By REX CATUBIG
The Chinese Connection (1st of 2 parts)
Homage to the Dagupan Chinese in celebration of the Chinese Lunar New Year
They have been unfairly and myopically labeled as underdogs at the fringes and bottom rungs of society. Worst, they have been condescendingly branded with mocking monikers: “Intsik tsonga”. “Tsikwa” being the most common and harshest.
None of these come close to being true. The Chinese in our midst are far from this unfounded perception—which only reveals our cultural bias and ignorance.
My father was privileged to enjoy a close association with the Chinese in the lumber business. I grew up and looked up to the likes of Lee Sim, Tang Kai, Tan So, Pepe Chua and other business pioneers. And in their company, I was initiated in the culinary opulence of a 15-course Lauriat.
In barrio Calmay where I spent my boyhood, we had a Chinese apothecary, eponymously referred to as “Onga”. It’s where you bought cure-all liniments and had your first taste of champoy and huamei. It’s the dream store for the barrio lasses who swore by the chalk face powder that held the secret to the Chinese porcelain complexion.
The Dagupan Chinese are purveyors of historic legacy and cultural aspiration. Innovative and enterprising, they are unarguably, the pioneer builders and developers of the city. One cannot walk along downtown AB Fernandez, originally Torres Bugallon, without coming across a Chinese establishment—whether it’s a restaurant such as De Luxe and La Suerte; a grocery like On Sieng, Lim Pan, and City Grocery; hardware like Taya’s and Tan Commercial; dry goods like Ang Ka Tong and Kim Pian. And uptown, the venerable lumber stores such as New Dagupan Lumber, Lee U Lumber, etc.
While city residents stricken with xenophobia begrudge the Chinese “invasion”, the other side of the picture shows that without their aggressive ventures, Dagupan would not be as dynamic and prosperous as it is today.
Harking back to our history, the Chinese merchants were engaged in trading in our coastal town, way before the Spaniards found their way to our shores. With the commerce they brought and pursued, they became a potent driving force in the emergence of Dagupan as a booming commercial hub.
Notwithstanding their racial origin, they have unequivocally expressed their patriotism in their adopted home and country.
It is noteworthy, that during the civic parade celebrating the Liberation of Dagupan at the close of the second World War, the Chinese community holding aloft a huge streamer headlining their identity, was pictured in the forefront of the victory parade. Graphic proof of their pride and loyalty for the city they have called home.
And yet, despite all these character credentials accumulated over the years, it was as if they never really belonged. And they continually strove to establish their mark and identity as sons and daughters of Dagupan.
These forebears were admittedly street smart and schooled in the university of hard knocks, but they wisely bestowed upon their children education as their birthright and molded them upon work ethic, business acumen and gut vision to build enough success to enable them to rise above the social hierarchy.
And without the least intention, they surprisingly raised their children to be nascent leaders who would figure prominently in the evolution of Dagupan—not merely as a bustling economic hub but a diverse social and political structure.
Yet, ironically the ascent of these outstanding leaders born of their parents’ unassailable values anchored on integrity and perseverance has been marred by divisive rivalry that negates the ideals of progress they have strived to achieve over the years.
This simmering conflict threatens to erode the public’s trust, subvert the relevance of this cultural enclave and could only result in retarding the growth of the City and undermining the welfare of the Dagupenos.
What is in store in all these? In the Year of the Fire Horse, shall the Chinese players gallop across the political divide and free the city from the ignominious squabbles that cripple the city and constrain it in stasis?