Think about it
Chinese encounters here and overseas
By Jun Velasco
“Give man a fish and he will eat for a day; teach him how to fish and he will eat for a lifetime” — Confucius
“THEY are muddling the issue.”
That’s the usual plaint of politicians who find themselves on the defensive.
Such is common during elections. It takes more than ordinary sense of evaluating the news to see thru a mishmash of facts.
It must be with this frame of mind that we are taking a trusted political analyst’s view that Vice President Jojo Binay is not “finished politically.”
“Far from it,” D.C. said, “Jojo is very popular with the poor and the great unwashed.”
“You can’t trust the media anymore,” he added.
In light of the immense popularity of Grace Poe – thanks to Fernando Poe Jr., — he said “popularity is only a part of the pie, not even the major part, but fleeting.”
The presidential race is still a Roxas-Binay rematch, he concluded.
But business- political strategist Sendong So says documents show people’s preference for Grace Poe, with Miriam Santiago second.
Sendong was FPJ’s point man in Pangasinan in the 2010 elections. FPJ beat PGMA hereabouts. He is also behind the successful Abono Party. We should take him seriously.
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Amid China’s bullying, we focus on the meeting of the two leaders – President Xi Jinping of People’s China and President Ma Yinjeon of Taiwan – in Singapore scheduled yesterday.
Chances are if the two become one, what a giant bully we’d have!
We had in two separate occasions experiences with both types of Chinese abroad.
In 1982, we were guest of the Republic of China’s Lincoln Institute in Taoyuan. For two weeks, we were immersed in their (Taiwanese) agrarian strategy — how they beat the odds to become a very rich country.
We were startled to know that the rice we were eating was harvested two years back yet.
The shocker of it all was a revelation that the Taiwanese learned the “trick” – rice technology – from the Philippines which, brace up!, Is now importing rice from them, People’s China and Vietnam!
What happened?
Too much politics down here, and too much economics up there.
In 2000, we were a part in Beijing of a two-week getting-to-know-you journalists workshop from the Philippines and People’s China.
Interesting because of the vast difference in our political systems.
We thought — could journalism thrive in a “closed nation,” which is allergic to freedom and the quest for truth.
When we told the Beijing journalists that we were detained by the Philippines military because of our infatuation with the thoughts of Chairman Mao, everyone of them rushed to us, hugged and embraced us saying “Khe, Khe!”
We asked Bepbep Tan what it meant, and he said ”big brother.”
Our companion, Graphic editor Manuel Almario, now deceased, was jealous of our successful coup of endearing our hosts. But Maning was an old hand in the Communist movement in the Philippines.
While bullying is of immediate import to us on account of disturbances in the West Philippine Sea, the entire world, in the – free word particularly — must be biting their nails with the imminent reunification of Beijing and Taipei. It portends of a huge world power second to none!
In a profound sense, however, there’s one touching scene we saw in the mainland that deserves emulating — their sense of family. We joined them one evening in their socialization on Tiananmen Square. We were visibly touched feeling their love for one another, the thousands who gathered there were the old playing with toddlers in a filial spirit. We thought, by gum, are these the so-called Godless people?
We were so moved that on the night a Baptist group came to the house a week after, we told them, “I saw God there in the so-called land of atheists!”
While in Beijing, we visited two churches, one Roman Catholic – with 100 million members and the other, a Methodist church (25 million). We asked the high priests if the communists were not disturbing them. They said no, for at some point, they had parallel programs like helping the poor, family solidarity, etc.
Here’s the catch: in our chats with both camps, we got this fact like it was a bolt from the blue – outside their government’s directives, all of them desire to re-unite with their kin and former “kapamilya!!”
After our Beijing visit, the All China Journalists Association returned the goodwill by visiting us – at PDI, Manila Bulletin and the Sunday Punch, Speaker Joe De Venecia at his Forbes’ residence, and the Dagupan City hall with then Mayor Benjie Lim at the helm.
Ermin Garcia must have relished the fact that the truth of their journalism is equated with their closed economy, but look at how they progressed!
If Taiwan and Beijing reunite, and chances are, they will, did you imagine how huge a bully we would be dealing with? The optimists, among us, though, view Taiwan’s humanizing democratic influence in to thaw the Communist’s hard line in the name of world brotherhood.
Cross your fingers!
* * * *
The province is making a breakthrough in formalizing the legislation of a Muslims Consultative Council to empower this enlarging group in the art of governance. Salute Gov. Spines for opening a new horizon in our political life. This stage will have an impact in Colonel Rollie Saltat’s peace drive which is being disturbed by the drug menace.
We hope our friend Guia Macmod, new president of the Pangasinan Muslims Assembly, and Datu Allan Maasir, PMA past president, would work together to fast track its success.
(For your comments and reactions, please email to: punch.sunday@gmail.com)
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