of the immigration laws of the Philippines. In the interim, efforts were commenced to repatriate them to Taiwan. Their temporary stay in the Philippines had been prolonged beyond the legal limit, not just for a few months, but for several years. Now these Chinese temporary visitors have been in the Philippines for nearly ten years, and the point has been reached where the Philippine Government can no longer close its eyes to this continued open infringement of its immigration laws without creating serious difficulties for itself. The present administration in the Philippines has been increasingly under heavy attack by our legislators, labor groups and newspapers for not taking effective action against these overstaying alien visitors. Such action has been considered necessary to help relieve the grave unemployment situation in the Philippines which is much worse than that in Taiwan. You will perhaps be surprised if I tell you that we have more than one million jobless Filipinos, but this is a fact. Under these circumstances, the Philippine Government must act not only to protect the interests of the Filipine workingman but also to uphold its laws. If the position were reversed, I am sure the Government of the Republic of China, or any other Government, would not act differently.
Appropriate consideration has been given to the fact that most of the Chinese temporary visitors in question are being taken care of by the Chinese community in Manila, and that they have not become public charges. It is also recognized that while a good many of them have, by their misconduct, become undesirable aliens, others have engaged themselves in timely and wholesome enterprises which have been of some benefit to the country. For this reason, the Philippine Foreign Office has agreed to an arrangement whereby the 2,700 more or less overstaying Chinese temporary visitors be repatriated to Taiwan and those who have been law-abiding and helpful be permitted to return to reside permanently in the Philippines. This was a part of the understanding reached by Philippine Foreign Secretary Serrano and former Chinese Ambassador Chen Chi-mai in November, 1959, which, under the accord concluded by the two Governments on December 18, 1959, over the Chinese deportee issue, is to be the basis of the continuation of the negotiations for the settlement of the pending problem of overstaying Chinese temporary visitors. The basic points of that understanding are (1) full respect for the laws of the Philippines; (2) a sincere desire on both sides to promote better understanding and closer relations between the two countries; and (3) human considerations. There can reasonably be no quarrel about the soundness of these principles.
The details for the implementation of the said understanding are now being worked out in Manila. I feel that full agreement can be reached without serious difficulties if the negotiations between the two Governments are undertaken in a spirit of mutual accommodation, mutual regard, and mutual faith. Account should be taken of the fact that both Governments are confronted with pressing difficulties in their respective home fronts.
In Taiwan, Nationalist China is in a quasi-state of war. It is burdened with enormous problems related to the urgent need of bolstering up its military and economic position, not only for its own sake but also in the interests of the free world, to repel Communist attack, if and when it comes. Last year its problems were compounded by devastating floods which caused considerable damage to Taiwan's economy. In the Philippines, the vast number of unemployed Filipinos is becoming restless, and in the face of the evident signs of prosperity enjoyed by the Chinese there, the outgrowth of anti-Chinese sentiment might not be checked unless something were done to get the problem of overstaying Chinese visitors out of the way.
Personally, I think that in carrying out the understanding already reached, there should be practical and realistic mutual concessions by both sides to meet the other halfway. I am quite certain that a better appreciation on the part of the Philippine public of the actual difficulties faced by Nationalist China in Taiwan, and a better understanding on the part of the Chinese public of the Philippine Government's predicament at home, will contribute to a speedy solution of the issue. There should be patience, moderation and restraint in both countries. Above all, the unwarranted emotional outbursts in Manila as well as in Taipei which hampered the recent negotiations over the Chinese deportee problem and which strained Sino-Philippine relations almost to the breaking point, should be avoided.
From here, let me deal with another matter which may have a bearing on Sino-Philippine relations, and then I shall be through. I refer to the Philippine Government's Filipino First Policy, launched by President Garcia himself. I assure you this is not a policy of confiscation and persecution aimed at the Chinese and other foreign interests in the Philippines. It is merely a policy of self-preservation to keep the Filipinos from becoming economic serfs in their own backward. Fundamentally, there can be no just criticism of this policy, for it is the same kind of policy pursued by every country in the world, including China, to give priority, other things being equal, to its nationals in all forms of economic activity.
Insofar as the thousands of Chinese who have prospered in the Philippines by honest work and have achieved commercial success by legitimate means are concerned, I am quite certain that proper safeguards will be provided by our national legislature to protect them in their investments and acquired rights. The nationalistic bills in the Congress of the Philippines one reads about in the newspapers are not designed to liquidate Chinese interests or any other foreign interests, but merely to make sure that Filipinos in their own home grounds are not deprived of the means and facilities which are essential to their economic independence and stability. It is to be acknowledged that the established Chinese residents in the Philippines have, by their industry, their business acumen and their spirit of enterprise, contributed substantially to the material and economic advancement of the country. One may rely on the good sense of the Filipinos not to defeat their own ends by resorting to such extremes of nationalism as will completely deny to them the goodwill and assistance of a group of people, alien though they may be, whose cooperation has been of great value in the past.
The Philippine Government has taken, and is taking, firm measures against unscrupulous aliens, those who evade payment of taxes, who engage in fraudulent practices, who sabotage our economy, but those who are honest, straight and true will always be afforded the equal protection of our laws. There are Filipinos who abuse and harass aliens, extort money or take bribes from them, but these miscreants are not tolerated; they are relentlessly prosecuted and punished when their crimes are exposed.
Recognition must be given to the fact that your highest officials here in Taipei have never missed an opportunity to admonish your overseas Chinese including those in the Philippines to observe the laws, and cooperate loyally with the Governments, of the countries in which they are domiciled. It ought to be understandable that no self-respecting nation will permit the slightest infringement of its laws and decrees, be it by nationals or aliens. On the other hand, it is the moral obligation of enlightened Governments not to subject alien minorities under their jurisdiction to any form of oppressive or unjustifiable treatment.
In closing, let me reiterate my conviction that the traditional friendship between our two countries is something that must not be taken for granted, one that should be zealously cultivated and kept alive by a constant and sincere endeavor to remove all causes of friction tending to weaken our unity. In an area where the moral values we cherish most are threatened with destruction, it is extremely important for the preservation of our respective ways of life that such a friendship should endure.
Thank you.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*A speech by the Philippine Ambassador before the Chinese Association for the United Nations in Taipei on March 15, 1960.