CHINESE EVERYWHERE!

.....Everywhere we go, we can see Chinese people. It’s like they are already part of our society and seem normal. Most probably you have friends and classmates who look like Chinese but are actually Filipinos. With so many Chinese people migrating to our place, it’s no wonder many people today have some Chinese blood on them even if they are Filipinos. And I am one of them. There are many instances that people ask me if I am Chinese. Some are even surprised when they realized that I know how to speak in Filipino. My father’s father who is my grandfather is a pure Chinese. I never got to meet him because he died before I was even born. But nonetheless I knew some things about him through my papa’s and lola’s stories. One of the things I can remember is that the reason he went to the Philippines is because life in China was hard so he tried to find a new life here. It didn’t really leave a mark in my mind before because what I always think when it comes to China is that it is a successful and beautiful country. Especially after seeing on the television the opening and ending of Olympics that took place in Beijing, you would not think that many people there are suffering.

.....After attending the seminar about, “Chinese Everywhere,” it took me some time to finally accept the reality about China. I never knew that the largest emigrant group in the world is the Chinese emigration. It has been said that over 62 million by the latest have spread to 150 countries around the world and 18o million for the last 20 years. Wow! They prefer the North America and other Western countries but because of the large public demand for jobs, they also migrate to other places like Australia, Israel, Dubai, Italy and many more. Unemployment and underemployment have been increasing each year so many Chinese are really desperate to find job opportunities in other countries even if it means they have to migrate illegally. Many want to work abroad hoping for a better life with higher wages. There are even villages where families are ashamed if their male member in the right age is left behind.

…..I have learned that just because they simply want to leave China that does not mean they can. Emigrating from China is a complicated and lengthy process mainly because many countries are unwilling or unable to accept the large numbers of people who wish to migrate. Oftentimes only the elite Chinese families can go. The students and scholars get to go to different countries legally to study and scientists are able to attend foreign education and research institutions. Others who can go legally are either because they have relatives in abroad or they have the skills a country is in search for. But not all are given the opportunity and are qualified so they use illegal migration. Even if it’s illegal, it is not for free because they still have to pay the smugglers who will help them. Some of the money they will pay will be used to bribe authorities to get them legal visa cards, passports and identification cards needed.

…..Smugglers globally are creating a much bigger industry because of profit and profits increase every year due to the demand. They may be helping them how to migrate to other countries but once the immigrants enter a country, they have no access to regular labor markets and the benefits of labor-protection law. They are forced to work underground. Their sufferings do not stop there. Even if they get jobs on companies, factories and in other businesses, they experience discrimination and deterioration of labor standards. There are also Anti-Chinese laws that make it difficult for the Chinese to own lands and find work. When there is a slow economic growth, immigrants are the target. They do not have political power and so the government they work in take advantage of them for their own advancement. Many people blame them or accused them of something they did not do out of resentment. Despite the fact that there are signs of growing anti-Chinese sentiment in many quarters of the world, the government of China is practically doing nothing. You can see the logic that the more Chinese leaving, the lesser the population and the lesser the unemployment, the more money. The government benefits from the remittances of its citizens abroad and can get as much as US 20 billion dollar a year. No wonder!

…..All these things go to one question, “Why are the Chinese leaving when the country is starting to modernize?” Prof. Peter Kwong said that the pressure of migration is at its largest when the country starts to modernize because there aren’t enough facilities and jobs. Also, the competition is tremendous because of the population. I was confused by his statement because I thought that when a country starts to modernize, there would be new job opportunities for there would be new companies and other business sectors that will grow. I also thought the businesses will bloom because more foreign countries will invest in their lands and there will be other new transactions. That’s the way it should be, right? But as I analyzed the situation, I realized that when a country starts to modernize, it does not immediately rise. It faces many risks and failures first. Many people lose their jobs because a lot of industries and companies close perhaps due to the sudden change of the economy. Some businesses may be a boon to many towns and people and very profitable to some investors BUT NOT ALL. Some will continue to grow and prosper, while others face a much harsher future. Before a business becomes successful, it encounters many difficulties and problems and sometimes bankruptcy. During the modernization period, big changes are experienced by the people and by the country itself so it needs to become stable first and adjust to the current situation before it can actually bloom. Chinese development creates social displacement so it really takes time.

.....While listening to the seminar, I can not help comparing Philippines and China. In terms of migration, it’s like we are only talking about one country. I understand more what the Chinese are experiencing and realized that they too are suffering from severe poverty, many unemployment and underemployment, corruption in the government, overpopulation and other sufferings. I thought only third world countries suffer these kinds of things. Millions of people from both countries are dying of hunger, do not have shelter and barely have clothing on their bodies and are uncertain if they will still survive another day. I also thought that their government is just and far away from being corrupt base on what I hear and see that the people there are disciplined and strictly follow the laws. I was wrong. Political corruption there is also common just like in our country. No matter how powerful or unpopular a country is, you can always find a hole in its system. It is never perfect. I never have given much thought about it before because in the Philippines almost all the Chinese people I knew and heard about were successful and rich. Most of them are businessmen who own huge malls, restaurants, hardwares and etc. so my image of China was positive. I guess I was over generalizing.

.....Another factor that made me generalize is the fact that wherever store you go, almost all the products you buy are made in China. Even if you are in America and want to give pasalubongs, you would recognize that a lot of them look original and made in U.S. but are actually made in China. Truly, their mass production in almost all sorts is indeed big because of their immense population working in their many large factories. It’s like China is invading the whole world! Sometimes I wonder how come the prices of products in the Philippines made in China are actually cheaper than the same products bought directly in China. It is supposed to be more expensive. But I learned that the real reason is that many of the products we buy made in China here in the Philippines are usually smuggled and free from the taxes unlike in China where taxes are added to the original price.

.....Well anyway, I was glad that I attended the seminar because I learned so many things about China. I thought I already knew enough about China but realized that I have been ignorant to what is really happening there and their economic status. I have become more aware and updated about the present status in China and at the same time, I got to see its similarities with the Philippines. Both economies are decelerating. Filipinos are not the only ones suffering from the economic crisis but many other countries in the world as well. People migrate not only from the poor nations to the rich, but from the poor to the less poor nations. They will do anything just to live and have a good life. I won’t be surprised if more than 50% of the owners of businesses here in the Philippines are foreigners, specifically Chinese. That’s how dominant they are now. Wherever you go, there will always be Chinese...no doubt about that!

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