China gate

There is this old song that came out of World War II story. Sang by Nat King Cole, the song became popular because of Cole’s soothing voice. There is a line which says “China gate, many dreams and many hearts you’ve sent away. Like two arms open wide, some you welcome in, some you must stay outside.”

I recall this song as the recently celebrated Bacolaodiat and the Chinese New Year recede into memory to be resurrected next year with plans for more and better celebration.

There is no doubt that the celebration was a great success, thanks to the unity of the Chinese descendants among us and the strong support of the City of Bácolod that considers this new festival another in the list that tourists can expect in this City. Well and fine and we hope that indeed there will be a better one.

Another news report tells of the establishment of the Bacolod Chinatown Center. A Bácolod Chinatown Development Council has also been created with the task of implementing the plans for what – the Center or Chinatown?

These are two matters that need some comments but since this subject came out of the news without public consultation but with the interested parties alone it is best to bring out some points.

Is the city establishing a Chinatown or just a Center dedicated to anything Chinese?  These two, viewed closely are different matters. The City offers tax and other incentives to those who will put up projects there.

If this is a Chinatown then it follows that these projects will convert the area into a similar, a copy or imitation of a Chinatown and not just any project that will not showcase Chineseness lest it defeats the purpose of the name and intent of a business area. It would be like any other commercial center as Makati or Global or the former Capitol Shopping Center. 

A Chinatown does not come out of a drawing board but is a natural metamorphosis of the area where the Chinese and their descendants have chosen to live and open businesses. Thus the place exudes a Chinese character different from any other.

Don’t take me wrong. The idea is good but the concept must conform into something that is what it is purported to be. If this is a Chinatown then it must be clearly identified with a Chinese character on its own and not a potpourri disguised with Chinese name and decorations.

A Chinatown, the ancient Parian of Spanish times, may appear cute today but it is a creation of racial and religious prejudice. Because one was Chinese he had to live within the reach of the guns of the cannons of a Spanish fort. The Chinese hated the parian because it represented persecution and discrimination. It was the ghetto.

There were four parians – Cebu, Manila, Ilocos and Iloilo but because of their disdain of the parian, the Chinese worked hard to get out of them. They got baptized and married Filipina which allowed them to leave the confines of the parian and settle in other towns and villages of the island where they succeeded so well that later laws became more lenient and even biased in their favor. They became a dominant group within Filipino community, not in numbers but in wealth and education thus took leadership of their adopted towns.

Mayor Evelio Leonardia rightly said that the Chinatown is a public-private partnership which to me means that anyone with money to invest can get into this area. If this is so, why call it Chinatown at all? By using this name is not the city being misleading because then this is not really of Chinese character?

The Bacolod Chinatown Development Council is set to come up with its rules. It must make a clear definition of what this area is. If it is to be clearly a Chinatown, then it should be developed as such not an arroz kalokalo but Chinese and thus be true to itself.  

The incentives must be clear, that these are available only for business or tourism projects that will display the Chinese to make Filipinos and tourist appreciate what the Chinese are, what they had done, what contributions and influence they have in our traditions, language and culture. Filipinos of Chinese origin are as ignorant as we are of what being Chinese means.

If this is a mere business area then we are deceiving the public with a name unmatched by what to expect.

The Bacolaodiat is a success because it makes no pretensions but gave the Filipinos a chance to know what being Chinese means. If the city can transform the area into a real Chinese enclave – food, goods, traditional items, etc.  – not mixed with others, except with Japanese, Korean, Thai and Singaporean who are of Chinese origin, then we have a real Chinatown.*

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