Ethnic Chinese Conversions: The Need of a New Apostolate

1. The Chinese Presence in the Philippines- The presence of the Chinese in the Philippines since the tenth century before the common era is the first reason of the apostolate. The Chinese had been already in the Philippines having engaged with trade long before the Spaniards came and wrote about the history of the Philippines. In the book of Luis Francia, entitled "A History of the Philippines: From Indios Bravos to Filipinos" he said the following: "As early at least as the tenth century, Chinese traders were regular visitors to the islands, going by the first mention of a Philippine island— Ma-Yi, current-day Mindoro—in extant Chinese records, which list 985, 1372, 1406, and 1410, as years of contact with the islands. Place names, such as Ma-Yi, Min-to-liang, Su-lu, and Lu-sung, indicate recurring visits, with smal Han communities springing up. In his accounts from the thirteenth century, Chao Ju-Kua, China’s Superintendent of Sea Trade from 1277 to 1287, referred to Ma-Yi (here taken to indicate the Philippine archipelago), San-hsii (the Visayas) and Lin-hsing (Luzon). Imports from Southeast Asia, including from the Philippines, included cotton, ye low wax, coconuts, onions and woven mats. "

2. The Mobility of the Chinese- The frequent trading of the Chinese in the Philippines would be an opportunity for evangelization and conversion to the Catholic faith. Their mobility would be a huge possibility of making them evangelizers themselves to all places they would reach including Mainland China. The phenomenon of Chinese migration is another positive advantage for evangelization because of their presence in the diaspora.

3. The Trading of the Chinese- The engagement of the Chinese in trade assures the Chinese' presence in the Philippines. Their presence was an occasion of evangelization ad intra. Both migration of the Chinese to the Philippines and the frequent visits to the country because of trade are opportunities that the local church should not miss in its missionary desire to convert non-Christians.

4. The Conflicts and Discrimination against the Chinese- The Chinese traders were not engaged with business only in the Philippines but they were also involved in various conflicts due to political, economic, and cultural reasons. There were many instances in Philippine History that the Chinese were ostracized and marginalized which cause the Chinese in the Philippines to rise against the Spanish authorities. Henning Kloter described these events in his book, entitled "The Language of the Sangleys: A Chinese Vernacular in Missionary Sources of the Seventeenth Century:" he said, "However, in October 1603, twenty thousand Chinese settlers were killed by the colonial administration. As Chirino had left Manila a year before, van der Loon conjectures that he was unaware of the recent events (1967:98). The first Spanish EMH dictionary was thus signed at a time when political tensions between the Spaniards and the Chinese in Manila had reached new heights. In 1605, two years after the massacre in Manila, the Spanish archbishop of the Philippines, the Dominican Miguel Benavides (1550–1605), described the Sangleys as ‘infidels and idolaters.’ He writes that they are ‘a most pernicious and injurious people to be settled among the Christian natives, newly converted to our holy Cath olic faith; for the said infidel Sangleys are most vicious, both with women and in an unnatural manner, and are extremely liberal in spending money for their purposes and desires, and artful and crafty for every form of evil." The ethnic Chinese in the Philippines are a minority and therefore they needed to be acknowledged and affirmed as distinct cultural residents of the Philippines.

5. Stewards of Islam- It was widely known in the past that the Chinese and the Muslims were engaging in trade and they both realize that their most important goal was to have a peaceful relationship in the pursuit of buying and selling. Islam became the meeting point and the most important religion for the Filipinos as well as the Chinese for a common expansion of their economic interests. In fact, it was noted that one of those those who brought Islam to the Philippines were the Chinese. Kathleen Nadeau mentioned in her book, entitled "The History of the Philippines" : "One of the earliest sultanates to develop, thereafter, in the Philippines was on the Sulu island chain, off the coast of Borneo. Islam was introduced there by early Chinese traders and Muslim missionaries during the Ming dynasty in the fourteenth century." 

6. Conversion to Islam- The Chinese traders did not enjoy all the time the prosperity of trade in the Philippines. The advent of the Spanish authorities, warriors, government and the Spanish missionaries, the Chinese experienced injustices, marginalization and isolation. These abuses against the local resident Chinese as well as those who frequently come from China just for peaceful trading suffered which prompted them to rediscover one of the major religions they had during their time and it was to be converted to Islam. The scandal of the Church regarding their discrimination against the Chinese made their inroad toward their conversion to Islam. The Chinese in the Philippines needed a defender, a protector, an evangelizer and a director of the community. The local church would be the best answer to their religious needs.