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INTRODUCTION

 

This issue of Praxis brings together a collection of some scholarly presentations on issues and areas of concern that have increasingly come to dominate the Asian scenario. In sharing these concerns with our constituency, and friends of the Federation, we wish to acknowledge those that made this possible. We are gratitude and thanks to Dr. David Suh, president of the Korea Christian Faculty Fellowship (KCFF) which sponsored and organised the Asia University Christian Professors Fellowship Conference. The articles under "Perspectives" are, in fast, a collector of the papers presented at this gathering. They are an in-depth survey and analysis of the subjects they deal with are by men whose insights and profound. The subjects in focus are: Historical Consciousness and the Teaching of History by Sumiya Mikio, China's rationalism in the early 20th century by Kunag-Sheng Liao, Nationalism and Protestantism in Korea by Young Ick Lew, and rationalism in the Philippines-Its concept, development, problems and issues by Salvador Marlines. Equally profound and stimulating is the Biblical reflection on the same occasion under the theme "Memory and Tradition" by Min Young-Jin.

A special report on "The Ainu Peoples9 Self-Affirmation and Christian Response" by Kurata Masakiko traces the roots of oppression that the minorities are subjected to and describes the social conditions that render this minority race in Japan a dehumanized people. Alongside it expresses their aspirations with a view to stimulating a meaningful Christian response to their situations.

"The burning of the Seaweeds Barn" is a play that vividly portrays the social crises of a fishing community in the Philippines of which the playwright is an integral apart. The experiences she wrotes through the play therefore bear the wounds of actual experience,

Finally we share with deep satisfaction the 'Minutes of the CCA-WSCF Ad-hoc Coordination Committee meetings. Thus meeting is undoubtedly a landmark in ecumenical venture. National Movements are urged to study the minutes and its implications and to initiate follow up processes through 'National level dialogues and consultations between the National SCM and their respective National Council of Churches.

 

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Perspectives

 

HISTORICAL CONSCIOUSNESS AND THE TEACHING OF HISTORY

SUMIYA MIKIO

 

HISTORY - WHAT IS IT?

"History" is generally considered to be the accumulation of the events which have occurred. It is also conceived that those events, having already occurred, cannot be changed, and that they are facts which nobody can doubt, even though somebody has perhaps had to dig them out. It is true, that Mr. Kim Dae Junq was released and went to the United States at the end of last year, and it is also true that Prime Minister Nakasone visited Korea in January this year. They are events which nobody can deny. It is also an undeniable fact that this conference is being held here.

Historical events, however, have to be seen from different angles. It will take five or ten years for us to reach a correct understanding as to the historical meaning of the release of Kim Dae Jung or of Premier Nakasone's visit to Korea. A small event reported only in the small corner of a newspaper would likely be regarded ten years from now as a more important historical event than Nakasone's visit to Korea.

Furthermore, when we think of the concept of the "historical," the historical weight of events becomes a questions; it follows that the meaning of each event has to be examined. Why was Kim Dae Jung released? Various explanations may be given. Some explain that the Korean government wanted to demonstrate her democratic and liberal attitude toward the world. Others interpret that he was released because of the United States. Others say that it was an attempt to break the deadlocked Korean economy. Each interpretation may throw some light on one aspect of the event; in several years one of them might come to dominate. This does not mean that the aspects which will then be neglected did not play an important role when the even actually occurred. Nakasone's visit to Korea could be commented on in the same way. Japan emphasizes that the cooperation between the two countries will be increased in the economic sphere; while, "cooperation on the Korean side means a strengthening of security ties. The meaning of an event ha to be understood in the context of the circumstances in which it occurs. Which of the

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*      Dr. Sumiya is President of Tokyo Women's University. This paper is the text of his Keynote address delivered at the Asian University Christian Professors Fellowship Conferences which met in Korea in January 1983.

 

4

      circumstances rightly explain the event?

 It depends on each individual how to understand the event. Afterwards the event may well turn out to be associated with unexpected factors now unknown.

In the meantime, history is not merely a sequence of a separate events, but an accumulation of complicated events. Taking today as an example, it is composed of numerous intertwined events. Taking up the year 1982 there were a much larger number of events. Everyday, newspapers and television report on the events they think to be important. If news is not controlled each newspaper reports those events in different way and weight. This comes from the newswriters' or editors' different views as to what they think more important. When an editor finds one piece of news worth reporting from among the infinite number of possibilities, his selection is based on his view of history.

When news is controlled by the government, needless to say, what the government thinks important is reported and unfavorable news is not reported. Therefore, we cannot say that what a government announces or what official documents state necessarily consists of historical facts. Moreover, not seldom are the documents of a government are trustworthy.

These circumstances make the description of history difficult. Many historical documents have accumulated before our time, but we have no guarantee that they describe historical facts. These historical documents are usually colored. That is, their editors' or writers' views are reflected in the historical documents. Hence, we cannot regard historical documents as descriptions of facts. Criticism of historical documents is required. We must clear the background and authorship of these historical documents.

It follows, then, that "What is history?" is not an easy question to answer. It might seem that everybody is likely to deduce the same pattern from the accumulated, immovable events of the past, but this is not true. The events themselves do not explain which factors are most important nor how they are connected with other events. Events appear silently to us; we cannot hear their own voices.

This leads us to understand that "history" is a description of historical events as understood and interpreted by the writer. History as accumulated events naturally cannot be the same as described history. The history of events is complicated; written history only tells us one aspect of the history of events. After all, though, the only history we can be aware is written history.

 

THE DESCRIPTION OF HISTORY AND HISTORICAL CONSCIOUSNESS

"History is written history" means that the writer's view of history is reflected in the history he writes. When describing history, the first problem one faces is what one should select from among the innumerable events. One's view of history will inevitably function in selecting them. The history described by Japanese textbooks before World War II, for example, was the history of the emperors, if I may simplify matters. This was because Japan was then dominated by a view of history in which the emperor was the nucleus of history of Japan.

Generally speaking, most histories are the histories of the ruling class or, one might say, history as seen by the ruling class. Almost all historical documents, particularly official documents, are drawn up by the ruling class. Therefore, as long as one writes history using these documents as source material, it will naturally be a description of history focussing on the ruling class. Most people take this for granted, since they unknowingly accept the ruling class's view of history.

On the other hand, many people have come to believe that only the history written from the viewpoint of common people would be "true history." From this point of view, much research has been done, many historical documents have been dug out, and many histories have been written. In this connection, studies in a new field called "social history" have flourished in recent years. Needless to say then, different studies are premised on different views of history.

One question arises associated with the history of people, the aspect of the economic life which supports the people's life. This field is called "economic history." In this case, too, the emphasis often placed on those who dominate economic activities. The understanding of the whole process of economy, however, needs also a view of the relationship between the ruling class and the ruled -- landlords and peasants, or employers and employees, to be concrete. As for general history, too, the same point of view is required. This seems to be natural, but it has not necessarily been properly treated. That has been because this view of history has not been deafly formulated.

Any view of history depends, then, on the standpoint of the observer of that history. As I mentioned above, depending on the views of the observer, history ap-

 

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      pears to us in different patterns.

 As one age is replaced by the other, and as the concerns of the times changed , another facet of the past will be recognized. For instance, as early modern culture rapidly developed, the middle ages have come to be considered as "dark ages." However, since the deadlock of modern times has come to the fore in the 20th Century, the middle ages have been re-evaluated once again and thought more highly of.

This means that history is a pattern of the past seen from the viewpoint of the present. Looking back at the past, we search for the origin of the present situation; then one aspect which has been buried or neglected may come to light. On the contrary, our concern for what has previously been vigorously discussed may diminish. In this way history continues to be rewritten. "History consists of past events and thus remains unchanged." This is true in one sense, but it is not true in another sense, for history is not fixed.

In relation to this point, we may consider the studies of Japanese history in the United States for the past twenty years. In the studies of Japanese history until just after World War II, the examination of the feudalistic and traditional characteristics of Japanese society was emphaiszed. However, as Japan was democratized and proceeded in its rapid economic development, Japan became a model among the underdeveloped countries as a country that had successfully accomplished democratization and modernization. The good points of Japanese history have thus begun to be emphasized. Japan's invasions of other Asian countries and its oppression of other Asiatic people have been pushed to the corner; instead, light has come to be thrown on the aspect of successful modernization. After the seventies, the young generation of American researchers has begun to criticize this trend in turn.

Of course, it is not sufficient if we only conclude that historical description is the reflection of current concerns . Historical description will be deeply influenced not only by historians, but also by the government authorities' intentions and the historical consciousness of the individuals concerned. History will open its door to those who are deeply and widely interested in history, while it will shut its door to those who see history superficially. The image of history one describes is the reflection of his historical consciousness and also that of his own opinions.

 

HISTORICAL CONSCIOUSNESS AND THE TEXTBOOK ISSUE

One's image of history is a reflection of his historical consciousness, and one's historical consciousness is affected by the challenges of the present. This also means that images of history continue to be rewritten in response to, or in order to legitimate, the present situation. This kind of rewriting of history has repeatedly been found in many socialist countries. When Stalin was criticized after his death, for instance, the age of Stalin was rewritten. In the People's Republic of China, the Chinese history of Mao's time is now being rewritten after the death of Mao Tse Dong. In a liberal society, where different values exist together, no such standardization is found, but still history is rewritten to some extent if the structure of political authority alters or if international relations change.

The Japanese textbook authorization problem is an example of how such rewriting becomes a political and diplomatic problem. Until the end of World War II the schoobooks used for compulsory education were compiled by the government, but after the War the state-run system was abolished, as it was considered to constitute interference with education. Schoolbooks from elementary to high schools are now independently edited by textbook publishers and only "screened' by the Schoolbook Inspecting and Research Committee of the Ministry of Education. There are now textbook inspectors who undertake substantive screenings. I would like to call your attention to the fact that for the past several years, a campaign ha been carried out criticizing schoolbooks as distorted toward left-wing thought. The protesters are right-wing thinkers, supported by the education-committed-group (Bunkyo-zoku) of the Liberal Democratic Party, and the officials of the Ministry of Education have taken advantage of them. Some textbooks were rejected outright an in other cases the authors were told to re write the books; they were not acceptable because they recorded stains in Japanese history. As one of the rewrites, for in stance, "invasion" of China and other Asian countries was replaced by "advance."

The problem of terminology, however, is not so important. The basic problem lie in the transformation of the Japanese historical consciousness and also in forcing the nation to accept a certain view of history by using the inspection system authoritatively. What has transformed the conservative politicians' historical consciousness? This is the most serious problem in Japanese present history.

 

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It can reasonably be supposed that right-wing conservative politicians were not pleased with the transformation of the political system after World War II. At heart they reacted against such a series of events after World War II as the one-sided judgement upon Japanese leaders at the War Crimes Tribunal, the severe reduction of the emperor's powers, and the new Constitution forced onto them from abroad. Through these events they might have for seen a crisis for Japan. The Chinese Revolution and the Korean War served to deepen this consciousness of crisis. Also, in the seventies voter support for the conservative party dropped below 50%; instead, reformists increased in power. A sense of crisis was growing among conservative for fear that a communist revolution might break out in Japan, too. In order to prevent this, they fixed their target on national education. Priority was especially given to the teaching of history. For the past ten years and more, conservative politicians have urged the officials of the Ministry of Education to strengthen the inspection system, this attempting to make the contents of schoolbooks favorable to them. Needless to say, Japanese right-wing thinkers have cooperated with them. Most of the textbook writers are not conservative nor right-wing. This has also led conservatives to promote the campaign to criticize the supposed "distortion to left-wing thought" and to strengthen the textbook-inspection system.

It has been widely reported that, in the summer of 1982, keen reproaches against these movements were heard from China, Korea, and other Asian countries. In the face of these reproaches, the Japanese government has revised the guideline of textbook authorization and tried to solve the problem by the adding the article that "due consideration should be given to the treatment of modern historical events in relation to neighboring Asian countries from the viewpoint of international understanding and cooperation."

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                                                                                                                                                        

 

 

The opening worship was held in Chosun Hotel, Kyong-Ju, Korea.

 

The issue we are facing is not political nor international; rather, the issue of education in history is as to how history should be taught. As has been made clear above, it is not that one "history" exists because there were events in the past, but that there are many "histories," variously understood under the circumstances of the times and from various individual points of view and various sets of values. The problem is which history we should teach and what textbooks should be compiled.

It is my basic understanding that various textbooks from various point of views should be permitted. Textbooks with too much ideology would not be appropriate; at the same time, it is not correct to compel the teaching of only one view of history. In this sense, it is not correct for textbook inspections to force historical descriptions in one direction. It would be desirable for many kinds of history textbooks to be available and for teachers to be able to select whatever they want. Once Japan aimed in that direction after World War II, but progress in that direction was thwarted by the inspection system.

 

HISTORICAL CONSIOUSNESS AND CHRISTIANS

History is, then, a pattern of the past described from the present point of view. This might bring a danger. We cannot necessarily accept "the present" affirmatively. We have to see clearly what our own nation is. A situation may occur which we have to resist. However, the violent stream of the times may sweep us away, too. For instance, many of the Christians in Japan before World War II were critical of the militaristic tide. They searched for peace. They prayed for peace. When the War ended, however, how had they turned out? Swept away by militarism, they had defended the War and supported the invasion of other Asian countries. When Japan was militarized 100

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

L- Dr. David Suh (President, KCFF) C- Dr. Sumiya. (Speaker) and R- Dr. Yang Joon Kim (Moderator)

 

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Participants at the Conference

steps, the Christian churches resisted and might have moved only 50 steps, but it is also true that they walked 50 steps together with militarism.

This is not all. If we make resistance and are eventually washed away, there will be room for excuse, but we are sometimes washed away without knowing it. If adequate information is not available, or if only one-sided information is provided continuously for two or three years, the standard of our judgment will be shifted. Nevertheless, even under such circumstances there is still a distance between 100 steps and 50 steps. We Japanese Christians were critical toward the situation and were convinced that our standpoints had not so much been transformed. Yet when the War finished, we awakened to find how far we have been swept away by the flow of the times.

With reference to being "swept away," Uchimura Kanzo, a Japanese representative Christian, once wrote the following interesting sentences in criticism of his fellow Christians:

"It is said that living fish swim against the flow of the stream, while dead fish flow with the stream. Christians of our nation today have never resisted the world, but always swim with the current of the times. What other name is appropriate for them "dead fish"?"

What will enable us to observe the times with cool eyes and without being swept away by the current of the times? Further, what will enable us to resist the times? Nothing other than to have a stable coordinate axis will make this possible. The horizontal line (abscissa) is an axis to show the stream of history. The times change every moment, like the flow of a river. If we have a horizontal line only, we will just be floated with the time. In fact, many people are just being floated. In this sense there will be no opposition, and i1 is an easy way to live. If we wish to say "no" to the stream of history, though, a vertical line (ordinate) is required by which to criticize the stream. By the intersection of the two lines we can measure the place where we stand.

The trouble is that this vertical line often moves also. When a society moves 10 steps, while Christian churches move 5 steps, this means that the vertical line o the Christian churches move. If so, we cannot correctly measure the point where we stand. We have to go back to the original point of the Gospel.

Christianity is thought to be a historical religion. Christ plunged into the history of mankind to save history and people in it. He intended to bear the burden of mankind and history, to judge and finally to relieve history. This is the nuclei of our human history, and the flow of history can be estimated by the distance from this point of nucleus, when we stand at the crossing point of Christ's incarnation and the horizontal line of history, an outlook toward the movement of history will be made possible.

These considerations will give us the possibility of having a correct viewpoint as to the teaching of history. As I have said, the views of history will change depending on the times, and various history textbooks are necessarily published. It is not a simple problem to discern what is the correct way of teaching history. When right coordinate axis to judge history established, though, history will show its pattern, and when we stand there, education in history can be a living education.

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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CHINAS NATIONALISM IN THE EARLY 20TH CENTURY

KUANG-SHENG LlAO

 

The development of nationalism is an important topic for the understanding of China's contemporary history. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the early development of China's nationalism in early Twentieth century. Emphasis is given to exploring factors which stimulated anti-foreign sentiments and nationalism.

It is well-known that after the Boxer Uprising 1900, Chinese imperial government lost its courage to confront the foreigners and gave in to external pressure. From this time, the Western Powers were called "Lieqiang" (the Powers) instead of "barbarian" in recognition of their superiority. The people, however, rose to oppose foreign interference, and the sentiment of anti-foreignism persisted in spite of the great chaos following the defeat by the Allied Eight Nations.

In early Twentieth century, a great number of missionary were heavily engaged in educational work. Many hundreds of schools were opened for teaching Chinese youths. In 1905, the total number of schools under Protestant mission control in China was 1,585. The number of pupils was 572,683. Western knowledge was broadly introduced to the youth in Peking, Shanghai and other important cities. The missionary role in education seemed to meet less opposition than in the latter part of the 19th century. The appeal of Western education was undoubtedly related to the abolition in 1905 of the Imperial Examination System which had fostered the study of the Confucian classics.

During this period, the Chinese people initiated movements to demand their rights from imperialists. Previously, anti-foreignism sought to deny foreigners power in China.

 

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*       Dr. Liao is Professor of Political Science at Chinese University of Hong Kong. This paper is the text of his lecture delivered at the Asian University Christian Professors Fellowship Conference which met in Korea in January 1983.

 

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After the Boxer Uprising, an increased understanding of the West and the awakening of immediate danger faced by China, the Chinese people sought the protection of national interests and restoration of national rights. They urged the restoration of control of railroads and of mining and demanded the abolition of the supervision of customs by Western powers. Most important of all, they demanded an end to unequal treaties and extraterritoriality. The significance of this period is clearly that anti-foreignism developed into nationalism. And nationalism in China was unpresented unambiguously by strong and explicit articulation of ideas for national construction.

 

I.    EARLY NATIONALISM AND "MOVEMENT RESISTING RUSSIA" 1900-1905

Nationalism was first developed in Europe. The concept of nation emerges when people have common language, culture , and history. Nationalism is essentially an attachment of the individual to the people, place and society. It is a patriotic feeling of the nation. It develops when the nation-state becomes the important form of political organization. The early form of nationalism was to unify the people who had a common language and culture but were separated by political boundries. For example, before 1870, German-speaking people were separated into the states of Austria and Prussia. Nationalism served to unify the disunited people. In the early Twentieth century, nationalism gradually changed its meaning. It became closely related to self-determination. For example, Norway separated from Sweden in 1905, Czechoslovakia, Hungary empire. During this period, most parts of Southeast Asia remained colonies of the European states, China was still under the domination of the Western powers but the Chinese people began to oppose them.

There is little dispute that China had ethnocentric nationalism long before the coming of the Westerners. Ethnocentrism was based on cultural and historical development. In the early Qing period, some Chinese scholars such as Huang Zongxi (Huang Tsung-hsi, 1610-1695)and Gu Yenwu (Ku Yen-wu, 1613-1682) opposed alien rule by the Manchus. Huang and Gu both reacted against the political oppression of the early Qing period and stimulated the growth of Chinese national feeling against alien conquest. Anti-Manchu sentiment, which was, of course, under strong repression, died down in the late Eighteenth century. Nationalism of China in  early. Twentieth century, like nationalism in European countries and in developing countries after World War Two, was stimulated by tremendous pressure from the outside.

In the early Twentieth century, Liang Qichao, a leading Chinese intellectual , maintained that the Chinese had strong culturalism but had no equivalent concept of nationalism as the Europeans had. He argued that the Chinese took China as a world (tianxia) rather than as a nation (Guojia). He further pointed out that because the Chinese tended to think of China as a world rather than as a nation it prevented the development of patriotism in China. Joseph Levenson clearly illustrated Liang's viewpoints on nationalism, when he said:

In 1900, he (Liang) wrote that Europe and Japan stigmatized China as a nation without patriotism. The sickly state of Chinese patriotism. Liang maintained, was the root cause of the nation's accumulated weaknesses. Nationalism was lacking because the court, not the nation, was the traditional focal point of allegiance and because the Chinese had been unaware that significant peoples other than themselves existed in the world.

Liang Shu-min, another leading Chinese scholar, held a similar opinion on nationalism. He perceived traditional China as a society with a strong sense of ethics and culture rather than a sense of nation-state. According to him, the government of traditional China served to rule but not to govern; it simply did not carry out the function of modern state. Evidently, modern nationalism did not develop in China until the people recognized the reality and formidableness of foreign peoples. The presence of foreign military forces and incessant conflict with Western powers and Japan in the late Nineteenth and early Twentieth century, in fact, helped the Chinese develop nationalism. Thus, a sense of rivalry was essential to China's nationalism. This was fully illustrated in the "Movement Resisting Russia," the Anti-America Boycott, and the "Movement for Recovery of National Rights".

The development of nationalism in China is clearly seen in the movement of "Resisting Russia" in the wake of interference by Allied forces during Boxer Uprising. During the Uprising, Russian poured troops into Manchuria and afterwards they virtually control most of Manchuria. China's territorial integrity over Manchuria was severely challenged by Russians. In February 1901, the Russians demanded a treaty with China in order to place Manchuria, Mongolia; and Xinjiang under her sphere of influence. This greedy demanded shocked the Chinese as much as Allies. In response to the Russians advance, Chinese gentry and businessmen in Shanghai first organized meetings and passed out circulars protesting Russian aggression and her demands. The movement called on the Chinese government to refuse Russian demands for further interest

 

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In China and to resist Russian domination in Manchuria.Organizations for "Resisting Russia" (Ju E Hui) were formed in major cities such as Peking, Shanghai, Tianjin, Hanzhou, Suzhou, and spread over many provinces in the Central and Eastern parts of China in addition to Manchuria, Mongolia, and Xinjiang. Many overseas organizations were also formed in Tokyo, San Francisco, Hong Kong and Singapore to support this movement.

This movement weakened after mid-1901 but became a hot national issue again in April 1903 when the Russian government attempted to delay its withdrawal of troops from Manchuria. Student movements were launched to protest Russian aggression. Ai Guo Hui (Patriotic Associations) were formed in Shanghai, Peking and provinces in Central and Eastern parts of China. Chinese authorities curbed the movement on the grounds that it might merge with revolutionary activities. Nevertheless protests against Russia continued off and on until early 1905. The awakening of the Chinese people to the fact that national survival was at stake apparently stimulated the spirit of nationalism. Therefore, it is clear that nationalism in China was closely associated with anti-foreignism. It was the movement protesting against Russia that mobilized businessmen and students to take part in national mass movements. This marked a new beginning of anti-foreign movements in China, which rose to defend China's national interest.

 

II.    ANTI-AMERICAN BOYCOTT OF 1905

Another manifestation of the new sense Of nationalism was the boycott of American trade in 1905. The boycott was completely political and had nothing to do with opposition to Christianity. It was adopted by the Chinese people as a means of strengthening the position of their government on the request for unrestricted immigration of Chinese into the United States.

Restrictions on Chinese immigration were started in the Immigration Treaty of 1880 which gave the United States the right to regulate Chinese labor. In 1882 , the U.S. Congress passed the Restriction Act of 1882 which excluded Chinese laborers for ten years. Further restrictions were imposed by the Scott Act of 1888 and the Geary Act of 1982. The 1888 legislation limited the return of Chinese who had temporarily left the United States with the intention of returning later, while the 1892 bill required the registration of all Chinese living in the United States. This legislation was clearly discriminatory against the Chinese and definitely caused discontent among Chinese. However, little public protest was voiced in China in the 1880s and the 1890s. Another treaty was signed between the United States and China in 1894. This provided for the exclusion of all Chinese laborers for' a period of ten years. In 1904, this treaty expired and Chinese government refused to renew it and asked for a revision. This was the direct cause of the boycott of 1905.

The Anti-American Boycott of 1905 represented the rising concern of the Chinese people over China's relationships with the major powers. It was an initiative of the people in pursuit of their interests. It was also an indication of and awakening national consciousness and an increase in confidence among the people, particularly the merchants. After the Sino-Japanese war, the Chinese government encouraged the growth of private enterprise. In 1896, a commerce bureau was established in Peking to take charge of various business regulation such as registration, corporation law, bankruptcy law, and the establishment of a chambers of commerce in important commercial and industrial areas responsible for developing business.

National industries were rapidly expanded. For example, in 1890 only 7 new factories were established. The number increased to 17 in 1895 and 23 in 1904. Together with the development of national industry, merchants and industrialists were seen as increasingly important in society. The had capital, status, and social prestige as a result of the development of their enterprises. The Anti-American boycott of 1905 was a demonstration of the power of this newly-developed class of merchants and industrialists by 1905. The boycott was called by the General Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai on May 10. The boycott spread to Canton, Tientsin, Hankou, Chongqing and Hong Kong through local chambers of commerce. Twenty-one chambers of commerce supported the boycott.

While commercial people were the initiators of the boycott, the intellectuals and students were great followers. They held meetings to support the decision made by the Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai. The press also played an important role in mobilizing support. Chinese newspapers in Shanghai gave wide coverage of the event. Shen Bao (Shen Pao) and Sh-i Bao (Shih Pao) were the two most active papers reporting the news of the boycott. The boycott was vigorously carried on for about on month. Although the economic effect was not substantial enough to disrupt Sino-American trade nation-wide, American trade was severely hurt in Shanghai and Canton. Large quantities of American stock could not be moved in the two cities.

The Anti-American boycott of 1905 was an important mass response to an international issue in China . The boycott was peaceful and legally acceptable in the international community, unlike the Boxer

 

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Uprising. Despite the fact that the boycott was neither successful in disrupting Sino-American trade nor in changing the U.S. policy toward the exclusion of Chinese labor, the mobilization of merchants, intellectuals, students, and other people to participate in the boycott was a great step in Chinese foreign relations. After 1905 there were continuous nation-wide movements undertaken by the Chinese people, particularly the newly rising merchant class and the local gentry class. Their efforts in the struggle against foreign domination and pressure were seen in the push for restoration of mining and railroad rights and in the anti-foreign boycotts of the 1910s and 1920s.

 

Ill,   MOVEMENT OF RECOVERY OF NATIONAL RIGHTS

Another development of Chinese nationalism in early 20th century was the movement for recovery of national rights in mines and rail-roads. The victory of Japan in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905 had a significant psychological impact on the Chinese people. For the Chinese it laid to rest the fiction that the White race was superior to the Yellow race and showed that an Asian country after modernization could defeat a European country. This greatly boosted the confidence of the Chinese people; they were convinced they too could develop into a strong country as Japan had. The new direction to which the Chinese turned was to imitate the Japanese. Politically, they wanted to establish a constitutional policy. Economically, they wished to get rid of interference by foreign countries in their economic development. This gave a boost to Chinese nationalism.

Before the 1894 Sino-Japanese war, foreign investment was turned down for mining enterprises. This policy was changed, however, due to financial difficulty and the increased pressure of foreign aggression in China. In 1898, Zhang Zhidong, the governor of Hunan and Guangdong, advocating using foreigners to develop railroads and mining in order to maintain a balance among powers, changed his earlier view that mining was a source of profit and should not be allowed to foreigners. The new policy suggested by Zhang was supported by Li Hongzhang and was soon approved by the Zongli Yamen. Encouragement of foreign investment became a new policy in China in 1898. The new policy was based on the belief that the investment of foreign capital in China could help develop mining industries and railroad construction and could be beneficial to the national economy and livelihood of the people. It was based on this understanding that the 1898 Public Regulation on Mining and Railroads was approved by the imperial government. This was the first time that foreign merchants were allowed to take part as partners in the corporate contracting for mining and railroad construction. Accounting to the Public Regulation , foreign shares should be less than half of the corporate stock, and the corporation should be managed by the Chinese. These provisions were intended to keep foreigners from controlling Chinese corporations. The control over foreign investment by the government, however, was weakened following the Boxer Uprising. On the one hand, the financial strength of the imperial government deteriorated due to the burden of indemnity imposed by the Eight powers. On the other, the increasing partition of China into spheres of influence by the major powers reduced the control of the Chinese government over mining and railroads. As a result, in 1902 the restriction of management to Chinese and the requirement that the majority of shares be owned by the Chinese were abolished. After that, foreign investment in mining and railroad construction was no longer restricted by the government. Investment became one of the approaches to seize control of mining and railroad construction by major powers.

In the early twentieth century mining rights were the major interest of the Western powers. France, the United Kingdom, Germany, Russia, and the United States had gained important mining rights in China. In fact, most of the important mining rights controlled by the major powers were gained through political intrigue instead of investment. For example, Russian control of mining rights in Manchuria, German rights in Shandong, and French and British rights in Yunnan, were obtained through diplomatic and political approaches together with their expansion of their spheres of influence in China. Most of the important mining industries were to fall under the control of the major powers. For example, the Kaiping coal mine fell under British control in 1901. The Fuxun (Fushun) coal mine, the largest coal mine in China, was seized bj the Japanese in 1905. The Hanyeping Iron and Coal Mining operation, the most important industrial complex in China, was seized by the Japanese in 1913. Despite attempts made by the Chinese government and people to recover mining rights, by 193C more than ninety important mining factories remained under foreign control; 18 by the U.K., 12 by the French, 9 by the Germans, 8 by the Russians, 3 by the Americans, and 42 by the Japanese. Since these mining rights controlled by major powers represented Western aggression against China in the eyes of the Chinese, the issue was no longer whether foreign investment was beneficial, but whether China could resist the foreign powers. Mining rights became a hot issue in the development of national consciousness in the early Twentieth century and in the

 

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      rising fervor against imperialism in the 1910s and 1920s.

The political implications of these foreign controlled mining enterprises were many. First of all, they represented the continuous expansion of Western interests in China. These mining rights were seized by Western powers from China through the manipulation of political pressure and unequal power. They were managed and operated under the protection of extraterritoriality. In the development of the unequal treaties between China and the West, the concession of extraterritorial rights to foreigners caused a serious loss of Chinese govern mental functions and resulted in strong hostility against foreigners among the people. Since the Treaty of Nanjing in 1842, the Chinese government had accepted the demands for extraterritoriality imposed by Western powers. After the Boxer Uprising, Japan, the United States, Britain, prance, Germany, Russian and some other European countries exercised extraterritorial rights in China. As a number of scholars have observed the Chinese government did not fully appreciate the seriousness of the concession she was making in granting such "rights". In accordance with extraterritoriality, the Chinese government had no jurisdiction over nationals or companies of major powers. Foreigners throughout China were subject to arrest by Chinese officials, but, after arrest, had to be taken at once to their respective consuls for trial. Foreign corporations based in treaty ports were entitled to enjoy extraterritorial rights/and thus were free from any control by the Chinese government. By 1918, there were fifteen countries claiming extraterritoriality in China. Unquestionably, the independence of the Chinese government was severely damaged by the exercise of extraterritorial rights enjoyed by the treaty powers. Foreign mining corporations were registered under respective corporation of treaty powers, and did not have to meet the requirements of Chinese law. Consequently, they jeopardized the integrity of China's sovereignty.

After the 1905 Russo-Japanese war, rising national consciousness stimulated the co-operation of the local government and local gentry to reclaim the mining rights lost to foreigners. The period when the movement for recovery of mining and railroad interests developed was from 1905 to 1911. The movement for the reverse of concessions was intended to recover the right of railroad construction and the mining rights seized by foreign countries through peaceful means. The earliest efforts were made by the officials and gentry of Hunan, Hubei, and Guangdong in 1905 when they attempted to purchase the construction rights to the Canton-Hankou Railroad from the American-China Development Co. In the several years following the Russo-Japanese war, the recovery of railroad rights was spread to most railroads such as the Peking-Hankou Railroad and Shanghai-Ningbo Railroad. Some of the railroads were fully recovered by revision of the original contracts, some were partially recovered. In both cases, the Chinese government and gentry made tremendous effort to meet financial demands for compensation to foreign investors. During the same period, the movement for recovery of mining rights was taking place in Hobei, Shandong, Shanxi, Honan, Anhui, Zhejiang, Sichuan, Yunnan and Fujian. All foreign mining rights in China became the focus of the movement.

In the movement for recovery of mining. rights the foreign expansion in the field of mining was checked. Remarkably, China did recover some mining rights, particularly on the undeveloped mines. These were recovered through the cancellation of contracts when the foreigners failed to start the mining operation before the deadline stated in the agreement. Four mines in Zhejiang, three in Fujian, and several in Sichuan were recovered due to the cancellation of contracts. Some other mines were recovered due to the strong insistance of the government officials and local gentry for the revision of original contracts with foreign businessmen. In these cases, negotiation of new terms required the Chinese side to give compensation to recover mining rights. The amount of compensation was always higher than the cost invested by foreigners. One mine in Anhui, four in Shanxi, seven in Yunan, and five in Shandong were recovered through this approach. The third kind of recovery of mining rights was repossession of those concessions voluntarily given up by foreigners due to the lack of investment value. Those mines recovered in Shandong from Germany were in this category. As in the cases other foreign controlled mines, the Chinese had to pay compensation. To the Chinese the restoration of mining rights, whether valuable or not, provided satisfaction to national pride and independence.

It is evident that the local gentry class played an important role in the claiming of mining rights. In contrast to anti-foreign incidents prior to 1900, however, the movement to reclaim mineral rights from foreign concessionaries was based on rightful and rational claims. It was not an attempt to expel all foreign mining interests from China or to abolish all unequal treaties. Instead, it was merely seeking to reclaim some mining rights based on original contracts which were concluded between foreign enterprises and the Chinese companies. The development of this mineral-rights recovery movement was largely based on the principles of international law, and bargaining and peaceful means were used to

 

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achieve the goal. The nationalist-minded Chinese, whether government officials or local "gentry, appeared to have given up the anti-foreign emotional outbursts of the late Nineteenth century. Ant-iforeignism was no longer disruptive of Sino-foreign relations, nor violent in pursuit of national interests. The gentry class in the provinces often got into direct negotiations with the foreign concessionaries on behalf of local interests. The rise of the gentry class in the Chinese political scene helped check the Western powers' expansion in China at a time when the government was unable to stop them.

As discussed above, Christianity was gradually tolerated by a greater part of the Chinese population following the Boxer Uprising. Increasingly, Western culture and scientific knowledge were introduced to better educated Chinese. Students who had studied in Europe, America, and Japan brought back a new understanding of the world. Christianity continued to expand in China in the early Twentieth century, meeting less cultural resistance. Missionaries played an ^.important role in the introduction of Western culture and knowledge in China. A new era in Sino-foreign relations, however, was started with increasing political and economic penetration by Western powers in China. China was virtually paralyzed by the Western Powers' territorial claims. Following the Republican Revolution in 1911, the political situation became worse. Local warlords emerged, wielding military power, and the republicans failed to re-establish a central government in China. crowing foreign domination attracted a nation-wide response to foreign interests in China. Opposition from the people to foreign economic, political, and military interference became a movement against imperialism. the movement was a manifestation of the momentum of nationalism which grew in response to the major powers' efforts to put China under their dominance.

 

IV,  FOREIGN INVESTMENT IN CHINA

In spite of the initial success of the rights recovery movement, an important development in China's foreign relations in the early Twentieth century was the drastic increase of foreign investments by major powers. Before the 1985 Sino-Japanese War, there was only a small amount of foreign capital in China and limited impact of foreign enterprises on the Chinese economy. But in 1895, foreigners secured the right to build and own industrial plants in the treaty ports. In 1897 the Russians began the construction of the Chinese Eastern Railway. In 1907 Dairen was opened to trade and Japanese investments increased rapidly. Foreign investments - a symbol of foreign economic invasion - fueled the spirit of Chinese nationalism and added to the momentum of anti-foreignism.

It was well-known that during this period foreign enterprises as a whole were stronger financially than their Chinese counterparts. This may have been because of their larger amounts of capital or because of their ability to borrow from foreign sources at lower cost or because they had better management. In addition, foreign enterprises enjoyed extraterritorial rights which exempted them from Chinese taxes and levies. With these advantages and privileges, foreign enterprises invariably threatened the existence of their Chinese counterparts. The Chinese gentry class and merchants increasingly perceived these foreign enterprises and investments as a serious threat to Chinese enterprises.

Together with the rise of nationalism in the 1920s, hostility towards foreign enterprises emerged first among the merchant and gentry classes and later among the workers. This development antagonism against foreign investments aggravated already prevailing anti-foreignism and reflected the economic aspect of anti-imperialism. Thus, the sentiment of anti-imperialism in the decade from 1920-1930 was an expression of the nationalistic fervor of the gentry and merchant classes opposing foreign investment

Attacks on foreign investments in China were vehement in the 1920s and 1930s. They came from all levels of society. During the period of the May Fourth Movement, the voices of protest were mainly students and intellectuals, and were joined by workers in Peking and Shanghai. Denunciation of foreign investment became a manifestation of nationalistic spirit. In the 1920s both the Kuomintang and the Chinese Communist Party championed nationalistic opposition to foreign investments. Their attitudes were strongly tinged with nationalist fervor. Both parties denounced the cominance of foreign investment in the Chinese economy the control of maritime customs, and the protection of foreign enterprises under foreign laws and unequal treaties. These attacks were basically an extension of anti-imperialist fervor in the May Fourth Movement. In the 1920s and 1930s, however, foreign investment again became a nationwide issue which the Kuomintang and the Communist Party struggled to lead.

 

V.   ANTI-FOREIGN BOYCOTTS/ 1908-1926

The period under study is generally considered a chaotic period in which China lacked of an efficient central government. Politics in China were characterized by wars among warlords after 1911. None of the warlords had sufficient strength to deter the increased foreign investments and political interference by foreign powers. This period was also characterized by the advance of Japanese political interest in China as well as economic investments Under such circumstances and together with

 

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the rise of nationalism, a political force emerged among people opposing injustice or "aggression" toward China committed by foreign powers. Because no government could protect them, the Chinese people began to search for methods to deal with the foreign powers themselves. If the period of 19 OS1927 was the period in which the Chinese people learned to deter "imperialism," it was also the period when they learned to mobilize themselves to resist foreign pressure. Anti-foreign boycotts were the most concrete demonstration of anti-imperialist sentiment in China during this period.

As the Japanese pushed further into China, boycotts against Japanese commodities increased in China. In the 1910s and 1920s there were many large scale boycotts in protest against the Japanese. In response to the Japanese pursuit of her interests in China, the Chinese masses became increasingly hostile. Nation-wide boycotts against Japan were taken place in 1908, 1915, 191921, 1923, 1925 and 1926.

Anti-foreign boycotts were first organized by merchants or chambers of commerce in large cities and then became a major approach of the people to oppose foreigners. With the strong sense of nationalism in the 1910s, almost any conflict between Chinese and foreigners which resulted in causalities would lead to a boycott. These boycotts, as well as strikes, dealt a serious blow to foreign goods.

Politically, the most important development was the increasing participation of the laborers and students. Students had been activists in the May Fourth Movement and afterwards they continued to play an important role in anti-foreign movements , whether in boycotts or strikes. The participation of the workers, however, was not seen until 1925. This was due to the late development of anti-foreign sentiment among workers and the indirect impact on their lives by intermittent boycotts. The explanation for the early involvement of the merchants is that the boycotts could eliminate foreign goods from the market place.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

L- Dr. Yong Bock Kim (Moderator) R- Dr. Liao (Speaker)

 

This reduced the pressure of foreign goods and improved the competitive position of local goods in the market.

 

VI,  SUMMARY

Chinese nationalism emerged from anti-foreignism in the early Twentieth century in two forms: one was the boycott against foreign goods; the other was the movement for recovery of national rights. Both of these actions, in turn, reinforce anti-foreignism. The major differences in anti-foreignism between the late Nineteenth and early Twentieth centuries are: first, early Twentieth century anti-foreignism was stimulated by nationalism whereas late Nineteenth century anti-foreignism was fueled by ethnic cultural conflict; second, anti-foreignism in the early Twentieth century involved a greater number and variety of people and became a nation-wide movement whereas the Nineteenth century anti-foreignism was scattered and related to local or regional incidents; third, anti-foreignism in the early Twentieth century was constructive in the pursuit of national interest and was no longer oriented towards the expulsion of foreigners from China; instead it was aimed at the struggle for national equality and independence.

In spite of the Chinese struggle for national equality and independence, foreign influence on Chinese politics and the economy was not reduced. To the contrary, foreign investment and loans in China increased rapidly and political dominance by foreign governments remained. The Chinese people fought against such foreign political and economic dominance and continued to organize boycotts to oppose it. Merchants, workers, students and intellectuals were involved in-the boycotts. These anti-foreign boycotts were an important form of resistance by the people to foreign dominance at a time when Chinese authorities, because they .were divided, were unable to stop it.

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

General Session in progress

 

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NATIONALISM AND PROTESTANTISM IN KOREA

YOUNG-ICK LEW

 

The Korean people have undergone ordeals unparalleled in human history during the past century. An average Korean child born in the late 19th century was destined to live through such major international conflicts as the Sino-Japanese War (189495), the Russo Japanese War (1904-05), the Pacific War (1941-45), and the Korean War (1905-53), in addition to numerous internal rebellions and coups. These catastrophes had their origins in external causes for which the Koreans could not be held responsible. Therefore, it became the dream of every conscientious Korean in modern times to see his country develop into a stable one, worthy of the respect of the family of nations. Tens of thousands of people sacrificed their lives for this cause. In short, modern Korean history is one of fervent nationalism.

Viewed from a religious angle, Korean history of the same period is one of' miraculous transformation, from a model Confucian state into one of East Asia's leading Protestant nations. Once a "forbidden land" with the macabre distinction of producing 8,000 Catholic martyrs , (South) Korea now boasts a thriving Protestant community of about 7 million peonies who make up one fifth of the total population. In other words, modern Korea is one of history's most successful examples of Christian evangelism.

In such a rapid glance, recent Korean history calls to mind the familiar historical correspondence between nationalism and Protestantism in the emergence of modern Europe. Although it is premature to say that Protestantism was solely responsible

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*      Dr. Lew is Professor- of History at Korea University in Seoul, Korea. This paper is the text of his lecture delivered at the Asian University Christian Professors Fellowship Conference which met in Korea in 1 January, 1983.

 

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for the production of modern Korean nationalism, it is safe to point out that Protestantism was one of the vital forces behind the growth of nationalism in Korea. This paper will review Protestantism's contribution to the development of modern Korean nationalism, with the ultimate purpose of identifying the appropriate roles for Korean Christian intellectuals to play in the present day.

 

I.    ETHNOCENTRIC HERITAGE AND THE GROWTH OF ANTI-JAPANESE NATIONALISM

Korea is a country of long ethnocentric tradition. Korea as a distinct political unit harks back to 668 A.D. when the Silla kingdom unified the peninsula by annexing two rival states. Thenceforth, the Korean people enjoyed a homogenous culture under highly centralized governments. Use of the same language; the invention of a native alphabetical system, han'gul; and the belief in common descent from the mythical progenitor of the Korean race, Tan'gun; all contributed to the identification of the Korean people as a monoethnic group. Common endeavors to repulse foreign invaders in pre-modern times , including confrontations with the Mongols, the Khitans, the Jurchens, and the Japanese , fortified the Korean sense of national identity and common destiny. It is a small wonder that Korean history is studded with examples of heroic patriots sacrificing themselves for the protection of their "fatherland" and its traditions.

Korea possessed all the attributes of a nation, such as the tradition of political unity, common culture, language, historical experience, and well-defined territory , early in its history. But the Koreans were slow in developing nationalism in a modern sense, that is, "a set of ideas stressing the sovereignty, the mission, and the welfare of the nation-state," because of the nature of the traditional East Asian politico-cultural system to which Korea belonged. Before the advent of Western expansionism, China reigned supreme in the so-called Chinese world order. As one of China's loyal tributary states, Korea gave unstinting political and cultural allegiance to the Chinese suzerain. Most Korean rulers were content with the secondary status of their country as an "Eastern Kingdom" (Tongguk) in the hierarchically ordered Sino-centric world and the majority of Korean intellectuals had no qualms in affecting the Confucian life-style. While uncritically deferring to China as the ultimate source of political and moral inspiration, ethnocentric Koreans tended to regard the other members of the Chinese world order, including the Japanese, as their inferior because the Koreans used only one standard of measuring relative degrees of civilization viz., Sinification.

Needless to say, to the traditional Korean mind. Westerners residing outside the pale of Chinese civilization were hopeless "barbarians."

The consciousness of Korea as an independent political and cultural unit began to germinate after the Chinese world order revealed its seamy sides following China's ignonimous defeat in the Opium War (1839-42) — just as the concept of "nation" in Europe was the product of the disruption of the " international " order of medieval Christiandom. This trend accelerated after Beijing was invaded by the Anglo-French expeditionary forces in 1860. The Koreans betrayed their ethnocentric xenophobia, a primordial sign of nationalism , in the 1860's in confrontations with the waves of aggressive diplomatic and military moves from the Western powers, including Russia, France, and the United States. (Russia pressured Korea to sign a trade agreement in 1864; France launched a naval expedition against the Korean coast in 1866 in retaliation for the Korean massacre of French catholic missionaries; and the United States Navy engaged in "a little heathen war" with the Koreans in 1872 to obtain a commercial treaty.) The Korean reaction to Western imperialism at this time was represented on one hand by the yanban literati's rallying cry, "Protect the Orthodoxy (i.e. Confucianism) and Reject Heterodoxy (i.e., Christianity)," and on the other the common people's participation in the nativistic religious movement called Tonghak ("Eastern Learning"). The Tonghak emphasized the preservation and promotion of the Korean culture, supposedly composed of the quintessences of Confucianism, Buddhism, Taoism, and Shamanism, in opposition to the cultural imperialism of Sohak ("Western Learning"), or Catholicism. Both the Neo-Confucian Korean intellectuals and the Tonghak adherents agreed on the common goal of resisting the Western "barbarian" invaders and repudiating Western culture. This national consensus formed the background of the anti-foreign policy the Korean government pursued under the famous regent, the Taewon'gun, during the decade of 1864-73, All in all, the Koreans in the 1860's exhibited an unmistakable tendency to develop anti-Western, and in particular anti-Christian, nationalism akin to the nationalism of the non-Christian world today.

One critical intervening factor in the 1870's, however, changed the developmental course of Korean nationalism: the emergence of imperialistic Japan. Under the influence of a virile nationalism, ambitious Japanese leaders following the Meiji Restoration (1868) adopted an expansionist policy aimed at conquering continental Asia in emulation of the imperialistic West. They chose the "hermit kingdom," Korea, as the prime target of their aggression. In doing so, they unilaterally forsook the priceless tradition

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of harmonious relations which Yi dynasty Korea and the Tokugawa shogunate had cultivated for two and a half centuries, from 1600 to 1868. As is well known, in 1876 Japan humiliated her Korean neighbor by forcing Korea's acceptance of an unequal treaty, the Treaty of Kanghwa, through bunboat diplomacy. They then started the systematic economic exploitation and political subjugation of hapless Korea in competition with the other imperialistic powers, including the Western powers and China. The progress of Japanese aggression continued unabated until Yi Korea surrendered her sovereignty to the Japanese empire in 1910.

In the course of her relentless aggression, culminating in colonial domination, the ultra-nationalistic Japanese inflicted untold misery on innocent and patriotic Koreans. Among other incidents, in 1894 Japanese soldiers killed "several thousand" Tonghak peasant soldiers who rose up against the Japanese occupation of Korea in the midst of the Sino-Japanese War; in 1895 a band of Japanese soshi murdered Queen Min in her bed-chamber at the behest of the Japanese minister in Seoul; and Japanese soldiers annihilated about 17,000 "righteous army" volunteers after the Russo-Japanese War in their final drive to conquer Korea. The story of how the Japanese colonial masters oppressed Koreans with gendarmerie or special police during the years 1910-1945 is too familiar to repeat. Suffice it to say that 7,645 Koreans were killed and 45,562 were mained in 1919 at the hands of Japanese gendarmerie and soldiers during the historic March First Movement. Historians rate the Japanese colonial government in Korea as the harshest in the world during the age of imperialism because it was geared not only to the economic exploitation and political subjugation—at which the Japanese proved so successful--but also to the impossible goal of assimilating the Korean people into the Japanese.

After the conclusion of the Kanghwa Treaty in 1876, some Koreans entertained the vague hope of obtaining manifold help from a "civilized" Japan, but the repeated acts of aggression Japan committed in Korea, particularly after the Sino-Japanese War, united the Koreans against the Japanese. Modern Koreans revived the traumatic memory of the Hideyoshi Invasion during the 16th century. They began identifying the Japanese as a bete noire, or number one enemy, of the Korean people. Japan thus became an indelible negative symbol to Korean nationalists.

The foregoing discussion makes it clear that Japan fostered the growth of modern Korean nationalism from the 1870's to the 1940's by arousing patriotic sentiments amongst the Korean populace to an unprecedented level. While the Koreans heaped up animus against the Japanese aggressor as the most hated enemy of the Korean people, the simplistic anti-Western xenophobia of the 1860's gradually gave way to a pro-Western sentiment. Emergence anti-Japanese nationalism paralleled the development of a tolerant attitude toward Western culture amongst the Koreans. Consequently, modern Korean nationalism assure the unique anti-Japanese and pro-Western cast which endures today.

 

II.    CONTRIBUTIONS OF PROTESTANTISM TO KOREAN NATIONALISM

The record of Protestant evangelism in the late Yi Korea is regarded as "one of the marvels of modern history." Protestant missionaries succeeded in the "forbidden land" where their Catholic counterparts had previously failed by associating themselves with the ascendant pro-Western and anti-Japanese nationalism. Entering Korea after 1883, the missionaries of the Presbyterian and Methodist churches, coming primarily from the United States, discovered that the rulers and peoples of the "hermit kingdom" were very receptive to their plans, if not their message. By placing emphasis on model education, medicine, and philanthropy as means of attracting Koreans to the Christian gospel, the missionaries—numbering about 300 by 1910—converted about 175,000 natives (150,000 Presbyterians and 25,000 Methodists) to the Christian faith by 1910. The number of Korean Protestants had in creased to about 250,000 -- equivalent to 1.3% of the total population--by the eve of the March First National Independence Movement (MFNIM) in 1919. The fact that Korean conversions began taking place mainly after 1894 and that they peaked during the years 1905-10, when Yi Korea faced their imminent loss of her sovereignty, suggests close parallel between Korean nationalism and Protestant evangelism.

The number of Korean converts made from the 1880's to the mid-20th century was by no means impressive in and of itself But these converts made signal contribution to the pre-1910 Korean "enlightenment" (kaehwa) and national salvation movement and to the post-1910 national independence movement by taking prominent leadership roles in these movements. The Protestant Koreans were particularly active in the politico-social reform movement of the Independence Club (1896-1898), the national salvation movement of the New People's Society (Sinmin-hoe) (1909-1910), the 1919 MFNIM, the post-1919 nationalist independence movement symbolized by the Korean Provisional Government in Shanghai (late Chungching), and various religio-socio cultural activities in Korea under Japanese colonial domination, including the campaign to boycott worship at Shinto shrines from 1932 to 1945.

 

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Korean Protestant nationalists were placed in a competitive position vis-à-vis the Tonghak (renamed Ch'ongdogyo or the "Religion of the Heavenly Way" after 1905) nationalists in organizing and leading various popular movements from the 1890's. But their mutual relationship became a cooperative one after they co-sponsored the 1919 MFNIM. In contrast, the Protestant nationalists' relationship with the Korean socialists, who made their debut in the wake of the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution in Russia, was rather tense. The ideological schism in the Korean nationalist movement after 1918 between the moderate nationalism of the Protestants and Ch'ondogye adherents on the one hand, and the radical ideology of the socialists and communists on the other remained one of the major internal factors leading to the tragic bifurcation of the Korean nation after 1948. It is important to note here that the Protestant Christians nearly always maintained an edge over their "rivals" in terms of number and /or rank of leaders in such large-scale nationalist movements and organizations as the MFNIM and the Korean Provisional Government in exile.

Protestantism contributed to the growth of the Korean nationalist movement by providing it with the requisite leadership, organization, and, above all, ideas. First, Protestant churches in Korea produced numerous political and intellectual leaders equipped with modern cosmopolitan educations obtained in the United States, including So Chae-p'il, Yun Ch'i-ho, Yi Sung-man, Kim Kyu-sik, and An Ch'ang-ho. Together with Kim Ku, Yi Sung-hun, Yi Sang-jae and Cho Man-sik, whose educational background was chiefly domestic, they formed the top leadership elements in the "enlightenment" movement of the 19th century and/or the national independence movement during the years 1910-1945. Parenthetically, the early leaders of the Korean socialist movement, including Yi Tong-hwi and Yo Unhyong, also started their political careers as active church members. Aside from these native Korean Protestant leaders. North American missionaries, including Horace G. Underwood, Henry G. Appenzeller, Mrs. Mary F. Scranton, and Horace N. Alien are noted for their critical contribution to the early Korean "enlightenment" movement, while innumerable missionaries, including Frank W. Schofield, gave hearty support to the Korean endeavors to regain national independence after 1910.

Secondly, the Korean Protestant churches helped the cause of the Koran nationalist movement with its religious, educational, and social institutions. By the time Korea became a Japanese colony in 1910 , Korean Protestantism could boast about 2,000 churches and 650 mission schools across the country. In 1911, the Protestant mission schools accounted for about 30% of all the private schools in Korea. In addition, the Korean Presbyterian churches developed such quasi-political institutions as the Independent Korean Presbytery and the General Council of Korean Presbyterians in 1907 and 1912 respectively--in addition to the YMCA in 1903. The Korean church members could practice the arts of democratic autonomy through these religio-political institutions while the nation was deprived of independent government. The Korean Protestant churches and their related bodies were probably the only effectively functioning "political" institutions which the Korean people maintained during the dark days of Japanese colonial rule.

Thirdly, Protestantism contributed to the growth of Koran nationalism morally and intellectually, not only with the all-important Christian gospel, but also with the Old Testament nationalism and assorted liberalistic politico-social ideas. The Christian faith had the tonic effect of rejuvenating Korean morals; Christian iconoclasm had the effect of purifying Korean culture of its superstitious elements; the Puritan ethic generated a healthy labor ethic; and the egalitarian Christian concept of man had an impact on the destruction of the traditional society characterized by the four-class system and female subordination to the male, in favor of a more egalitarian and modern one. More relevantiy, Old Testament nationalism and the strong patriotism exemplified by American missionaries led the Korean Protestants to associate Protestant beliefs with patriotism. Most important, the Korean Protestants developed an inveterate proclivity toward republican democracy as the ideal form of government under the combined impact of Christian egalitarianism. Western liberalism, and the political beliefs of the American missionaries. It is no coincidence that the Christian-led Korean Provisional Government in Shanghai adopted a republican democratic constitution in 1919, parting company with the time-hallowed tradition of absolutist monarchy.

 

III.   ROLES OF PROTESTANT CHRISTIANS IN CONTEMPORARY KOREA

From the above survey of Korean nationalism and Protestant evangelism in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, we obtain a collective picture of Korean Protestants as a progressive historical force behind Korea's search for "enlightenment," (or modernization) and national independence. To borrow Toynbee's expression , Korean Protestants performed the role of a creative minority in galvanizing the emergence of a new Korea out of the ancient matrix of Confucian civilization. This progressive and elitist image of Korean Protestants in the past century has been

 

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somewhat tarnished in the post-1945 years, due in part to the lackluster involvement of Christian politicians in the "corrupt regime of President Yi Sung-man (Syngman Rhee) during the years 1948-1960 and partly to the post-Korean War quantum leap in the Protestant population. The sustained struggle of select Protestant Christian intellectuals for the causes of human rights since the 1960's, however, has helped refurbish their original image.

Given the proud tradition of the Korean Protestants in the past, what are the appropriate roles contemporary Protestant intellectuals can and must aspire to in terms of relating themselves to Korean nationalism? The following three major roles maybe conjured upon the basis of the above historical observation:

1.   The role of the watchdog. Nationalism, like a double-edged sword, has positive and negative sides. The history of modern nationalism is prone to chauvinism, imperialism, racism, and/or totalitarianism -contrary to normative ideals of individual and national liberty, equality, and fraternity. In a contemporary Korea geared to rapid modernization, pre-1945 Japanese nationalism must always be held up as a mirror for self-introspection instead of being presented as a model for emulation. It behooves every Korean Christian to become a vigilant watchdog of Korean nationalism in the old Biblical tradition of the Prophets.

2. The role of the switchman. Korean nationalism is a variant of the so-called colonial nationalism, or "resistant" (chohangjok) nationalism. Such nationalism tends to emphasize an external enemy or enemies for the sake of self-preservation or self-aggrandizement by utilizing its "resistant" inertia. The enormous emotional energy generated by this kind of nationalism is often channelled into the destructive goal of fighting a hypothetical enemy or enemies. The other side of the coin is that this externally-oriented nationalism neglects internal goals, and problems. Post-1945 Korea con-¦ fronts a myriad of political, social economic, and cultural problems to resolve, stemming from the process of industrialization and democratistion. On top of these problems, the Koreans have yet to tackle the supreme task of achieving the unification of their fatherland in keeping with the dream of the nationalistic martyrs. Like a good switchman on the railroad, contemporary Korean Protestants must learn to channel the nationalistic energy of the Korean people to constructive internal goals by becoming the first to forgive the enemy or enemies.

3.   The role of the eye-opener. Korean nationalismsuffersfrom a myopia of narrow ethnocentrism because of the above-mentioned ethnocentric tradition and also because of Korea's belated entrance into the modern international order. Nationalism, therefore, has often been emphasized at the expense of internationalism, In this over-shrinking world of jet transportation and computers, it is anachronistic to indulge in dreams of "national glories" while remaining oblivious to the pride of other nations. It is most appropriate for Korean Protestants to become the eye-openers of their ethnocentric compatriots in the good cosmopolitan tradition of their ethnocentric compatriots in the good cosmopolitan tradition of their Korean Protestant forebearers so that Korea can obtain a highly honored seat in the global family of nations.

Thank you.

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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NATIONALISM IN THE PHILIPPINES ITS CONCEPT, DEVELOPMENT, PROBLEMS & ISSUES

SALVADOR MARTINEZ

 

Nationalism is viewed usually as either "active" or "passive", passive nationalism is a feeling of a common bond that unites a people to the motherland. This sentiment is often latent and is variously expressed in the art, literature, religion, national symbols and economic policies of a nation. Active or assertive nationalism surfaces when a nation is faced with some competition and danger from another nation. For a nation under subjectivity, it could mean fighting for its independence through constitutional means, passive resistance , violent revolution or a combination of these. In the case of a sovereign nation, it could mean mobilization against an outside threat. Nationalism in its extreme form is imperialism (Mahajani:5-6). Western nationalism usually has been of the imperialist sort and this is precisely what sets it apart from Third-World nationalism . Ferdinand E. Marcos makes such a distinction when he says: "the impact of Western nationalism in Asia, Africa and Latin America was imperialism; the impact of the new nationalism on the West is decolonization" (Marcos, 1971:105).

As in all nations, passive nationalism was inherent in the Filipino nation. It did not become a social force, however, until it was aroused and concretized by assertive nationalism. An observation has been made that "external pressure " is a significant force in the rise of nationalism in Asia "for throughout the area there is a close correlation between the emergence of national feelings and the intensity of foreign dangers". This was certainly the case in the Philippines.

Teodoro Agoncillo, an eminent Filipino historian, argues that nationalism in the Asian context is a defensive sentiment "which expresses the people's longing to live an independent political life, to direct their economic and social improvement, and to protect their interests" (Agoncillo, 1974:2) As such, nationalism neither destroys nor creates but defends and protects what the people has already achieved in terms of their culture, prosperity, national dignity, freedom and independence (ibid).

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*      Dr. Mart-Inez is Professor of Philosophy at Silliman University, Philippines. This paper is the text of his lecture delivered at the Asian University Christian Professors Fellowship Conference which met in Korea in January, 1983.

 

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THE BEGINNINGS OF NATIONALISM (1521-1872)

Philippine nationalism has had a long and varied history. Its first spark was seen more than four hundred years ago on the island of Mactan in March 1521 when Magellan, in a fierce battle with Lapu-lapu, met his death by a poisoned lance. To be sure, Lapu-lapu fought Magellan for the sake of his tiny domain and not for what was to be known as the islands of the Philippines. Nevertheless, he is a part of the Philippines' glorious past. And no doubt, his extraordinary victory, using crude weapons against the harquebuses and artillery of the first circumnavigator of the world, inspired subsequent nationalistic uprisings. He has proved for the first time that white invincibility was just a myth!

Spain's colonization of the Philippines officially began in May 1565 when Miguel Lopez de Legaspi extended Spanish sovereignty over the islands which he named Felipinas in honor of King Philip II of Spain. The first 200 years of Spanish rule were not free of troubles. In 1762 British troops easily defeat a demoralized and inefficient Spanish bureaucracy, but the Treaty of Paris returned the Philippines to Spain a year later.

Spain never had complete control of the people of the islands, either. The Igorots of the north and the Muslims of the south continuously repulsed the Spanish missionaries and conquistadores and obstinately held on to their faiths, preserved their culture and their ways of life. Rebellion also flared up in regions already under Spain and they were all generally in protest against excessive tributes, forced labor, cruelty and other injustices perpetrated by the Spaniards, especially the friars, against the inhabitants. They all failed, however, because the people were disunited. The Spaniards made use of the people's lack of unity. They subjected the people to a "divide and rule" policy, pitting one region against another, and the friars exerted tremendous pressure upon the simple folks.

 

ORGANIZED NATIONALISM AGAINST SPAIN (1872-1898)

The Filipinos needed to be united. Nationalistic sensibility was not lacking, but something was needed to unite the people. That momentous event came with the Cavite Mutiny of 1872 — a rebellion of some 200 soldiers and workers in protest against high tributes and repressive measures imposed by the government. At the time, Filipino priests were agitating for the secularization of the clergy. The mutiny was blamed on the priests. Many of them were arrested, exiled and their leaders, Mariano Gomez, Jose Burgos and Jacinto Zamora, were garroted in public. It was hoped that the execution will inculcate fear upon the people, but when the news reached the people, it! had the opposite effect. It became the rallying point of intensified nationalism. Some years later, Jose Rizal, who was only eleven years old when the event took place, dedicated his second epoch-making novel, the El Filibusterismo, in memory of the martyred priests.

The following decade was a period of peace, but a "frightening peace" in which the Spanish civil and clerical authorities "terrorized the Filipinos into object submission" (Agoncillo, 1974:9). It was also a time when communication and transportation to Europe improved. Many Filipinos of the rising middle class travelled to Europe to get an education. These new breed of Filipinos, who came to be known as ilustrados, became the leaders of the reform movement. 

The Propaganda Movement. The propaganda movement, led by men like Jose Rizal, Marcelo H. del Pilar, Graciano Lopez-Jaena, demanded reforms from the Spanish government. Their demands included a restriction of the powers of the governor-general, the expulsion of the friars, the teaching of the Spanish language to the people, representation in the Spanish Cortes, suppression of the civil guards and equality before the law between the Filipinos and Spaniards. In addition to their fortnightly journal, the La Solidaridad, the propagandists wrote letters, poems, essays, stories and plays exposing the evils and excesses of the Spanish authorities in the Philippines and promulgating their reformist ideas. Rizal, who was to become the foremost national hero, wrote two novels, the Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo, which were banned but were widely read and contributed ii awakening the spirit of nationalism and implanting revolutionary ideas on the people. Rizal was considered a subversive and was exiled to Mindanao in July 1892 and was there until August 1896. 

Shortly before his arrest, Rizal founded the La Liga Filipina. Its objectives were: to unite the whole archipelago; mutual protection and defense against violence and injustice; encouragement of education, agriculture and commerce; and the study and application of reforms. The society was dissolved with Rizal's arrest. Later, it was revived by Andres Bonifacio (1863-1897) and Apolinario Mabini (1864-1903). The new Liga aimed to support the La Solidaridad and pursue its demands. Many prominent Filipinos joined it. But because there were two factions within it -- the passive and militant, it did not prosper. Inevitably, the movement split up. The militant Bonifacio founded his own secret society, the Katipunan (Cf. Majul, 1960:118f.)

 

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The Katipunan. The Katipunan or KKK (Kataastaasang Kagalanggalang na Katipunan ng mga Anak ng Bayan -- The Highest Most Respectable Association of the Sons of the People) aimed to unite all Filipinos under a single ideology and to create an independent nation through a revolution. Unlike the propaganda movement, it had a mass base/ 2/. The members swore to follow a decalogue which prescribed that "the true measure of honor and happiness is to die for freedom of thy country" and that "the true love of God is the true love of thy country" (Reprinted in Agoncillo, 1956:94). The society was discovered when a wife of a member confessed of its existence to a Spanish friar on 19 August 1896. Many prominent Filipinos who were suspected of supporting the movement were arrested, tortured, exiled and imprisoned. Most of the important leaders were able to escape, however. On 26 August 1896 they gathered in Balintawak near Manila to declare their true intentions. Within a few weeks the rebellion spread in eight nearby provinces. Armed mostly with native bolos and spears, but with great courage and determination, they fought the Spaniards and their mercenaries from 1896 to 1898/3/.

In 1897, the leadership of the Katipunan changed hands. With Emilio Aguinaldo (1869-1963) as president, a revolutionary government was established with a constitution that provided for a bill of rights and a republican form of government. Shortly thereafter, the Spanish governor-general, primo de Rivera, initiated a reconciliation. The Pact of Biak-na-Bato was ratified on 16 December 1897 providing indemnity of 800 thousand pesos for the revolutionaries, a grant of general amnesty, Aguinaldo's voluntary exile and a request for reforms. Aguinaldo left for Hongkong. But soon after, the hostilities resumed. Both parties accused each other of reneging on the provisions of the Pact. The fact is there were some who refused to abandon the fight against Spain and these nationalists were considered bandits by the Spanish. Though they were ruthlessly suppressed, they refused to lay down their arms.

 

NATIONALISM AGAINST THE AMERICANS (1898-1910)

Meanwhile, war broke out between Spain and the United States. In Hongkong, the American consuls persuaded Aguinaldo to go back to the Philippines to organize an army to help Dewey. But even before Aguinaldo arrived in Cavite, Dewey had already defeated the Spanish flotilla. On 12 June 1898, he proclaimed the independence of the Philippines from Spain. A constitution was formed and was promulgated a year later.

The relation between the Philippines and the United States broke down with the issuance of President McKinley's "Benevolent Assimilation Proclamation" in December 1898. A nationalistic campaign against the new enemy ensued. La Independencia, edited by the fiery Antonio' Luna, who was to become the foremost military leader against the Americans, started an anti-American campaign. He wrote:

We have started to fight for our independence, we will continue, we will have to lose ail before vie live wider the domination of those who humble us and destroy us..... Justice and right, which are on our side, will conquer. There is no other cry but this: "Long live Independence!" (Cited in Agoncillo, 1960:520)

The Americans responded by strengthening their military position and then sending peace feelers to the Filipino leaders/4/. Aguinaldo sent peace missions to Washington and Paris on the advice of Mabini who has become his chief adviser. Felipe Calderon (1863-1908) was sent, but failed. Spain ceded the Philippines to the United States for the amount of 20 million dollars as provided by the Treaty of Paris in 1898/5/.

On 4 February 1899 the hostilities between the Filipinos and Americans broke out. The Filipino army was no match against a well-armed and better-organized American infantry. Helpless, Aguinaldo disbanded the army of the Philippine Republic and resorted to guerilla warfare. The conflict went on until the last of the Filipino leaders, Macario Sakay, was lured to surrender in 1907 only to he executed on the charge of brigandage. Aguinaldo surrendered in 1901 and on 19 April issued a manifesto of surrender. Thus ended the First Philippine Republic.

 

NATIONALISM UNDER THE AMERICAN REGIME (1901-1941)

The nationalistic struggle of the Filipinos entered a new phase under the Americans. They sought to fulfil their hopes and aspirations through the political framework established by the American colonial government. Passive nationalism flourished: religious, educational, cultural and literary. In spite of the Sedition Law of 1901, the literature of the criticized the American administration and clamored for independence from the United States/6/. And when the election for the Philippine Assembly was held in 1907, the nationalists founded the Nacionalista Party and defeated the Federalistas on the issue of independence. Reminiscing about it later, Sergio Osmena (1878-1961) wrote:

 

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That the Nacionalista Party won by electing the overwhelming majority of the members of the Philippine Assembly in 1907 was proof incontrovertible that the Filipino people repudiated annexation and accepted our announced resolve to work vigorously for independent nationhood (Cited in Agoncillo, 1974:27).

In the years that followed, nationalism had become politically oriented. The reins of the government was progressively handed over to the Filipinos especially under the administration of Francis Burton Harrison. And under the leadership of Manuel L. Quezon (1878-1944), who once said, "I would rather have a government run like hell by Filipinos than a government run like heaven by Americans," the Filipinos pressed for greater independence. The independence missions finally triumphed with first, the Hare-Hawes-Cutting Bill, and, subsequently, the Tydings-McDuffie Bill. The commonwealth of the Philippines, a semi-independent government, was inaugurated on 23 March 1932/7/.

 

NATIONALISM DURING THE JAPANESE INVASION (1941-1945)

Nationalism continued to play a vital role during the Japanese occupation. Nationalism during those times, however, were of two persuasions: one looked forward to the end of the American rule and another looked forward to the return of the Americans. Says Constantino:

Americanization had taken away from us and especially from our leaders the capacity to think and act for ourselves, and so our efforts were tragically misdirected (1969:118).

But nationalists of whatever persuasion were concertedly anti-Japanese. They expressed their resistance either by joining the guerilla movement or by refusing to collaborate with the enemy. Agoncillo notes that

The fact that Filipinos, brutalized though they mere, did not succumb to massive Japanese propaganda is a tribute to their moral stamina which secretly nurtured their nationalistic Spirit in a time of crisis and to the effectiveness of the American educational system which conditioned the minds of the Filipinos to the American way of life and institutions (1974:35).

The Japanese were in the Philippines from January 1942 to February 1945. Their occupation commenced with the infamous Death March -- " a monument to Japanese brutality" and it ended with the suicidal orgy of thousands of Japanese marines and army troops massacring thousands of Filipino civilians in the southern part of Manila/8/.

In terms of the growth of nationalism, the Japanese occupation rekindled once more the nationalistic and revolutionary instincts of the people. It was also a setback, for there were those who while fighting an invader were ironically "waiting for the return of another" (Constantino, 1978:50ff.).

But all was not lost. Constantino summarizes the gains from the Japanese occupation best:

..... viewed from a longer perspective, the Japanese occupation, by fostering certain negative social developments, by bringing about economic chaos, by creating strong, armed radical force in the Hukbalahap, all of which set the stage for and influenced the nature of the second American occupation, eventually made possible a new level of anti-imperialist struggle and awareness and a more mature re-examination of Filipino colonial attitudes despite the euphoric pro-Americanism of the post-"liberation" era and years of cold war conditioning (Constantino, 1978:150).

 

RESURGENCE OF NATIONALISM (195C) to the Present)

The post-war years saw a cooling-off of the nationalistic spirit that fanned the struggles for liberation. Agoncillo traces the cause to the fact that Filipinos "were and continue to be, too sentimental and naive to believe that America, in pursuit of her destiny and national self-interests, was capable of exploiting then who stood by her in her hour of need" (Agoncilio:1974:86).

Soon after the war, the Philippines gave the United States territorial rights for its bases, granted parity rights to American citizens and corporations over the country's natural resources, gave preferential treatment to U.S. goods entering the country and entered into other "special relations" with the United States. "All too soon," Jose B. Laurel, Jr. (1912- ) said, "we were willing to take our hard-won liberties for granted and even barter then for a 'mess of pottage'" ("Resurgence of Philippine Nationalism," 1956, reprinted in Agoncillo, 1974:312f.).

One of the most stirring nationalistic crusades was championed by Claro M. Recto (1890-1960) in the 1950's. Recto, who earns the sobriquet "Mr. Nationalist", criticize! the "special relationship" with the United States and called it a "mirage", the mutual security pact as one sided, the bases agree-

 

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ment as an incursion on Philippine sovereignty, and the parity rights as a "mockery of 'mutuality'" (Cf. Constantino, 1969:218 ff.) He also clashed with Carlos P. Romulo and branded the latter's foreign policy "mendicant." He said:

...our foreign policy was conducted from the very beginning, and -is being pursued, on the erroneous assumption of an identity of American and Filipino interests, or more correctly, of the desirability, and even the necessity, of subordinating our interests to those of America (Recto, "Our Mendicant Foreign Policy, 1951, reprinted in Agoncillo, 1974:321-46).

Recto also called the United States "imperialist" and warned that "a nation that falls into the imperialist sphere of influence loses its freedom and remains poor." He defended the "Filipino First" policy and advocated the "Asia for the Asians" policy. For these, he was dubbed an anti-American and a communist, to which he replied:

If what is meant by "anti-Americanism" is the refusal to abdicate OUA sovereignty and self-respect, and the reasoned determination to stand on our rights, promote our own national interests, and secure the maximum security of our people, first and foremost, and to be Filipinos before we become anything else, then every Filipino who loves his country and believes in its independence mast be called "anti-American, " and I would be in very excellent and agreeable company (Cited in Constantino, 1969:178-79).

Since Recto, there have been other outbursts of nationalism. In February 1967, Filipino nationalists from all sectors united themselves into a Movement for the Advancement of Nationalism (M.A.N.). MAN'S fundamental aim is the promotion and protection of the national interest of the country. It considers nationalism as the solution to the nation's problems. MAN'S analysis of the Philippine society is that it is very rich in natural resources but remains poor and "underdeveloped as a direct consequence of its long colonization by western powers." MAN blames American imperialism for the present ills of the country. Thus it proposes to "struggle for the complete emancipation of the economy from the stranglehold of aliens" and to "launch an unceasing campaign to make the Filipino superior in the enjoyment of his rights and liberties to any alien" ("M.A.N General Declarations," reprinted in Abueva, 1972:142-8).

Other nationalistic organizations coming from varied sectors of the society sprung during the 60's. The labor sector came up with the Lapiang Manggagawa (Labor Party) and the Socialist Party, the women formed the Malayang Kilusan ng Bagong Kababaihan (MAKIBAKA), the farmers organized themselves into the Malayang Samahan ng Magsasaka (Federation of Free Farmers-FFF), and the students founded the Kabataang Makabayan (Nationalistic Youth -KM). The KM and other leftist groups believed in a "national democratic revolution" and the KM, backed up by the New People's Army (NPA) sought to liberate the people from a twin exploitive structure: American imperialism and feudalism. These structures were blamed for the worsening condition and increasing suffering of the people. The KM and other very radical groups were outlawed with the imposition of Martial Law in 1972. Nevertheless, their short-lived existence was momentous. As Constantino observed:

These were ominous developments, not only because these groups were raising the issue of American imperialism more pointedly, but because the protest movement had again taken a mass character and had come under communist influence, if not direction" (1978:339).

 

PRESENT ISSUES

The present nationalistic struggle faces a more complex sort of imperialism with "new and more sophisticated methods of neocolonial central."

American presence in the Philippines lingers, and perhaps, in a new way, more threatening. The issue of the military bases is as thorny as it was in the days of Recto, Many believe that the bases have outlived their usefulness and that instead of securing the country, they have become security risks considering the present geopolitical alliances. Filipino nationalists would agree with the observation of Alejandro Lichauco that "America's bases in the Philippines will serve as magnets for and targets of the Soviet Union's nuclear capabilities in the event of a confrontation of the superpowers" (Lichauco, 1972:164). Lichauco echoes the view expressed by Recto that the bases represent "an impairment of the sovereignty of the nation" or using the words of Constantino, " a dagger at the throat of our sovereignty" (ibid.).

Closely linked to the bases issue is. the political influence of the U.S. in the Philippines. The American intervention in political elections in the Philippines is well-documented. One glaring example was the election of Ramon Magsaysay to the presidency. That election was engineered by the CIA is now an open secret ( See Constantino, 1978:226-68; Lichauco, 1972: 13-18).

More alarming in the light of present realities, is the socio-economic influence of the United States on the Philippines through the Transnational Corporations.

 

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The Transnational Corporations. Like all Third-World countries, the Philippine economy is dependent and controlled by transnational corporations--American, Japanese and West European. The Philippine situation is not to different from the. Korean situation. While the TNC's rake enormous profits and send 50 to 75 percent of the profits back to the mother corporations, the Filipino worker in these TNC's is one of the poorest (a study shows that 35 million Filipinos or 84% live below the poverty level, subsisting on 25 cents a day or less), and the most exploited (he is made to work long hours, paid very low wages, and prevented from joining a union or striking) worker in Asia (Ibon Facts and Figures). Those who depend on the land and the sea for their livelihood are also affected indirectly, if not directly. Thousands have been driven off their ancestral lands to make room for a TNC complex. Hundreds have been driven off their traditional fishing grounds to make room for TNC fishermen with their modern trawlers. More people are now exposed to the dangers of pollution coming from TNC factories. Indeed, the TNC's may have brought increased production but at the same time they have contributed to greater poverty.

Transnational Banks. The domination of the country's banking and finance by TNB's has also brought grave problems. The Philippines is now the second major borrower in Asia, following Korea, and ranks eight among the major borrowers of the Third World and Southern Europe (Ibon Facts and Figures, 102). The effects of the staggering foreign debt of the Philippines, now amounting to about US$16 billion, on the already impoverish Filipino masses is not hard to figure out.

The "Debt Trap" and the Educational System. Another sad reality is how the "debt trap" has affected not only the political and economic aspects of the country, but the educational system as well. In his famous essay, "The Miseducation of the Filipino," Constantino claimed that the educational system introduced by the Americans in the Philippines was shaped to strengthen America's control over the nation and its people. So instead of producing a generation of men and women who could function affectively and usefully within the Philippine society, it produced a generation of colonially-minded people (Constantino, (19 66), 1982:1-19). It now appears as described by Mrs. Constantino in her essay, "World Bank Textbooks: Scenario for Deception," that present education in the Philippines is no better. "Relevant education" has become relevant not for the people, but for the foreign institutions that support it (L. Constantino, 1982:21-42).

 

CONCLUSION

These are some of the issues which face today's Filipino nationalist, yea, the Asian; the challenges to which he must respond. How, indeed, must a nationalist respond?

First, we must take a lesson from the past. An understanding of the past will give us a better perspective of the nationalism of the present. It is interesting to note that to join the Katipunan in 1896, one had to answer three questions: 1) What is the condition of the country in the past? 2) What conditions prevail in the country today? 3) What conditions will attain in the future? There one has a consciousness of national history, and analysis of the prevailing conditions and a direction for the future. The nationalists of the 1896's recognized the import of history upon one's nationalistic commitment. Recto echoes this idea: "A Filipino cannot assert his identity and call himself a nationalist unless he is one with his people's history and has enshrined in his heart the precepts and examples of our heroes and martyrs" (Constantino, ed. ,1965:3).

The nationalists of the past began with a consciousness that they were a distinct people with their own customs and traditions and way of life. These were not to be taken away nor changed by any alien power. The early uprisings were a protest against such intrusions. The uprisings failed because the people were disunited.

Only when the people are united can a revolution make headway. This leads us to another lesson in our history. The reform movement did not flourish because it did not have a mass base. There is some justification to Sionil Jose's complain about nationalism then and now: that its leaders do not see beyond their petty, personal desires and fail to identify with the masses; "their nationalism is avarice" they want the whole cake for themselves " (Jose,1982:34).

Nationalism in the past was the people' s desire and determined effort to be independent and to have free control of their destiny as a people. Nationalism can be defined similarly today. The definition given in the report of the CCA-sponsored workshop on TNC's is appropriate:

Nationalism reflects the desire to regain control over our resources and our lives, and to achieve political sovereignty so that productive capacities are geared towards producing the essential needs of the people. Democracy signifies the people's desire to participate more in the

 

 

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making of decisions that would affect them, and to partake of a greater portion of socially produced wealth, (URM-CCA,1981:67).

The enemy is the same: imperialism. Only, it has put on new clothes.

Renato Constantino, the foremost nationalist in the Philippines today, makes it very plain that nationalism for our time must be "anti-imperialist" and mass-based.

Nationalism as an ideology of liberation must have two basic characteristics: it be mass nationalism and it must be anti-imperialistic. It is the masses who bear the brunt of neocolonial domination, who are condemned to poverty by an imperialist-imposed economic system; it is they who will be the biggest gainers in any struggle to liquidate the country's neocolonial status. Therefore, nationalism should be a mass weapon (Constantino, 1983:7)

Another thing must be mentioned. There seems to be a tendency to equate nationalism with anti-imperialism and imperialism with capitalism, particularly, American capitalism. It must be said that imperialism of whatever brand is imperialism. Claro Recto had something to say to us about this:

To my mind, the salvation of Asian nationalism can be found only in its reoonquest, its liberation, from both western colonialism and the new Soviet imperialism. Asian nationalism, and that includes Philippine nationalism, uill have no meaning if it continues to be a mere battlecry, a mere slogan, for either the East or the West. The only justification for Asian nationalism is the welfare of the Asians themselves, and that welfare should command undisputed primacy in our scale of values, above the interests of the western powers or the Soviet system.

Only when our nationalism is liberated from bondage to one or the other, only when vie have followed the ideals of racial emancipation and equality to their logical conclusion, can we in Asia, and the Philippines, direct our own destinies and maintain our common freedom and prosperity (op. cit, 111)

One last thing must be asked and answered. Is our Christian faith compatible with nationalism: It will take another paper to answer the question adequately. It is enough to say now that if nationalism ultimately means the liberation of the people from the unjust and dehumanizing structures of society and if the way to bring this about is to be in solidarity with the mass of suffering humanity, then the Christian faith is compatible with nationalism. Indeed, we must be nationalists, not first of all because we are Filipinos or we are Asians, but because we are Christians.

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biblical reflection

 

MEMORY AND TRADITION

 

Why should Koreans remember the shameful history and have sustain it as a tradition?

 

MIN YOUNG-JIN

It has been 37 years since the liberation of Korea from the Japanese colonialism. Last year Koreans have celebrated their 37th anniversary of liberation with deep self-reflection and warning. The 40 years of history, since the so-called treaty of protectorate in November 1905, has been the history of slavery under Japanese imperialism and the brutal acts committed by the neighbouring country. This historical facts were distorted recently in the text books of the Japanese schools that were taught to their second generation. Korean people strongly demanded the correction of the distorted facts. At the same time this kind of distortion is due to the fact that Japan regards Korea not as important, as other countries such as USA, and thus, Koreans were to believe that Korean national strength should be growing faster to overcome Japanese arrogance. At least this was the strong impression that Korean mass communication media gave to its people. However, it is too simple to think that when Korean national strength becomes stronger than the Japanese, and Japan weaker than Korea means their crooked pen will become straightened pen. What Korean should learn afresh from the incidence of distortion of the historical facts in the Japanese history text books is that perhaps al] written history has been distorted history If we speak a little bit dispairingly all historical writings are somehow always

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*      Dr. Min is Professor of Old Testament at Methodist Theological College in Seoul, Korea. This paper is the text of his Biblical Reflection delivered at the Asian University Christian Professors Fellowship Conference which met in Korea in January, 1982.

 

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distorted. Therefore, those who want to understand history correctly does not look at historical records as they are, but with critical and accurate analysis. Even in the Bible biblical historians distorted their own history in order to please their rulers. Thus, we as biblical scholars must study biblical history critically in order to differentiate distorted history (Geschichte) from the actual event (Historic).

The fact that Japan has distorted history is not a matter of today of yesterday. It has been a practice for a long time. Not to mention those who studied Korean history under Japanese colonial rule even those who have studied after the Liberation, that is those who are in forties, have learn our history that was distorted by the Japanese. Japanese colonial regime in Korea burnt Korean history books or confiscated them to prevent any one to read them since 1910 when Korea was annexed forcibly to Japan. This is the famous incident of burning of history books in 1910. Since 1922 Japanese colonial regime established the editorial committee of Korean history and manufactured a distorted history of Korea. They sought to prove inferiority and underdevelopment of Korean people through historical records. Perhaps this was done to find the reasons to rule Korean people and to justify their colonial regime. Distorted history in the Japanese text books also expresses the view that Korean people are inferior people, and the present development of Korea is due to the Japanese contribution under the Korean colonial regime. Now today several Korean historians are awakening their people to their own history. That is to say,

"Japanese scholars in their writing of our history asserted always that we were colony of China and we have never become independent state, our culture and thought never had uniqueness, all were the imitation of China. With this kind of assertion they sought to deny the unique and legitimate subjectivity and tried to build our history that was always controlled by others, specially China. They said also that the characteristic of Korean is easy to be provoked and always fighting each other without having any national unity. They have downgraded our national character and regarded that our people did not have patriotism and independent mind. Thus, they said Korean people were happy under the Japanese colonial rule." (Gun-Ho Song, The Present History of Korea, 1979, P.248).

The recent Japanese attitude seems to me is no difference from this. When Koreans look at their history before 1945 from their side, if Japanese people who has done the damage to the Korean people record Korean history so that their mistakes were correctly reflected in their text books, there is nothing Koreans can hope for any more. On the other hand, whether the distorted history is corrected by the Japanese themselves or not, it is most important for Koreans to recite and repeatedly remember the forty years history even if it is a shameful history.

The history of forced labour which was experienced by the people of Israel with shame persecution and slavery in Egypt has long been forgotten in the chronicles of Egyptian history. Perhaps from the beginning the Egyptian Pharaohs did not want to leave a record about forced labour of Hebrew slaves and their massacre of the Hebrew new-born babies in the river Nile. But people of Israel repeatedly remember the history of their slavery in Egypt.

The history of Israel begins from this memory. The first chapter of history of Israel begins with the story that they were the slaves of Pharaoh in Egypt. Furthermore, the ideal order, they are pursuing, is the socio-economic egalitarian society which is in contrast to Egyptian empire and Canaanite feudal system. Here Koreans find a model through which they can see their own problems.

What is more important for Koreans is not what Japan will do, that is, how they are going to write the history of the relations of the two countries, but it is what Koreans write about their own history to remember and repeatedly recite as their tradition and to reserve historical evidences and heritages so that they can always answer to the questions that comes from Japan and respond to any protest that comes from Japanese people.

In ancient times people of Israel took refuge in Egypt for 400 years. People of Israel were welcomed in Egypt when Joseph served as a prime minister. But when Joseph died and dynasty of Egypt changed the new Pharaoh did not know Joseph and the new dynasty enslaved the Hebrews as slaves. They lived there as slaves for 400 years doing forced labours. At last the God had seen how cruelly God's people were being treated in Egypt; God had heard them cry out to be rescued from their slave drivers. God knew all about their sufferings, and so God had come down to rescue them from the Egyptians and to bring them out of Egypt to the promised land. Before God led them into the promised land God provided them new law in Mt. Sinai so that they may preserve the order of new community.

 

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The Passover is the memorial day for the Exodus. Whenever the Passover comes each family celebrated the Exodus event. During this celebration there is recollection and remembrance of the history of Exodus and Sinai covenant and the laws that were given at Mt. Sinai.

In Deuteronomy 6:20-25 it is written, in later day, that is, after a long time has passed since the Exodus children will ask their parents, "Why did the Lord our God command us to obey all these laws?", then the parents are tell them as follows:

We were slaves of the king of Egypt, and the Lord rescued us by his great power. With our own eyes we saw him work miracles and do terrifying things to the Egyptians and to their king and to all his officials. He freed us from Egypt to bring us here and give us this land, as he had promised our ancestors he would. Then the Lord our God commanded us to obey ail these laws and to have reverence for him. If we do, he will always watch over our nation and keep it prosperous. If we faithfully obey everything that God has commanded us, he will be pleased with us.

The Israelite parents in he Old Testament period do not recall the stories of David and Solomonic period which is glorious but they always teach and repeatedly tell the story that they were living as slaves in Egypt.

What do Koreans say to their younger generation repeatedly about 40 years of Japanese colonial rule? The shameful history should be retold repeatedly and recollected as a tradition. Why their modern history is so shameful? It is shameful because the story tells how Korean people became colony of their neighbour country. It is shameful because Koreans became colony people and had to live as slaves in their own country where they were lords. It is shameful because the story tells their sovereignty was lost. Moreover, it is shameful because just as people of Israel under Egyptian Pharaoh devoted their loyalty to Pharaoh without wanting the liberation, so there were people among Korean people who betrayed their nation and devoted their loyalty to the colonial regime, and wanted to be under the control of colonialism. It is shameful because the same reality is still not far from them.

It seems to me that Koreans must also say to their children that they were the slaves of Japan in their own country. This is a painful recollection. The Hebrews were slaves in foreign land but Koreans were slaves in their own land. This story is more painful.

It has passed 38 years since the liberation. Today Korean children ask their parents what is the meaning of the report that the Japanese are distorting history. Then the parents to say and recite the shameful history of their past. That they had been ruled by the colonial regime for 36 years; that they had surrendered themselves to foreign rule; that some of then resisted against Japanese rule on the one hand, and some of them among their people had betrayed their country and paid their loyalty to the colonial regime; that still they have deep wounds among their midst even though 38 years has passed since the liberation.

Why should Koreans remember and recite that shameful history as a tradition? In Jerusalem there is a memorial museum which seeks to comfort six million souls of Jews who tragically massacred by Nazi in Europe. Those who visit this museum look at the pictures, the remains, the evidences of the past, the evidences of all kinds of persecution, curses. Visitors encounter here the souls of that six million who died under Nazi in brutality. Those Germans who visit this place purify their minds arid hearts because they feel shameful being reminded of their crime. At the exit of this museum there is an engraved sculpture of Job. On the support of the bust a watchword is written as follows: "The memory liberates us/but forgetfulness drags us into exile again".

Why should Koreans remember those shameful 40 years of colonial rule as a tradition? The memory liberates them but forgetfulness shall drags them into new colony.

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Special report

 

THE AINU PEOPLE'S SELF-AFFIRMATION AND CHRISTIAN RESPONSE

KUBATA MASAHIKO

 

1983 q1n211.jpg

 

I was engaged in the Race and Minority Issues programmes of the Christian Conference of Asia's Urban Rural Mission for the last several years. At the end of 1981, I returned to Japan to take up the responsibility of the newly established Center for Christian Response to Asian Issues of the NCCJ. Through this work I have come into contact with the Ainu people, the original inhabitants of Japan or more particularly those among the Ainus who have been struggling to assert their cultural identity and pride. As I myself belong to the Shamo community (non-Ainu Japanese), I do not intend to champion their cause on their behalf. But I simply want to convey their expressions of aspirations and frustrations and more over consider the ways in which we Christians can respond to their hopes and aspirations.

The Ainus ( which means human beings in the Ainu language ) used to live in the northern part of Japan from the ancient time. They were gradually pushed north and eventually assimilated into the Japanese way of life, particularly following and eventually assimilated into the Japanese way of life, particularly following the colonization policy of the Edo Shogunate and Meiji government. In other words they were victimized in the process of modernization in Japan.

Today most Ainu people live in Hokkaido but it is difficult to estimate the actual number of their population due to the fact that many people tend to hide their identity for fear of social discrimination. In fact hundreds of Ainus who have migrated from Hokkaido live in Tokyo. It is said most of them prefer to hove their identity unexposed.

____________

*      Mr. Kurata is Executive Sectary, Centre for Christian Response to Asian Issues of the National Christian

 

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However in recent years a group called Kanto Utari Association (Utari means brothers) was formed and among other things they are fighting to build an Ainu Culture Center in Tokyo.

Perhaps the most common attitude of Wajin (non-Ainu Japanese) may be reflected in the following passage of an article written by an anthropologist. This article is included in the book entitled "Discrimination and Prejudice in Contemporary Japan" which is supposed to be written in the spirit of sympathy to the discriminated minorities. "One nation will disappear from this earth forever. It is a serious problem, but it may bring happiness to both parties in the long run and contribute to the ideal way of life in which humankind is unified." Over a decade ago the Ainus were sensationally described as a disappearing nation in journalism. In fact it was the widely accepted idea in Japan at that time. Authoritative anthropologists such as the one who wrote the above article have helped to implant such myths among the Japanese people. This particular anthropologist was heavily criticized by a group of young radical Ainus who tried to challenge those academics at the Japan Anthropologists Academic Association. The Ainus since then have been struggling to assert their identity, to challenge this notion of a disappearing nation.

It was back in 1981 March when I personally met with an Ainu person for the first time. Mr.Narita Tokuhei is a well known figure among those struggling Ainu people as he is the first Ainu who stood for the national general election in 1977. Mr.Narita was recommended by the Hokkai Synod of the United Church of Christ as well as the National Christian Council of Japan to attend the People's Forum on Land, People and Justice organized by the Christian Conference of Asia-Urban Rural Mission at Berastagi in North Sumatra. It was a stimulating experience to spend a week together with Mr. Narita whose pride in the Ainu culture or "Ainuness" stood unshaken. The People's Forum as part of their immediate follow up recommended that Mr. Narita be sent to the World Council of Indigenous People's General Assembly which was held in April in the same year.

This experience led me to decide to visit Hokkaido for the first time in my life. I had long wanted to visit Hokkaido but hesitated to do so because there were so many Wajin - colonizers, farmers, merchants, anthropologists, and more recently extreme left groups - who went to Hokkaido to exploit the Ainu or to use them as objects of curiosity or for political, purposes. In the last decade or so conscientized Ainus began to raise questions about the ulterior motives of those who visit them. With this challenge in mind I made the first visit to Hokkaido in August, 1981.

One striking thing I encountered in Sapporo was the visit to Memorial Hall for Hokkaido Development. In the exhibit of the history of Hokkaido it appeared that the Ainu were only presented in the pre-modernization period. The English translation of the explanatory board used the term colonization to describe the process of modernization in Hokkaido. Hokkaido (Aniu Moshiri in Ainu language) was internally colonized in the process of Meiji modernization as during the same period Japanese imperialism externally colonized neighboring countries.

At different times of history many a minority community all over the world have been conquered or colonized by colonial nations headed by the Empire of Great Britain. Even today those surviving minorities are being chased away from their ancestral lands by neo-colonial interests of transnational corporations which are coming in search for minerals and other resources or by development thrust of development thrust of developing countries . What happened in Hokkaido was that the migration and settlement were encouraged by the government to secure resources for rapid industrialization and in this process the Ainus were deceived and alienated. The Ainus were traditionally fishing and hunting people but the Meiji government which internally colonized the whole of Hokkaido distributed land to the Ainu people and encouraged them to engage in farming. Due to the severe hardship and forcible assimilation the Ainus have largely been deprived of their cultural heritage. Today those who speak the Ainu language may be in the region of a few dozen who are mostly elderly. Cultural tradition has been forcibly thrown into museums. It is with such a historical background that Japan is widely believed to be a mono ethnic nation.

In 1971 Mr. Narita stood for the national general election of the upper house where he made a serious challenge to the Japanese society. The 'Asahi Shimbun' on July 16th, 1977 pointed out the significance of Mr. Narita's challenge and quoted him in its article 'Ainu Candidate and PluriEthnic Nation': "Japan is generally known as a mono-ethnic nation, but she is in fact a pluri-ethnic state where many minority groups such as Wiruta, Nikubun and Koreans live. Most Japanese are not aware of this fact as they simply encounter Ainu as tourists. I wanted to appeal the Ainus' position on the political platform and tried to break through the ready-made perception of the Japanese people about the Ainus."

Another thing which impressed me very much is the Ainus' view of nature or their value system which appears to be so critical of the process of modernization or so-called modern civilization. The founding statement of the Ainu Youth Council which

 

32

 

was set up to support Mr. Narita's election campaign had the following passage: "Ainu culture is the origin of Japanese culture in the sense that it has existed in the Japanese archipelago from the ancient them. The Ainus' spiritual culture which valued nature as God should be re-evaluated to revive the harmony between human beings (Ainu) and nature (God) . With this we appeal to the whole of Japan on social and political platforms in the hope that this outcry of the Ainu youths will light a fire of bright spirit for the future of humanity. We profess this to be the founding spirit of this Council. Fellow Ainus, be awakened to yourselves: Shisam, be awakened to yourselves!; Open your eyes to the ethnic minorities and oppressed people; Let us come together, fostering each others' excellent and indigenous culture and creating a spiritual culture on the motherland of the Japanese archipelago."

This reminded me of a passage in Revelations which gives the eschatological image of human society. The Ainus' philosophy seems to be very prophetic indeed.

Another issue at stake is the question of language. Several years ago one professor of economics at Hokkaido University made a derogatory remark about Ainu and denunciation took place at the university, organized by some radical Ainu youths. As a gesture of compromise the university proposed that the Ainu language be taught in a class. A well known literateur, Mr. KAYANO Shigeru taught Ainu language for a year. When I met Mr.Kayano, I asked him about its impact "Well, it was over in a year. They allowed me to teach Ainu only for one year" he said. By such taken gesture it is not possible to rehabilitate Ainu people's history in the history of Hokkaido or Japan. When I visited Mr. Kayano, he was enthusiastically talking about the need to conserve their language. Mr. Kayano is one of the very few full blooded Ainus who can speak the language fluently. He tried to set up a kindergarten in Nibutani where a great majority of the residents are Ainus. In this kindergarten he was hoping to teach Ainu language to the children. Nation wide contributions were sent to Mr. Kayano to support his idea, but the government stopped the project at the last minute claiming that such a kindergarten would not be recognized if Ainu language were to be taught. Having failed in this, Mr. Kayano now decided to establish a private study center where he hopes to teach Ainu to the younger generations. Stimulated by Mr. Kayano, many Ainu youths are now learning the Ainu language and making efforts a rehabilitate their cultural traditions and rituals as part of their self-affirmation. They have been practicing bear sending ceremonies, Ainu marriage ceremonies, riding canoes in the river, thanksgiving ceremony, etc. These efforts are to regain pride in their own culture which has degenerated into a tourist curiosity.

Another significant discovery with regard to the Ainu language is the claim made by Prof Umehara and others that ancient Japanese is the Ainu language. According to them, religion is a very important part of life for the Ainu people. A relationship exists between key Japanese words and key Ainu words related to religion as shown at least by a few words: " Kami " is God-and "Kami" in Japanese language; "Pito" is human being and "Hito" in Japanese; "Tama" is spirit and it is the same in Japanese. Two other words "Lama" and "Kulu" are also similar to the Japanese expressions found in the ancient writings in the 7th or 8th centuries. This is really a revolutionary theory. Well known linguist and Ainu study expert, Mr. KINDAICHI Kyosuki had long maintained the theory that the Ainu language was influenced by the Japanese language and not vice versa. Such theory helped foster the Wajin's superior attitude towards the Ainus.

Lastly, I would like to refer to the Christian contact with the Ainus and explore a Christian response to the contempoary Ainu problems. When you look back over the history, Christian mission was actively involved in the conversion of Ainus into the Christian fold. Most noteworthy is the work of John Batchelor who stayed in Hokkaido from 1877 to 1905. Batchelor learned Ainu language, translated the Bible into the Ainu language and preached in the Ainu language. According to one researcher during the Meiji period about 1200 Ainus were converted to Christianity, out of whom 800 were baptized by Batchelor. The 'fact that Bachelor spoke in the Ainu language must have been a major factor in this phenomenal number of conversions. In fact, after Batchelor left, Japanese ministers were sent there but the number of church numbers radically decreased.

In recent years a number of pastors in Hokkaido began to see the ministry to Ainu people in a different form. What is needed seems to have been an understanding of the problem Ainu people are facing today. This also requires Christians to have a respect to the religious faiths and culture of the Ainu people. In 1980 the Hokkaido Synod of the United Church of Christ invited an Ainu person to address their synod meeting. They have been instrumental in sending Mr. Narita to the CCA-URM peoples' Forum as well as WCIP Assembly. Following these two international meetings. National Christian Council of Japan in cooperation with Kanto Utari Association sponsored a public meeting in July 1981 where Mr. Narita and members of the Kanto Utari Association have shared with the participants their activities on local, national and international levels. Rev. Shoji, General Secretary of NCCJ, in response to the Ainus' presentations summarized the nature of Christian response: "At the meeting Ainus' self-reliance was emphasized in consonance with the outcry for freedom by indigenous peoples all over the world. The time has gone when the Ainus faced with discrimination and a lack of concern by the majority Japanese community or when the Ainus were looked as an object of curiosity arid sympathy. Now the Ainus are standing in front of us as an existence which can no longer be treated as objects. Christians must become aware of this and search for a way in which to love together with them." It is now important to us to be in close touch with Ainu peoples' organizations such as Utari Association and Yai Yukala Ethnologists Association. We must have a deep and sustaining concern for the-life problems and cultural aspirations of the Ainu people.

National Christian Council had its triannual Assembly in March 1982 with the theme of "Jesus Christ with the Least of These." If the NCC sees the 'meaning of Christian ministry in this way, then the concern for and commitment of the Ainus' aspirations for freedom and cultural identity must be a central concern in their ministry. The NCC at the same Assembly decided to set up a Center for Christian Response to Asian Issues to which I was appointed as executive secretary. For CCRAI the concern for oppressed and discriminated in Japan holds a central focus as it builds a perspective towards Asian Issues precisely at a time when indigenous peoples' aspirations for their freedom and transformation in society are being linked worldwide, The suffering and problems faced by minorities are nothing but a reflection of problems caused by the majority or ruling class in society. Therefore our involvement in the issues of minorities or other oppressed people must have a perspective for social transformation and political change. We are now called to express our concern and commitment to the Ainu people and sustain this concern not only as part of our response to Gospel but also as part of the life commitment as God's servants,

 

33

 

THE BURNING OF THE SEAWEEDS BARN

ELIZABETH S. PADILLO

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

NARRATOR:    Hear, O Asians, from the Southeast, Northeast, Middle East and the Pacific Islands  Our Lord, the Christ is one Lord and you shall love the Christ your God, with all your heart, and with all your mind and with all your strength.

And you shall teach this to your children: the Christ's story of peace and salvation in the struggles of the peasants, the fishermen, the industrial workers, the outcastes and the cultural minorities. Then let us together keep our brotherhood in support and common witness.

O Hear, Asians, the struggles of the fishermen, the fishermen in the. island of Hingotanan side by side with the Christ event in Easter!

 

ACT I

 

      SCENE I    

(Night. The setting is a barrio, the fishing village of Hingotanan. No running vehicles No machineries. All is asleep except the vigil group that play mah-jonq in the nipa hut. Light comes from a petromax. On the wall of the nipa hut, painted is a black cross and posted at the door is a piece of black cloth to signify death and mourning.)

 

LUNENG:    (The door hangs. Runs clearing her eyes.) PEDRING!!! PEDRING!!! (Goes out to the road running)

DANIEL:     (Among the vigil group alarmed.) Ma, what happen? You're dreaming? Now you sleep-walk again? Come.....

 

____________

Rev .Ms .Padillo is pastor of local church in the Philippines. The play she wrote for PRAXIS is the Social biography of her own Filipino peoples' experiences.

 

34

 

LUNENG :                  (Hesitates. Points to the dark road.)

DANIEL :                   Where are you going?

LUNENG :                  I saw him. I saw him.

DANIEL :                   Who?

LUNENG :                  My son, your brother, I saw him. I saw him.

DANIEL :                   Manoy Pedring? You're kidding, Ma. Come, you are only tired.

LUNENG :                  No. No. No!!! I saw him... I was about to open the door and there I saw him standing -- bloody from his face down to his chest and feet. When I would have wanted to approach him, he turned back and left. My son! my son! huh, huh, huh....

DANIEL :                   Ma, he's already dead. The dead won't come back. We just buried him yesterday.

LUNENG :                  But I saw him, believe me. (The noise easily makes a crowd: the vigilants and the neighbors.)

NEIGHBOR I :            How did he look like, Luneng?

LUNENG :                  He was still all in blood like yesterday. So sad. There must be something that he'd like to tell me but he left.

NEIGHBOR II :            (Tikoy): He did not speak at all? LUNENG : No, he didn't say anything. My son! my son! (sobs)

NEIGHBOR III:            Where did you see him?

LUNENG :                  There. [Runs to the door and demonstrates.) Here. I saw him here. Still bleeding. (Neighbors move to the door).

NEIGHBOR I :            Like when he died of dynamite explosion?

LUNENG :                  Yes, like two days ago.

NEIGHBOR I :            (Tikoy): (Picks up something from the floor). Here, fresh blood! My poor friend was here.

NEIGHBOR III:            (Examines the blood spot on the floor and spanks the head of Tikoy.) What fresh blood? Fool!

TIKOY :                      Ahh, you will be brought to the court of Sanhedrin if you call me fool. Look! this is fresh blood! (Holds a red paper, a candy wrapper.)

                                 (Tikoy and wife of Loreto chase each other.)

LUNENG :                  I saw him here, still bleeding.

DANIEL :                   (Gives a glass of water to her mother) Please stop that. The dead won't come back. You're only dreaming, Ma.

JONATHAN :              You must be dreaming only, Manang.

TIKOY :                      A dream? But Jesus in the Bible came back and the people present there were not dreaming.

WIFE OF LORETO:     But did .they see fresh blood on his chest and hands?

TIKOY :                      I don't know. But Jesus spoke and Pedring did not. Jesus died on the cross and Pedring, on the sea by dynamite explosion. Jesus died whole and Pedring died with some scattered parts of his body on the sea. O I won't go into dynamite fishing anymore.

JONATHAN :              It's sad to be a fisherman and die like a dynamited fish.

DANIEL :                   It was Manoy Pediring's fate to die of dynamite which could have been given for the fish.

LUNENG :                  And should a person dead of dynamite come back? I saw him!

 

35

 

TIKOY:              Of course, he comes back because of the things he has missed telling you.

DANIEL :          Please stop that. I don't believe that the dead comes back.

TIKOY:              Even Jesus! Coming back to life?

DANIEL :          Yes, even Jesus' coming back to life it only meant to be seen by a crown. An empty miracle! (Holds the mother) Come, Ma, there is still time for you to sleep.

TIKOY:              Of course the dead comes back. Hmm. do you smell? The smell of candles? (Tries to frighten the rest.)

DANIEL AND LUNENG: (Exit)

TIKOY :             Now, do you smell: O, do you hear? O there! The dog barks again.

NEIGHBOR II :   Tikoy! Pedring at your back!

TIKOY :             (Shrinks in fear. Everybody laughs.)

 

SCENE II

NARRATOR:    Hear, 0 Asians, the fishermen of Hingotanan! From the traditional hook and line, they moved into a little sophistication of using dynamite for fishing like the super-powers that invent the nuclear weapons.

The use of dynamite was a matter of survival amidst the modem trawlers that round up the seas night and day, eating up the resources in the deep and shallow seas even including their fishing nets.

O the story of the fishermen's dynamite: with dynamite powders pulverised, mixed with the finest remains of sawed wood, moistened it with alcohol, dried and placed in the empty bottles of Anejo or Tanduay Rhum or Vino Kulafu or them empty little can of the Caltex oil, planted with fuse or call it "tiklong" as the local term and tied into it are three or five sticks of Rizal match.

Hear of the fishermen engaged in dynamite fishing in an attempt to cope with the giants and the wanting to live now because tomorrow will take care of itself.

 

DANIEL:        (Seen -processing dynamite for fishing on a plywood board).

LUNENG:       (Enters.) Son, I don't want you to go into dynamite fishing anymore.

DANIEL:        No, Ma, this is much much better than the hook and line.

LUNENG:       But we've already got a painful lesson. It's enough dear son, to be able to eat.

DANIEL:        And how can we eat by hook and line or even by a fishing net when what we used to get a catch of two or more baskets of fish is no longer possible because of those fishing boats.

LUNENG:       They won't stay with us very long. Please learn to suffer.

DANIEL:        That I cannot wait anymore, Ma. When will they leave us? God knows. For the meantime, I must live. We must live.

LUNENG:       It is enough that we can eat. And that can be done by hook and line or fishing net.  

DANIEL:        (Continues to process the dynamite on bottles)

LUNENG:       Look son, what good can dynamite fishing offer us except the deaths of your brother and father?

DANIEL:        No, Ma, father's case was different.

LUNENG:       What difference? It was dynamite, the killer! Of course, he was not like you or your brother Pedring. Never did he use dynamite for fishing. He was great, I think so, a man of integrity who felt it was alright to be poor as long as things could be done in the legal way. But why not dynamite that killed him?

 

36

 

DANIEL :          What I mean, Ma....

LUNENG :         Why not dynamite that killed him? Like ants feasting over a crumb of bread, fishermen gathered in an exploded area to collect the dead fish. And your father came after the enthusiastic feasting as a latecomer, alone, wanting to save other dead fish. And at a distance, there! Another dynamite explosion happened and he was there below feeling the shock of the explosion. And why not dynamite that killed him?

DANIEL :          Please, Ma, don't speak to me about that anymore.

LUNENG :         Son, I can't afford another loss.

DANIEL :          (Holds a bottle of dynamite) Ma, this way of catching fish only needs extra care and a prayer for God to protect.

LUNENG :         How can God protect in a thing which the government prohibits? This way of catching fish is illegal.

DANIEL :          I know. But we are a forgotten island. And who knows (smiles) by doing so we can be remembered.

LUNENG :         What nonsense are you talking about?

DANIEL :          Anyway, Ma, our place is very remote. And when the PC men come, we can be alerted and so we can hide. (Places the dynamite bottles in a basket.)

LUNENG :         Son, I am always afraid. I am afraid that what happened to your brother might happen to you.

DANIEL :          No, Ma, seldom that two people can have the same fate.

LUNENG :         (Leans near the window and focuses her attention to the scene on the road) SSh, Son the PC men!

DANIEL :          (Looks out the window). Picks up the basket and hides it on an empty kerosene can; places it under the bamboo bed and covers it with sacks) They come in time just when we have talked about them.

LUNENG :         They must have come to spot the dynamiters in the island. Son, I've got fast heartbeats. I am afraid.

DANIEL :          No, Ma. (Points to the hidden basket under the bed.) Look, it's well-hidden.

LUNENG :         No, no, I've heard there's an instrument that can detect...

JONATHAN :     (Enters, gasping for breadth.) Bay, Daniel. Watch!

DANIEL :          The PC?

JONATHAN :     (In whispers) You see the PC men? They are making raids of all the houses in the island to find out the dynamiters, we already have three neighbors found out because of the evidences gotten from their homes. They will be taken to town, and for sure, will be imprisoned. Your dynamite bottles? Hurry, get rid of them!

DANIEL:           Look! I've hidden mine under that bed.

JONATHAN:      For heaven's sake, let's not delay, that will be found out.

DANIEL:           But how? There is no secret place in this hut.

JONATHAN:      (Motions) The roof! On top of the roof!

DANIEL:           Ours is nipa and that basket is heavy.

JONATHAN:      Now listen, just don't mind how much you will waste. What is important is that you will be saved. We'll drop that to the sea like what I have done to some of my dynamite bottles. A little stone can help us identify that place and when the PC men will be gone, it will be easy to recover the thing back although it's going to be a long job of drying if not a complete waste.

 

37

 

DANIEL AND JONATHAN:   (Remove the kerosene can containing the dynamite bottles from under the bamboo bed. ) (At a distance can be heard loud blasts of bullets on the air as if a wasted rehearsal.)

LUNENG:                            My God, o my God, help! (Makes an automatic sign of the arose: forehead, chest and the two shoulders.)

DANIEL AND JONATHAN:   (Carry the can as if throwing a dirty garbage to the sea.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SCENE III

 

LUNENG:          Sits. Intently waiting. Frightened to hear knockings)

ABEL:               (Enters from school. Kisses the hand of the mother) ma, the PC!

LUNENG:          Where?

ABEL:               There.

LUNENG:          Where?

ABEL:               At Nong Loreto's house.

LUNENG:          O thank God, they bypass us.

ABEL:               Because our house is very small, Ma. That's why.

LUNENG:          (Nods and smiles)

DANIEL AND JONATHAN:   (Back with the empty herosene can).

ABEL:               (Kisses the hand of the two).

LUNENG:          You've been a good friend to us, Jonathan. Thank you.

JONATHAN:      That's all right, Manang. They did not drop by here. .You could have saved those dynamites from getting wet or from being wasted.

LUNENG:          O, that's all right. At least, that has saved us from fear.

JONATHAN:      It's a waste indeed.

LUNENG:          What is important is that Daniel is saved.

JONATHAN:      Manang, you know what happen? Loreto, Rudy and Lito are now in the custody of the PC men. Their wives have been trying to please the PC by giving an amount. Poor wives but I think the PC men won't be carried by their pleadings.

 

38

 

DANIEL :          Of course, not with their pleas, John. The amount to please will have only to be increased three times or more, then I am sure their husbands will be released.

LUNENG :         But where shall they get the money? We've just been from a two-week bad weather.

DANIEL :          O, the money? The money can be produced in any painful way if only for the exchange of freedom from jail.

JONATHAN :     I don't think, Dan, that their release can be as easy as that. I have heard that with the present state of Martial Law the President is passing a decree against dynamite fishing, say twenty years imprisonment for the offenders, or is it life-imprisonment?

LUNENG :         O, my God, life-imprisonment?

DANIEL :          I can't believe in that.

JONATHAN :     Or say, twenty years imprisonment. But it's a decree.

DANIEL :          Well, I believe that there's a decree like that but I just don't believe that it should be for the dynamiters, for the fishermen like us.

JONATHAN :     You're funny, my friend. But for whom should it be?

DANIEL :          For the operators of the fishing boats and for the rich buyers of our fish!

JONATHAN :     That is being practical, my friend. I am with you. But our world is different.

LUNENG :         My dear son, that of the fishing boats is legal. The government can earn from them because of their big taxes, or license? (frowns, not sure). And ours like dynamite fishing is illegal.

JONATHAN :     And besides. Dad, they are afraid that soon with dynamite fishing, there won't be fish anymore in our island.

DANIEL :          The fish will always be there even when we use dynamites. The fish will be lost only if the travelers will go on because fishermen tike us will die. And whose is legal or illegal?

LUNENG :         What do you mean? DANIEL : That which kills many people is illegal.

LUNENG :         Of course, dynamite fishing kills people like what happened to your father and your brother and many others.

DANIEL :          No, you cannot understand me, Ma. Their deaths are sudden. And our own deaths can be more prolonged.

LUNENG:          I cannot understand you, son.

DANIEL:           (Shakes his head. Looks at Jonathan.)

JONATHAN:      Let's go and hear the investigation. LUNENG Investigation? JONATHAN For Rudy and others.

ABEL:               I'll go with you, Ma. (Holds the mother's skirt.)

DANIEL, JONATHAN, LUNENG, ABEL:  (Exit).

 

SCENE IV

(A month after the raid. Evening. After supper. Light comes from the gas lamp.)

 

LUNENG :      (Washes the dishes. Sings lullaby.)

ABEL :           Ma, let me have that basin, please.

 

39

 

LUNENG :      What are you going to do with it?

ABEL :           I'd like to ask fish from Manoy Rudy.

LUNENG :      And what a big container, a basin! You should be ashamed!

ABEL :           He's got a big catch today, Ma. Two pumpboats. Plenty! Plenty! (Swears his hand).

LUNENG :      Is that so? Here. (Gives the basin).

ABEL :           (Exits running).

DANIEL :       (Seen preparing the basket to contain the equipments for fishing.).

LUNENG :      Why do you have bottles of dynamite, Daniel?

DANIEL :       I borrowed these from Jonathan.

LUNENG :      You'll go fishing with dynamite?

DANIEL :       Yes, Ma, tomorrow at ebbing tide.

LUNENG :      Son, I hope you will go fishing without dynamite.

DANIEL :       Rudy got a big catch of two pumpboats and more. And how much will that be if say, 60 cans of salted fish at P50 a can? Today is the best season for the schools of fishes.

LUNENG :      Son, I am afraid.

DANIEL :       You can pray to God, Ma. And I can pray also.

ABEL :           (Carries the basin, half-filled with small fish) Manoy, Look! (Swears his hands) Mortal sin! Plenty! plenty of fish in the boats of Manoy Rudy! Let's go fishing tomorrow. I'll go with you.

LUNENG:       Huh, stay. You have your class.

ABEL:            We won't have class tomorrow, Ma.

LUNENG:       Why?

ABEL:            My teacher will be absent.

LUNENG:       Again?

ABEL:            She has not arrived yet. And she will not arrive tomorrow because tomorrow is not market day and there won't be pumpboat from town to our island.

LUNENG :      O, she will be present tomorrow.

ABEL :           I will just go with Manoy, Ma, If my teacher comes, she will have also headache because she vomits while riding on a pumpboat.

LUNENG :      It's always like that, ha? (Salts the small fish.)

ABEL :           Because our island is very far from town, she said. I'll just go with Manoy, Ma.

LUNENG :      Talk to your brother.

ABEL :           Manoy, I'll go.

DANIEL :       Okey, you can go but promise that you will be an honor pupil on graduation.

ABEL :           I am dull, Manoy. I'd like only to be a fisherman.

DANIEL :       No! You will remain poor like us. You should be a professional then you will not be smal1.

ABEL :           But I'll grow big.

 

40

 

DANIEL:        Yes, you may grow very big. You may grow to be a fat and tall man I1,ke your brother, Pedring, but if without a course, you will still be small.

ABEL:            Because they won't call me. Sir?

DANIEL:        Yes.

ABEL:            But we don't have money, Manoy, like Manang Petra.

DANIEL:        O we shall have plenty of catch by dynamite fishing. And that will be much money.

ABEL:            Like manong Rudy's?

DANIEL:        Yes.

ABEL:            But what if you will get married? The little brothers of Manoy Rudy are not with him because he has his own children.

DANIEL:        It's just unfortunate that we don't have money to make him a lawyer.

ABEL:            {giggles). Manoy, when will you marry?

DANIEL:        I won't. I'll have to see you get a degree, a diploma.

ABEL:            What is that?

DANIEL:        O stop now. If you want to go with me, then prepare. We will leave at the first crowing of the cock.

ABEL:            (Approaches the mother who is salting fish) Ye pe!!! I will go fishing!!

 

SCENE IV

(The two, Daniel and Abel, riding on a pumpboat reach a shallow sea. Abel paddles, Daniel stands at the front end of the pumpboat with the dynamite bottle on his right hand. )

 

DANIEL:        Paddle fast. Some more... some more...

ABEL:            There! There! Beautiful! the fish! so plenty! So thick! So dark below.

DANIEL:        If you will do good today, we shall have bigger catch than Rudy's.

ABEL:            Two pumpboats? Can they be two pumpboats if we get them?

DANIEL:        O more than two pumpboats. Other schools of fishes will join. Watch. Me follow.

ABEL:            Why are the fish together, Manoy? Look! Like in the PC Parade.

DANIEL:        Don't talk too much, the fish may run away.

ABEL:            Will they hear me? No. They run only because of the noise of my paddle. I must paddle slow.

DANIEL:        Now, Abel, do good. Faster. Don't joke ha? I'll be angry now. Paddle, paddle. To the right... there..............to the left. .some more. some more Faster!

ABEL:            (Silent, amused at the large formation of the fish) Now they look very dark below, Plenty! Plenty! —

DANIEL:        Paddle, a little, a little. There.... There.... (Motions his hand to Abel mho is behind him at the other end of the pumpboat.)

                     (Continues to survey the place and begins to calculate where to land the dynamite bottle. He should make the right hit and the right kill. Now he lights the stick. Now, slowly, slowly it burns near to the mouth of the bottle.)

DANIEL:        See, Abel, when I win throw this, cover your ears.

                     O paddle, paddle. Just a little... A little... Some more...... To the right.... a little .....a little...... to the left.....

                     (Calculates. Forgets that the end of the stick is already reached.)

 

41

 

SOUND OF THE DYNAMITE EXPLOSION:   BONG! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

DANIEL :       (Shudders in pain; half of the awn drops and floats on the sea. )

ABEL :           (The blast seems to have shattered his eardrums) Manoy, manoy, huh, huh, huh.

DANIEL :       (Groans... unconscious)

SOUND OF ANOTHER PUMPBOAT VEHICLE

ABEL :           (Sees another pumpboat. Waves his paddles a signal for asking help.)

NARRATOR :    Hear, O Asians, who celebrated the International Year for the Disabled in 1981! There are lot more in Hingotanan who are disabled in the struggle to live a descent life.

O the disabled fishermen, the disabled fishermen who can still maintain their dignity by working some more in order to survive. We have here like Daniel.

 

ACT II

 

SCENE I

(Daniel is seen mending an old fishing net with his left arm uith the half of his half right arm and his mouth. Beside him is a radio that sings the song of the fishermen. While the music is played, a group may do an interpretative dancing uhile Daniel is seen in his mending act. )

RADIO: (The song)

Krootsay, and sakayanon nagtawag sa hangin Krootsay, daw ang kalantap sa dagat malaay gayod Kabug-at sa gaod, ug and kainit nga nagapamahit. Krootsay.................. Mindag-um, mingdag-um na Dapit sa atong habagatan Pagbantay, bantay mga kauban A ng timbangan, dili pagbiyaan A yaw baya'g kalimot nga Gikalisangan kining hangina Mogisi sa layag, moguba sa atong sakayan.

Bantay kamo, Hinubig kamo Dangan ngadto, dagan ngari.

Maoy labing pait ang kinabuni

n among sakayanon

Init ug ulan wala intawon

kami'y pulupasilong.

Nia pay kagutom ug

Katugnaw pa goyod intawon

Gi-antus ang tanan

Kay gimbut-an sa kapalaran.

Krootsay.... Krootsay......

 

(The rough translation in English)

Oh, oh, oh (sounds of the wind) The fisherman is now calling for the wind.

Krootsay, (another call)

The calmness of the sea

is not inspiring.

The triggers for sails are heavy and the heat of the sun is searing.

Krootsay, (another call for the wind).

Now, the South shows dark clouds. Be watchful, the whole company. Do not leave the outriggers Do not forget that this wind is frightening It will shatter our sails And will destroy our boat.

Keep a balance. Help remove the waters from our vessel.

From heat and rain

Run here. Run there!

What is most painful is the life of the fisherman

From heat and rain he has no shelter; from hunger and cold he also has no suffer

Here we do suffer because this is the will of our fate.

Krootsay....(Another call for the wind)

 

42

 

DANIEL :          (Stands up and stretches the body. Turns the radio into another station.)

RADIO :            This is a seven o'clock news brought to you by the COCOFED or Coconut Producers Federation in the country. Here are the headlines: KBL Caucus Set on Copra Controversy; Supreme Court Fires Samar Judge; Policy on Hiring More Cops Clarified; Inagurate City Hospital Tomorrow; Alleged Illegal Fishermen Demonstration Against Trawlers Staged.....

DANIEL :          (Turns the radio into the right volume)

RADIO :            These are the headlines. We shall be back to you in few minutes.

DANIEL :          (Lowers the volume a» he sees his friend approaching).

JONATHAN :     So back to work again? Let me see (gets the right arm of Daniel.) It's not completely healed yet. Be sure you won't overwork this.

DANIEL :          I feel sick without doing anything. Now, I think this old net will serve its purpose.

JONATHAN :     So you won't go into dynamite fishing anymore?

DANIEL :          I will see. I will first make use of this net.

JONATHAN :     Have you heard of the demonstration in Gaus?

DANIEL :          What demonstration? Ahh, I heard something about that in the radio. (Turns on the volume)

JONATHAN :     (Snaps the hand of Daniel from the radio) No, it's high English.

DANIEL :          Tell me, what demonstration?

JONATHAN :     Our brothers in the island of Gaus staged a dynamite demonstration against the big fishing boat yesterday.

DANIEL :          What dynamite demonstration?

JONATHAN :     It's so funny and yet it's true, the first kind I ever saw. Riding on an individual pumpboats they made along procession on the sea and encircled a fishing boat while on their hand, each one held a dynamite bottle standing on each pumpboat while facing the fishing the fishing boat.

DANIEL :          O sounds like a violent demonstration that our people are not capable of.

JONATHAN :     No, I don't think that they will ever do the violent thing of dynamiting the fishing boat. It must be a threat only to drive away the giants. But if given the chance, well, I really don't know.

DANIEL :          It's Martial Law and they will surely be endangered for doing such a thing. Didn't they ask help from us?

JONATHAN :     They tried but they know that our people are no longer interested in the trawlers because we are moving away from the life of the fishermen to that of the seaweeds farmers. So they recruited only the true fishermen.

DANIEL :          I am a true fisherman. Don't call me a seaweed-farmer. I would like to help the cause but not in that kind of demonstration. Tell me more. What happen? How about the PC?

JONATHAN :     I am not sure. It was just a very good scene. There was no fear of the PC. My speculation is that those fishermen dropped their dynamite bottles on the sea to get rid of evidence.

DANIEL :          So funny, our people can be so funny in wanting to live.

 

43

 

JONATHAN :  I can only imagine one thing, if those fishermen will be imprisoned, there won't be enough space for them a11 in jail. They said that they will all go to jail. And if the' evidence is not very strong, there is reason for the fishing boats to be afraid, and leave our place to do fishing somewhere else. I don't want to be a fisherman, anymore, Daniel.

DANIEL :       You're funny. So what are you going to do? Leave our place and go to the city? Abroad? Or to Saudi Arabia which is the present fever now of our people?

JONATHAN :  Of course, not, I don't have VIP's to back me up. We have so much wealth in our island. my friend. And I will not leave this place.

DANIEL :       Come, tell me your hidden treasure. (Stands) we"11 go back to my hut first. There's medicine which I'd like to take in now. (Leaves the net on the seashore. Takes with him the radio)

 

ACT II

 

SCENE II

NARRATOR :    Hear, 0 Asians, fishing carries an old stigma of being poor, of endless uant, and bad physical look like black shin and blisters and brow, hair.

O the standard of beauty: the Hell-fed whites: the standard of success: the world's money and materialism!

Where should fishing lie? An occupation of the undignified! Leave, leave the old old occupation that has not changed the physical and. social status of their lives!! The fishermen leave their life, fishing, and turned to one demi-god-- the seaweeds farming!

(People from the seashore are seen carrying big basket, and sacks and sacks of seaweeds, fresh seaweeds to be dried on bermuda grasses, along the road, and all the good places for drying. )

 

LUNENG:       (Seen with other women and men drying seaweeds. A. cloth covers the head from the heat of the sun. ) Here, Abel, quick take this basket back to your brother. We should be through spreading these fresh seaweeds soon.

ABEL:            Ma, I am already late for school.

LUNENG:       And who will help us? Just be absent today, please. Your breakfast?

ABEL:            I will just come back during recess to eat, Ma.

LUNENG:       No, I will still ask you to buy canned sardines for our viand. My stomach is now complaining.

ABEL:            But Ma, we shall have a regional test. My teacher said that we should not be absent.

LUNENG:       Don't go to school if you don't have breakfast especially if you have your test.

ABEL:            I won't be hungry, Ma. I will just come back at recess time.

TIKOY:           (Seen also drying seaweeds) Ahh, dear test, school, you'd like to be a teacher? An engineer? That's nothing in comparison with the seaweeds. Look! some of the teachers have resigned from teaching and are involved in seaweeds-farming. What is the salary of the teacher to that if P6.00 or P6.00 per kilo of our product? Last week. I earned three thousand pesos. How many months will that be for a teacher?

LUNENG:       Tikoy, even if we shall have money, we still need education.

TIKOY:           O, no, Manang. The reason why people go to school is to have much money. And now that we have a new promise to assure us of good money, where is the place of the school then?

LUNENG:       We can never be sure of things, Tikoy. Abel, okey just give back this basket to your brother, and if you'd like to go back to school, then go. Here. (Throws fifty centavos coin to Abel) For your snacks.

 

44

 

TIKOY :          (In joking manner, holds Abel, as if refraining him from leaving.) No, you cannot pass. You don't have to go to school. It's no longer necessary.

ABEL :           I will be a great fisherman!

TIKOY :          No, not a fisherman but a seaweeds-farmer. Look what happen to your brother Pedring and Daniel: It's no good to be a fisherman.

ABEL :           (Shouts) I will be a great fisherman! (Runs).

TIKOY :          Fisherman? (to Luneng) I don't want to be a fisherman anymore. I've been a fisherman for thirty years. My parents were fishermen and should my children be fishermen also? And so I don't want my children to be fishermen also.

                     Manang, this seaweeds-farming is a manna from heaven. I am so thankful for the Genu Corporation that introduced us to this new industry.

LUNENG :      Yes, such a marine corporation is a savior. They have been operating since 1971 and it took us seven years to believe that indeed there's so much wealth in our island.

TIKOY :          We have been seeing the wild seaweeds in our shallow seas and it's only now that there's a new way of culturing seaweeds and getting a big produce. And imagine at -P5.00 per dried kilo at every 45-day harvest? We are much more advantageous than the coconut producers. Soon this island will be an island of the rich people.

LUNENG :      I don't dream to get rich, Tikoy. To have enough is just enough.

TIKOY :          hat is enough, Manang? There is no such thing as enough. At the next harvest, I will buy refrigerator, at another harvest, another.

DANIEL :       (Arrives. Dressed like a fisherman, met all over and carried a big basket of fresh seaweeds on his head).

LUNENG :      Here, Tikoy, help us. (As they receive the basket down). Are there more in the pumpboat?

DANIEL :       I have dried the rest in the seashore.

LUNENG :      But how about the sands? (that uill stick to the seaweeds) ?

DANIEL :       Anyway, we shall wash the seaweeds again the next day to assure us of good weight.

LUNENG :      Is that so?

DANIEL :       That's the experience of Jonathan and other seaweeds-farmers.

TIKOY :          Excuse me. I will leave now. (Exits).

DANIEL :       Ma, it's already noon and we don't have breakfast yet.

LUNENG :      We can always forget if we have much work. I just feel empty pangs in my stomach.

DANIEL :       I am so hungry and my head starts to ache now.

LUNENG :      We don't have viand. There's no fish sold out today. It seems everybody is a seaweeds farmer. None is a fisherman.

DANIEL :       What shall we have for today's meal?

LUNENG :      (Still spreading the seaweeds) Okey, go ahead. Heat the rice which I cooked very early this morning. Then I shall drop by Petra's house to buy canned sardines.

NARRATOR : O hear, Asains, the ballad of the fate of the fishermen in Hingotanan. From the hook and line and the claws of the middlemen, the local capitalists, to the dynamite and the trawlers, they become the seaweeds-farmers hooked by the marine corporations and more neglecting their food as the source of energy for their work.

O the new power of control but the old fishermen look at it as the demi-god sent in by Christ to offer them the new salvation from hunger and want and to equip them of the things that the man of the twentieth century can dream of.

 

45

 

SCENE III

(A meeting of the seaweeds farmer with the manager and representatives of Genu and Simberg Corporations. The barrio captain is the Master of Ceremony.)

 

MC (Barrio Captain) :   Before we let our visitors speak, let us first entertain them by our local talents, the first number is dance. Timkling!

PEOPLE :                  Fishermen (Clap their hands... others whistle.)

DANCERS :               (Bamboo sticks and tinikling costumes) PEOPLE : (Claps)

MC :                          Now let's hear a solo from one of our youths. Eva Meka?

EVA MEKA :              (approaches)

MC :                          What would you like to sing. Day?

EVA MEKA :              "Dahil sa lyo."

MC :                          Everybody, clap! Dahil sa lyo, because of You..huh, huh...

EVA MEKA :              "Dahil sa lyo"

Dahil sa iyo nais kong mabuhay

Dahil sa iyo hanggang mamatay

Nais kong tanduin, wala nang ibang filiw

Puso koy tanungin, ikaw at ikaw rin

Dahil sa lyo, ako'y lumigaya.

Pagmamahal ay alayan ka

Kung tunay man ako ay alipinin mo

Ang lahat ng ito'y danil sa iyo.**

DANIEL :                   (Approaches the barrio captain.) Cap, it's getting late in the afternoon. If this is a meeting, let's have this a meeting. No more of this entertainment.

MC :                          But they are our visitors. Okey, okey, just one more. (Runs to the microphone after the singing). Let's have the last number. Who of you can recite a batak, a poem.

PEOPLE :                  We want Tikoy! We want Tikoy!

MC :                          Okey, Tikoy Cainglet, you are wanted for a poem.

TIKOY :                      (Recites) ULTIMO DE ADIOS!

Adios patria adorada

Hija diel sol querida... (stammers)

Peri a del mar de Oriente

Nuestra perdida Eden.....

ONE FROM THE CROWD:   Spanish ha? Dr. Jose Rizal, Tikoy!

TIKOY :                      (Scratches his head... Does it like a clown) A darte voy de alegre... (Shakes his head forgets.)

                                 (Smiles) Depensa mi, aim'gos, ami gas, no hay palabras.

MC:                           Muchas gracias, Jose Rizal bonito. Now I will give you our visitors for today. Atty. Mercado and his party!

ATTY. MERCADO :    Ahh, before I'll say our purpose in coming, I'd like to hear one more song, then I'll give a gift to whoever will sing again. Those who have danced, sung and recited, please come forward because I'd like to give you gifts also.

PEOPLE :                  (Loud clapping)

ATTY. MERCADO :    Who will sing?

 

ABEL :                       (Hands up) I will. Sir. 

                                 Kutis ko'y maitim Di makita sa dilim.  (My skin complexion is dark cannot be seen in the night.)

 

46

 

Ngipin ko'y maputi kung ito'y nakangiti. Tulad din ng mata di gaanong makita. Kung ito'y nasa dilim di gaanong mapansin.  Dilim, dilim bughay ko ay kay dilim.  Walay ilaw, walang tanglaw. (My teeth are white when they are used for smile. Like the eyes which cannot be seen when they are in the dark, it cannot be recognized. Dark, dark my life is so dark without light, without direction.)

ATTY. MERCADO:        Come, very good. Very good. (Shakes Abel's hands) I never knew that these people in Hingotanan have great singers, dancers and orators. Here, receive your fifty pesos.

PEOPLE:                      (Loud clappings..)

ATTY. MERCADO :       Where are the others who performed here? Here, receive your prizes.

TINIKLING DANCERS, TIKOY AND EVA:      (Forward... and receive their prizes and shake the hand of the good benefactor.)

ATTY. MERCADO :       Now I've got an important thing to tell you which is for your interest and for our company as well. You see, Hingotanan has become a very popular place because of its seaweeds farming. By the present promise of the good price, soon your people will get rich and soon you will have doctors, engineers, architects and many more professionals in your midst because more money means that you can send your children to school and you can buy all the comfortable facilities in your house which you need. You will have good houses and what more? You see, people from other places have been pouring in the islands because of the good news of your wealth. And you owe this to the marine corporations that have taught you the skill of culturing seaweeds and also of buying your product.

                                    We come only to make an appeal that you should come out with a clean product. Remove the little stones, the plastic ties and all the weeds in your dried product. That means, you need to clean your seaweeds very well, very well, so that we can also have a name in the buyers of the product outside the country. It is found out that the present product that we export is of less amount of juice and more of moisture and dirt. So let us help each other. If this appeal can be given consideration, then we shall be buying your produce at the same price. And we shall live comfortably together.

JONATHAN :                 Sir, how should we clean? We have done ours twice, during and after a day of drying we bring the seaweeds again to the sea for washing.

ATTY. MERCADO:        That's the best! And if you can continue to do that, then you will have the price per kilo of seaweeds at P6.00. Isn't that fair an incentive?

PEOPLE :                     (Clap.)

JONATHAN :                 I have been doing that and others too, and so don't say that we producing dirty product.

ATTY. MERCADO:        Well, we can always generalize.

MESSENGER :             (Calls the barrio captain) Cap, cap! Come quick! Rudy and Loreto are fighting each other with bolos.

BARRIO CAPTAIN/MC:  What? Atty. Ahh, excuse me. There's an emergency there.

ATTY. MERCADO:        (Nods. And to the audience) Okey, you can ask questions.

PEOPLE :                     (Alarmed, follow the barrio captain and one by one disappears.)

 

SCENE IV

     (A crowd is seen at the house of the barrio captain. Loreto's right arm is banded with white cloth and it shows a stain of blood. Rudy has his forehead bandaged. Their wives stand beside them. Barrio captain stands near a long table, near the barrio secretary who records all the statements of each party. )

 

BARRIO CAPTAIN:  Rudy, how are you related to Loreto?

RUDY :                   (Silent)

 

47

 

BARRIO CAPTAIN:     Loreto, how are you related to Rudy?

LORETO :                  (Silent)

WIFE OF LORETO:     Imagine, cousins, and trying to kill each other?

BARRIO CAPTAIN:     Yes, cousins. First degree cousins! Now what happened?

RUDY :                      He was very angry that I removed the marker of his sea lot. I had my lot surveyed by a geodetic engineer and I placed the marker as the boundary because that was the result of the survey.

LORETO :                  And why did you remove the marker when in fact you know that I have already cultivated that area? You see my seaweeds grown. And if you recognize me as your cousin, you would have settled it first with me and we could talk about it as brothers. But you removed my marker!

BARRIO CAPTAIN:     Did you do it, Rudy?

LORETO :                  For three times he removed my marker. And what did he mean? I could kill a person if I would be done a foolish thing.

BARRIO CAPTAIN:     Did you remove the markers, Rudy?

RUDY:                       Yes, because in the survey it's mine, the area is mine.

BARRIO CAPTAIN:     And what did you do to Rudy, Loreto?

LORETO :                  I challenged him to a fight.

WIFE OF LORETO:     My God, don't say it. You will be endangered in the affidavit, (in whispers)

BARRIO CAPTAIN: You challenged him to a fight with a bolo? is that right?

LORETO :                  Ahh.

WIFE OF LORETO:     No, no. no, ah, yes, cap, because Rudy had his bolo on his hand also.

WIFE OF RUDY :       Of course, the bolo that he carried was not meant for Loreto.

RUDY :                      I could have killed him also with that bolo.

WIFE OF LORETO:     You see?

BARRIO CAPTAIN:     What do you wish to happen, Loreto, Rudy? You two have wounds, it's a great shame to find two first degree cousins fighting each other in court.

WIFE OF RUDY :       Please, cap, help them reconcile each other. I don't want them to be enemies. O, how shameful for our children! Just because of the sea area!

BARRIO CAPTAIN:     Yes, a great shame in the island. Or do you have already the license for your area from the BFAR or the Bureaus of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources? O, Rudy?

RUDY :                      Not yet.

BARRIO CAPTAIN:     How about yours, Loreto?

LORETO :                  Not yet,

BARRIO CAPTAIN:     Imagine you are fighting over something that each of you does not have an authority yet. You've got to get a license form the BFAR. And even if how many times you have surveyed and cultivated the area, if you don't have the license to operate, then you are never in the position to claim the area as yours.

LORETO:                   Papers, license. I don't care so much. If I have utilized the area so that I live, nobody is in the position to snatch it from me simply because he has the papers or the 1icense.

BARRIO CAPTAIN:     That is if being practical, Loreto. But our world is different. What do you say?

JONATHAN :              (Nods.)

 

48

 

RUDY :                      Nothing, cap.

BARRIO CAPTAIN:     Okey, shake your hands as a sign of peace. By the way, I got the memorandum from the BFAR Office in Cebu for a meeting of all the seaweeds farmers. Maybe it is about the licensing of our area operation in the sea. That will be next week. (Looks at the calendar.} Oh, we’ve got only few weeks then it will be Lenten Season again.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SCENE V

(Back to the hut of Luneng and her family. Daniel reads a small piece of paper).

LUNENG:    Let me see what is that you are reading, Daniel?

DANIEL:     This is receipt of the geodetic engineer's survey of Loreto's lot.

LUNENG:    O, let's me see. What P250.00?

DANIEL:     Yes, P250.00 for a survey of one per hectare.

LUNENG:    I thought it's a government sent surveyor and why should we pay that much?

DANIEL:     Loreto said that during the meeting with the BFAR in Cebu they had agreed to just hire a private geodetic engineer as hired by the region office to make the work fast and that's the amount they agreed on.

LUNENG:    We don't have that money yet.

DANIEL:     Even if we have that amount, what area can we apply for? We are late finding our lot. It's been six months that people have been placing markers on the area they are cultivating. But we're late because of my wound.

LUNENG:    But there must be more areas. Tikoy requires many more.

DANIEL:     There must be more but they are to the deeper seas and the current may not be so good for growing seaweeds. But I will find. Our problem will be the amount for the survey.

LUNENG:    O, I  will see Petra for that amount.

DANIEL:     And pay another high interest?

LUNENG:    It's her business, son. And without interest, she won't let us owe. It's natural!

DANIEL:     How much interest is she charging?

LUNENG:    Twenty per cent a month.

DANIEL:     We should pay her within this month. And never owe from her again and then what is natural will ease to be natural.

 

49

 

LUNENG :         Anyway, we are benefited. It's what people have been doing. Negosyo! business, my dear.

DANIEL :          Yes, business here and business there. Business even among the fishermen like us. (Shakes his head)

LUNENG :         How much percentage is Loreto asking you from the income from his area?

DANIEL :          How much? Ten per cent of the produce.

LUNENG :         O, my God, our folks are like God demanding 10 percent tithe.

DANIEL :          Rudy is asking 50% share of the seaweeds farmers' produce in his area.

LUNENG :         There! 50% share? That's too much. Why is that happening?

DANIEL :          Well, they say that they much ask for a share because of the expenses involved for the survey, for pleasing the BFAR personnel and all the other expenses involved in processing the papers for license like the P1,000 deposit in the bank and what more to please?        

LUNENG :         Son, I miss the good old days when we lived like one family, of sharing and giving and without counting the cost how much have we shared to those who are in need. Where have we learned this new thing now?

DANIEL :          Seems like the landlord-tenant system on land. My friend used to tell me that sharing of the produce of the land between the landlord and the tenant, say 4:4 or 1:2 or 1:3 or with the agrarian reform, 1:4. We must have learned this from the people, in the mainland who have learned the system from our Spanish colonial ancestors.

LUNENG :         A big change, like on land, our seas will cease to be owned by us all.

DANIEL :          But by those only who can acquire the papers and license to operate.

LUNENG :         So that means that when we sell our produce, we are going to give Loreto the 10% share of our income and to Rudy, a 50% share.

DANIEL :          Yes, from our clean income. That is the trend of our world. And we must be ashamed not to do it. And hence, we make things natural. And we have them in our midst.

JONATHAN :     (Enters. Carries a gallon of tuba).

DANIEL :          What thanksgiving?

JONATHAN :     Go with me. The surveyor and the personnel from the BFAR are in the house. I've been wandering the island to find fish but I find only crabs. So I just lichen my smaller pig. Let's go.

JONATHAN :     Manang, go with us.

LUNENG :         Don't mind, Jonathan. I am nobody to face your visitors. Besides, I am going to Petra.

DANIEL :          I am glad that the personnel are in your house. Ma, the money that we need?

LUNENG :         Yes, I am going now.

JONATHAN :     Money? for what?

DANIEL :          For the survey of the sea-area.

JONATHAN :     I thought it's Loreto's lot that you are working on.

DANIEL :          Yes, I am cultivating in his lot and in fact, a portion of Rudy's. But I would like to have an area I can call mine.

JONATHAN :     Where have you sighted? It's moving deeper about five kilometers away from Rudy's lot.

 

50

 

JONATHAN :     I doubt if you could have a good harvest in that lot. Go with us this afternoon, then I shall point to you a better place.

DANIEL :          Which no one has sighted?

JONATHAN :     I think so.

LUNENG :         Okey, Dong*** Jonathan, please help us. Now I will secure the P250.00 for the survey.

JONATHAN :     Take it to the house this afternoon, Manang. Because the surveying will be done this afternoon, Okey, Bay, Daniel, let's go.

DANIEL :          (Looks at himself) I must change first.

JONATHAN :     O, no need. You already look handsome by that T-shirt.

DANIEL :          Okey, let's go.

 

ACT III

 

NARRATOR :    Hear, 0 Asians, and they followed the trend on land, acquiring papers and license of the lots operated on; imitating the relationships between landlords and tenants; justifying the present trend as the world's arrangements as they please people and spend it only to acquire the legal possessions.

      Lost is the oneness in ownership and the sea becomes the property of the individual few- the stronger and the more influential as in the pattern on the mainland.

      But it was a short-lived obsession at acquiring license if not an absolute ownership. It was a short-lived time for abundance.

 

SCENE I     (At the barn of Marine Corporation. The Big Placard: STOP BUYING is seen. People carry sacks and sacks of dried seaweeds, then stop upon seeing the placard. Drop their load and stop and rest on the ground. )

 

ATTY. MERCADO :    We are very sorry. We are not buying your product yet because there is no demand yet. We have much over-supply. It's not only Hingotanan that produces tons and tons of seaweeds every month but also Zulu and the country like Indonesia.

TIKOY :                      But Sir, when are you going to order, to buy our seaweeds again? :

ATTY. MERCADO :    Just wait. We will announce.

TIKOY :                      O my God, I have already spent my last centavo on building my farmhouse on the sea. I still have debts.

ATTY. MERCADO :    We will announce our next buying. It won't be too long.

TIKOY :                      But I have hired people to help in the farm. They are pressuring me to give their wages. What can I give now?

ATTY. MERCADO :    They will understand.

TIKOY :                      Can an empty stomach understand?

ATTY. MERCADO :    You are not going to die. Just go on with seaweeds-farming and you will be fine at the coming back of the high price.

TIKOY:                       Why too short, sir? You made us rich for only 3 months.

ATTY. MERCADO:     Your fortune will come back to you. Just be patient.

TIKOY:                       How long, sir?

ATTY. MERCADO :    Just be patient. Only those who can suffer will become saints, mind you.

 

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RUDY :                   (Enters)

TIKOY :                   O perhaps Rudy would like to be a saint. What are you talking about? Nonsense fool. (in akimbo} I can be patient with you.

ATTY. MERCADO : That's the saint.

RUDY :                   Sir, I am badly in need of an amount. Can you just buy my seaweeds even at a low price? When the high price comes back, you will certainly profit.

ATTY. MERCADO : Just wait. We will let you know.

TIKOY :                   (Laughs.) You can't help but be a saint like me.

PEOPLE                 (including Tikoy and Rudy): (Carry the loads back home. Stop.)

 

SCENE II    (People carry the same sacks and sacks of dried seaweeds. The placard in the seaweeds-barn is changed into P3.00. More and more people crowd, so alive and enthusiastic. Seen their product weighed. The cashier, a lady, gives the money.)

 

TIKOY :                      O, this is good! Now I can pay my men. This manna from heaven is great. I am like a master with plenty of employees to be fed.

WIFE OF LORETO :    Now I can pay the installment fee for my television.

TIKOY :                      At the next harvest, you will know what will I buy.

WIFE OF LORETO :    What?

TIKOY :                      A modern washing machine. I don't want to seethe hand of my darling bruised by washing.

WIFE OF LORETO :    There you are, Tikoy, dreaming again. I hope there isn't blood on your hand.

JONATHAN :              Now I can have money to buy food from town. It's so difficult to be always running out of food, of viand. Better in town, the fish is cheap.

DANIEL ;                   How many kilos did you sell? JONATHAN : About one thousand kilos.

DANIEL :                   That's plenty.

JONATHAN :              Yours.

DANIEL ;                   About that much but this will be subtracted from the 10% share to Loreto and 50% to Rudy.

JONATHAN :              I thought you are now cultivating the area which you have applied for? The one we just let surveyed.

DANIEL :                   That's it. Much of this income, I mean, the remaining amount will go for the purchase of line, mangrove sticks and cement for the markers. It indeed requires money to start operating an area.

JONATHAN :              If you only cultivated in my area, I wouldn't have required you to share with me your income.

DANIEL :                   Rudy and Loreto's wives were too quick at recruiting for seeming tenants in their applied lot. Anyway with this amount I can start working on my own lot. It's so funny, our people can be so funny. We do feel ungrateful not to share from our clean income because everybody does it.

JONATHAN :              Let's go, Dan. Let's buy some drinks. (Withdraws from his wallet the one hundred peso bill).

 

52

 

DANIEL :       That will be too much.

JONATHAN :  I shall spend more if this is not enough. Let's celebrate! It last I have learned after the long stop buying and soon you will have also your own area! (Invites others on the way.) Let's celebrate!....

JONATHAN, DANIEL, TIKOY AND OTHER PEERS : (Around a table of bottles and bottles of beer and gallons of tuba.)

 

SCENE IV   (Stop Buying, a placard posted at the Seaweeds Barn again. People carry sacks and sacks of dried seaweeds. )

 

LORETO :         Sir, when are you going to buy our product again?

MANAGER :      At indefinite time. We are also waiting for a signal from our boss.

LORETO :         Why is this stop buying again?

MANAGER :      We've got plenty, plenty of stacks and the demand is low. Imagine the whole people of Hingotanan engaged in seaweeds farming and plus the other people from other islands.

JONATHAN :     Ahh, isn't this only a drama? So we will feel comfortable with the low price? (In bad shape because of much drinking) What is that? Watch out ha?

MANAGER :      It all depends on how you interpret this happening.

DANIEL :          (Giggles) Now, how can I got to the farm area today? The cost of one gallon of gasoline is P20.00. If this stop buying will go on, we are forced to go back to sails and paddles.

JONATHAN :     Imagine we are made to wait. When is that, Sir? Indefinite and everyday we spend?

DANIEL :          Hold your peace, John.

JONATHAN :     What is this now? I earned another three thousand pesos and like wind the money is gone. (And addressing to Daniel) Your problem is gasoline? (Gets fifty pesos from his wallet.) Here, Tikoy, buy a gallon of gasoline for my friend, Daniel.

TIKOY :             Can I borrow some amount also?

JONATHAN :     I know that you have your money. This is only for my friend, Daniel. Do you have to share with people the income of your produce like what happen to my poor Daniel?

TIKOY :             Of course not, because I have my own area.

JONATHAN :     But my poor friend, Daniel. You know that man, Loreto? (Gets the serious attention of Tikoy) That guy? Like a hypocrite monster on the mainland, a landlord, pew!

LORETO :         (Overhears) What are you talking about? (Blows his fist against the right cheek of Jonathan).

JONATHAN :     You have made my friend, a tenant, and you a landlord! There! (Retaliates) You hungry leech! (Then the rumble. Daniel and Tikoy separate the two.)

 

SCENCE IV (People are seen enthusiastically carrying loads of dried seaweeds. The placard is changed into P2.00).

NARRATOR :    Hear, O Asians, the kind of conditioning applied to the fisherman of Hingotan and like Pavlov's experimental conditioning to a dog. After creating the fear; of the non-market of their produce, they kept their constant hopes and prayer: that their product maybe bought even at a much lower cost (price). A bargain

 

53

 

they had chosen at every order of Stop Buying. Until they learned to settle for the least that the buyer could offer: from P5.00 or P6.00 per kilo; to P3.00 then to P2.00, to P2.00, to P1.00 and then to sixty centavos.

                        And they wore faces like the people in Lent.

LUNENG :   How is that, now, Abel?

ABEL :        (Shows the empty buyot, a bag made of bwz_ plant) No credit. Manang Petrasaid.

LUNENG :   Did you tell her that we've got plenty of stocked seaweeds?

ABEL :        I told her but she said that she must not allow credit for now because her capital is losing.

LUNENG :   This Petra is indifferent to us.

ABEL :        She said, Ma, we still owe from her cash for the survey.

LUNENG :   But she should have understood the situation, who will sell our product at forty centavos? It seems like throwing away to the wind our labors.

ABEL :        I will now go to school, Ma.

LUNENG :   Not yet. Don't leave without your breakfast. Or maybe you can go to a neighbor. Here, go to your Manang Lydia and borrow three chupas of corn. Tell her that we are going to cook it for our breakfast. We can repay her back this afternoon because I am going to open that bamboo bank.

ABEL :        Ye pe! That bamboo post downstairs Ma?

LUNENG :   Yes.

DANIEL :    (Enters. Carries a net bag of dried seaweeds.) Here, Abel, take this same to Manang Petra. Tell her that she can buy our seaweeds at five centavos to add to her profit.

ABEL :        But Manoy, Mama wants me to borrow only three chupas from Manang Lydia.

DANIEL :    To the wife of Loreto? Don't put me into shame. Go back to Manang Petra. And take this. Tell her, Okey, at five centavos, to let her swell in profit from the poor like us. (Turns to the window).

ABEL :        (Receives the net bag of dried seaweeds. Silent)

LUNENG :   (Taps the shoulder of Daniel) Son, don't be much dismayed. Petra is like that only and it must be because her creditors like us have not paid her because of the price-condition of our seaweeds.

DANIEL :    I only know, Ma, that for what she is now, she owes it from the poor fishermen like us.

LUNENG :   That is how our world operates, son.

DANIEL :    We don't count. We have not counted long how much has she earned from us and all through out these years we choose to be the passive silent fishermen.

LUNENG :   That's our world, son. Business is business. It is operated for profit. And without profit, it has no business to go on.

DANIEL :    (Boxes the wall)

ABEL :        Will I go back to Nang Petra, Ma?

LUNENG :   (Looks at Daniel) I told your brother to borrow three chupas from Lydia.

DANIEL :    Why Lydia?

LUNENG :   Well, we are the tenant of Loreto, aren't we?

DANIEL :    (Shrugs) Three chupas? And how about our lunch?

 

54

 

LUNENG :   We will buy.

DANIEL :    We are not sure when will the good price return. And we don't have money to buy.

LUNENG :   Remember my few coins deposited in that bamboo bank? It helps to save at the time of abundance.

DANIEL :    (Sits down)

ABEL :        (Exits)

 

SCENE V          (On the seashore. Daniel is seen mending his net again.)

JONATHAN :  So you will go back fishing?

DANIEL :       While waiting for the price-hike of the seaweeds. How about you? What is that on your hand?

JONATHAN :  Half a kilo of dynamite?

DANIEL :       O, dynamiting fish again?

JONATHAN :  Yes, I am losing hope about the seaweeds.

DANIEL :       We really thought it's our salvation.

JONATHAN :  There must be plenty of fish now. It has been quite sometime that I have seen the fishing boats plying at very distant seas. So the past demonstration has an effect.

DANIEL :       Well, I think that way, too. The reason, I have planned to go fishing by net. Do you know, good news! I have heard that the government is waging campaign against trawlers.

JONATHAN :  (Giggles). So many laws have been made but they're implemented on papers.

DANIEL :       Well, Our world is so funny, so funny indeed.

JONATHAN :  Do you think, Dan, that the price of seaweeds will come back?

DANIEL :       I think, it's possible because just imagine the by-products of that raw material from plastic plates, slippers to capsule covers and many more. And we buy these materials in return. Funny. Very funny indeed.

JONATHAN :  How ironical. We are the laborers and we are the good buyers.

DANIEL :       Well, in spite of that, I still think that sometime the price will be restored. But nobody knows really. We live on much uncertainties. Good for you that you have your license.

JONATHAN :  What license? For that stupid thing, I had spent a lot but until now, no license.

DANIEL :       In spite of your lechon and other pleasant servings?

JONATHAN :  Nobody is given a license except that one family corporation that applies for thirty hectares.

DANIEL :       How funny. Yours and mine and that of the others for one hectare is not given attention and the local rich applying for thirty hectares has made it.

JONATHAN :  So you see, the trend of our world now?

DANIEL :       It's really funny. Now that the price of the seaweeds is low, it seems the buzz of acquiring license to operate is lost. We thought we could own the sea areas like owning land in the mainland but there is no absolute ownership but only the license to operate.

 

55

 

JONATHAN :  For the meantime, I have lost my interest in that. I'd like to go into fishing. Back to fishing.

DANIEL :       So take care of yourself. Look who's coming?

JONATHAN :  Where have you been, Tikoy? You look like a different person today.

TIKOY :          I've been from church.

JONATHAN :  Oh, a churchman? For what petition?

DANIEL :       Maybe for the good price of the seaweeds. Well, we can pray. Prayer, the mightiest silent instrument of the powerless. Well, tell us did you really pray for it?

TIKOY :          Don't tease me. I think what happen to us is God's punishment. Lent is coming soon and we must repent.

JONATHAN :  Now you sound like a priest preaching, I mean a pastor, in mellow voice convincing us to be really that sinful.

TIKOY :          We've got only few days before Easter. Now is the time for repentance and on resurrection, the time for newness.

DANIEL :       Now you have resolved to be new. From what old?

TIKOY :          From my drunkness and from my being such a noisy fellow.

DANIEL :       So you mean newness to be timid and silent?

JONATHAN :  Don't let me miss your being vocal, Tikoy. Not too many of us are like you.

TIKOY :          Really, we need to repent and renew ourselves. But that I think the mercy of God will come upon us. Hey, I am participating in a drama for Easter. We need more participants. You can join, you two.

DANIEL :       I am no good actor.

JONATHAN :  Neither am I.

TIKOY :          It's fine drama about Jesus' raising from the dead. We've just made the tomb and the wings of the angels. We need more people who will walk on the road to Emmaus.

DANIEL :       Oh, that old stuff again?

TIKOY :          Why Daniel? It's the finest story in Christianity. Christ has vanquished death. And we can be like him wearing our newness from our old self.

DANIEL :       Is that so. And we are staging a play which is a mere repetition of the old story?

TIKOY :          And what more? (In serious condemnation) I think the bad fate that has happened to you and to your family is because of your being a subversive Christian. Too many things you don't believe in.

JONATHAN :  Don't speak to Daniel like that, Tikoy. What he probably meant only is that it's lousy to see the play that has been repeated through all the years.

TIKOY :          But what other play should we stage on? If the celebration is Easter, so why not dramatize the Resurrection story?

DANIEL :       But why not our story?

TIKOY :          My goodness, we know our story, our own story and why should it be staged?

JONATHAN :  And how about Jesus' coming back to life from death? Are we ignorant about it?

TIKOY :          Ahh, I have resolved not to argue anymore. I'd like to renew my old self. If you don't participate, well that's alright. (Leaves)

 

56

 

JONATHAN :  Ohh, where are you going?

TIKOY :          Home and will repent. You should also repent taking that dynamite package.

JONATHAN :  I must go back to fishing, to dynamite fishing.

TIKOY :          It's Lenten Season. More bad fates happen at this time of the year.

JONATHAN :  Just leave me your blessing, churchman. I must live because the seaweeds cannot make us live. I'll just go with Tikoy, Dan.

DANIEL :       Take care of yourself, John. There must be plenty of the schools of fishes now. But don't be too enthusiastic. In case you decide to go back into dynamite fishing, I shall leave you a bottle or two processed bottles. We can never stop wanting to live.

DANIEL :       Our life is so funny, so funny.

 

SCENE V    (At the Seaweeds Bean again. People overcrowd after tujo months of Stop Buying. The placard says, PS. 00 for a limited quantity of fow hundred kilos only from each seaweed-farmer. )

 

MANAGER :   Now, move, my goodness, don't ever crowd there!

LUNENG :      Sir, I have been here since yesterday. And this early morning I was the first to arrive. Please let me be the first to have my seaweeds weighed.

MANAGER :   Fall in line. Fall in line or wait until your number will be called.

LUNENG :      I was the first to arrive but my number is 20 and now the number called is already 80.

MANAGER :   So you did not listen. (Points to the table) and get another new number.

LUNENG :      But sir.....

MANAGER :   Please move, there behind,

THE GIRL :     Number 83. Come quick.

MANAGER :   Number 83. (While somebody is seen who does the weighing of the secaoeeds.)

TIKOY :          At last, my turn has come. (Gets his load to be weighed.) Why four hundred kilos only? I've brought fourfold. And I have plenty in the house.

MANAGER :   We cannot absorb all.

TIKOY :          When will you buy again?

MANAGER :   Nobody knows.

TIKOY :          Waste. Waste. We cannot stock them for too long.

THE GIRL :     Number 84!

MANAGER :   Okey, Tikoy, here. (Hands in the receipt)

TIKOY :          Where's the money, sir?

MANAGER :   You can claim it only next week. You see, we're not given the money yet for whatever reason. Perhaps, the company is afraid that we would be robbed in this place.

TIKOY :          Heaven! Robbers in Hingotanan?

MANAGER :   No, I didn't say that there are robbers in your island. But of course, you have heard of the thieves or robberies. For security.

TIKOY :          So you first protect your security? And ours is after a week? He, he, Ehh, I'll have to shut up my mouth.

 

57

 

MANAGER :   Now move! So other people can come in.

MANAGER :   Okey, we stop for a while. It's lunchtime.

LUNENG :      Please, sir, let me have my seaweeds weighed. I've been here since very early in the morning and I was also here yesterday. (Invites Daniel to carry the tuo sacks near the weighing scale. )

DANIEL :       (Assists the mother).

ASSISTANT TO THE MANAGER :    (Holds the sleeves of Daniel). You hard-headed. You were told by boss to wait. We are stopping yet for lunch. Wait! what if we won't buy your seaweeds anymore.

DANIEL :       But ours is just very small quantity. We've got to have money.

ASSISTANT TO THE MANAGER :    It's all the same. You can have the money only next week.

LUNENG :      (Perspires and loses the balance because of hunger). (Collapses to the ground.)

MANAGER :   I told you not to overcrowd. You really don't understand. Now somebody is knocked unconscious. Move, move, it's hot! (Fans himself. People stirred.)

DANIEL :       (Holds the mother.) It's not because of heat. It's because of hunger. You have made us wait for too long.

MANAGER :   Now, it's not my business to feed the sellers of the seaweeds here. You must be thankful that we are buying your product so you can have your food. You should be grateful enough.

DANIEL :       Mark my word. I won't come back anymore to sell my produce. We are the owners of our product but you treat us as our masters.

MANAGER :   It's alright if you won't. So many people are waiting. (Eats with the assistant manager and with the girl. )

DANIEL :       (Carries the unconscious mother out of the barn. Walks to the road. People follow. Meets Jonathan handcuffed and followed after by the PC men.)

JONATHAN :  Dan, what happen?

DANIEL :       What is that, Jonathan?

JONATHAN :  They are going to take me to town.

DANIEL :       For dynamiting fish?

JONATHAN :  Yes. What happen to Manang?

DANIEL :       She collapsed maybe because of hunger and heat inside the seaweeds barn.

PC :               Now move.

JONATHAN :  Dan, I've already sent to your house what I have promised. Ask Abel about it.

DANIEL :       You're leaving us? Well ask the barrio captain to help intercede like what happened to Rudy and Loreto.

JONATHAN :  I don't have money, Dan.

PC I & II :       You cannot buy us, move.

JONATHAN :  (shouts while moving away.) You've lost your right arm, Dan. But you're free. You're more fortunate.

 

SCENE IV   (Night. Light comes from one gaslamp. Seen Daniel sleeping on a bamboo bed. On. the sala are Abel and Luneng sleeping. Can be heard the singing of Hendel's Alleluiah by the choir as part of Daniel's dream.)

DANIEL :    (Kicks the air. Fights. The chorus in volume) Empty! Empty miracle! (The cross lights on top of the stage. The chorus goes on.

 

58

 

DANIEL :    Empty. Empty miracle! Empty miracle!

ABEL :        Manoy, manoy, what happen?

CHORUS :  (Slows down).

ABEL :        Manoy?

DANIEL :    Huh? (Rises) There!!! (Points to the cross)

ABEL :        What?

DANIEL :    The cross! An empty cross.

ABEL :        That's the morning star we used to see on the sea while we fish, Manoy.

DANIEL :    There. I saw it as Jesus' cross in my dream. Come Abel, Come.

ABEL :        (Listens. )

DANIEL :    Where did you hide the thing which your Manong Jonathan left?

ABEL :        (Goes and gets it from the basket). Here. (Holds the dynamite bottle).

DANIEL :    Now, my dear friend is gone. Our mother is weak. And my dream for you is gone.

ABEL :        I don't want to get a degree, Manoy. I'd like only to be a fisherman.

DANIEL :    Come, child, take this gasoline and I shall take this bottle of dynamite..

ABEL :        Manoy, I shall be a fisherman with sails and hook and line.

DANIEL ;    There is no dream for you, dear child. Take this gasoline. Burn, burn. Let us burn the seaweeds barn.

ABEL :        No Manoy, I only want to be a fisherman and not a seaweeds farmer.

DANIEL :    There is no dream for you, dear child. Here, take this gasoline. Let us burn, burn the seaweeds barn.

ABEL :        No Manoy, I shall not kill people. People will be in church today because Of the Sunrise Service. It's Easter, they say.

DANIEL :    Take this gasoline and I shall take this bottle of dynamite. Let us burn, burn the seaweeds barn.

ABEL :        It's Easter. Manoy, and they say that Christ comes back today.

DANIEL :    We are only to burn that which play us. Never allow yourself to be played with. That's the story of Easter. Do you hear? (The choir sounds on....) They are singing the song of Easter. Christ is alive and is back to life. No amount of human game succeeded in playing with Him.

                  One dawn your brother Pedring came back as Mama saw him. But again she was lost to her eyes because the human games were indeed victorious to entomb him.

ABEL :        I can't understnad, Manoy. I won't go with you.

DANIEL :    Come, come, take this gasoline and I shall take this dynamite. Let us burn the seaweeds barn.

ABEL :        No Manoy, we are small without degrees, you said.

DANIEL :    I now believe in the resurrected Christ, the Emmanuel. Now let us go and burn the seaweeds barn. Let us burn all that which play with us.

                  Come quick, there's no time to delay.

 

59

 

ecumenical ventures

 

MINUTES OF THE CCA-WSCF AD-HOC  COORDINATION COMMITTEE

 

1.   In Attendance: Rev. George Ninan, Secretary of the CCA-URM and Mr. Kang Moon-Kyu, General Secretary of the National Council of YMCAs of Korea and Treasurer of the CCA on behalf of the CCA General Committee; Mr. Ahn Jaewoong, Regional Secretary of the WSCF Asia-Pacific and Ms. Lidy Nacpil, Vice-Chairperson of the WSCF from the Philippines SCM on behalf of the Regional Committee of the WSCF Asia-Pacific Region.

2.   Mr.Kang Moon-Kyu was appointed moderator of the meeting.

3.   The Ad-hoc Coordination Committee jointly constituted by the two regional fellowships, namely the CCA and the WSCF (Asia -Pacific), immediately after a Consultation on " The Ecumenical Task of the Asian Student Christian Movements" in Hong Kong in March 1982 was mandated to:

a.   review the report of the Hong Kong Consultation of 1982 and to identify the major programme areas to be the focus of the WSCF-CCA Joint Programmes for 1983 through 1985.

b.   draw up concrete plans for 1983 and make projections for 1983 and 1985.

c.   make appropriate budgetary allocations to the joint programmes for 1983 from the special fund of US$50,000.00 jointly raised by the CCA and the WSCF Asia-Pacific.

4.   Taking into account the progress made since and basing on the recommendations made at the Hong Kong Consultation of 1982, the Ad-hoc Coordination Committee strongly recommends the following priorities and programmes for 1983 with projections for the following two years:

 

____________

*      These are Record of a Meeting of the CCA-WSCF (Asia /Pacific) Ad-hoc Coordination Committee which met in Seoul, Korea in March 20-21, 1983.

 

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NATIONAL CONSULTATIONS BETWEEN SCMs- NCCs AND MEMBER CHURCHES:

a.   The Consultation of 1982 was very emphatic in the need for the National SCMs and the NCCs and member churches to engage in continuing dialogue towards more effective partnership not only in student and university ministry but in the total Christian ministry. At present some SCMs and member churches maintain strong links and are involved in joint ventures, others maintain at best tenous links, while a few have almost completely lost ties with each other. While this must be understood in terms of the historical development of the SCMs, NCCs and member churches as individual entities and of their relationship to each other in the context of their particular situations, the Consultation opinioned that it was timely to call on all SCMs, NCCs and member churches to forge stronger links for their mutual enrichment and to explore more dynamic patterns of cooperation.

b.   To facilitate this continuing dialogue, the Ad-hoc Committee reiterates the recommendation of that Consultation that the SCMs, NCCs and the churches hold their own national consultations similar to the regional consultation held in Hong Kong last year.

c.   The Ad-hoc Coordination Committee proposes that the holding of these national Consultations be one of the major thrust's of the WSCF-CCA Joint Programmes during the next two years. Grants should be made available to the National SCMs for this specific activity from out of the Special Funds.

d.   As some SCMs have already made plans for such national consultations this year, the Ad-hoc Committee proposes that the SCMs, NCCs and member churches in the following countries be encouraged to proceed with the preparations:

- Philippines

- Korea

- Sri Lanka

- Indonesia

- Burma

e.   The Ad-hoc Coordination Committee also strongly feels the need to encourage one SCM in the South Pacific region of the WSCF, namely Australia or New Zealand to conduct its national consultation in 1983.

f.    For the year 1983, a sum of US$12,000.00 is to be set apart as grants for this specific activity.

g.   Similar consultations in Japan, Singapore Thailand, India, Hong Kong, Bangia Desh and either of New Zealand/Australia should be planned for in 1984.

h.   As for 1985, the rest of the SCMs in the region should be encouraged to conduct similar national consultations. With this, it is hoped, a foundation would have been laid for the ecumenical ministry in the universities in Asia.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

L- Lidy, Ahn, Kong and George

 

UNIVERSITY WORK:

i.    In view of the increasing domestication of the universities in Asia by power structures as instruments to further oppression and exploitation, the Consultation of 1982 recognised a fresh need to critically assess the university situation and clarify its role in Asia. Indeed, as the universities have been continually used by powers-that-be to propagate ideas supportive of the structures of domination and to meet their 'manpower' needs, the universities can and must play an important role in genuine human development.

j.    The battle to assert the role of the universities in the genuine development of the people cannot be undertaken by students alone. Other members of the academic community must also take an active part. Educators and other members of the teaching profession are very crucial in this process as they play an active part in education. While students are in the universities for only a phase in their lives, the professors and teachers remain as a constant force.

k.    The Churches are urges to play a greater role in the ministry in the universities, both by supporting and participating in efforts to organise students in all the SCMs and jointly with them bring together other members of the academic community with a view to involve them in this ministry, as well as by keeping their constituencies abreast with the university situation.

 

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l.    Towards all these, the Committee proposes an intensive study/workshop to be conducted in 1983. This should focus on the university situation in Asia and making an attempt to clarify its role in genuine human development and liberation. The study/workshop should produce an initial paper on the above mentioned focus and more importantly come up with a framework and guidelines for discussion and study of the local SCMs and sub-regions

m.  The Ad-hoc Committee further recommends that sum of US$20,000.00 be allocated to the above mentioned workshop in 1983.

n.   Further to the intensive study/workshop, plans should be made for local and sub regional workshops in 1984. Though they may focus on the same theme, its contents will have to be more substantially rooted in the specific national and sub regional contexts. It is also suggested that after these, regular discussion forums be held.

o.   As follow-up to the 1983 and 1984 study/ workshops, the Committee proposes a regional conference on the same focus putting together and sharing all the inputs from the local and sub-regional gatherings. Such a conference should be planned for 1985.

 

PUBLICATIONS:

p.   The Committee recommends that a special newsletter be published to provide the SCMs, NCCs and member churches with news of the various WSCF-CCA joint programmes. Towards this, a sum of US$3000.00 should be set apart from the special funds.

 

LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT:

q.   It has often been noted how many leaders of the churches and the ecumenical community are products of the SCM-WSCF experience. The task of developing leaders not only for the SCM and the WSCF work but for the whole ecumenical fellowship is indeed a continuing challenge, l

r.    The Committee noted that the WSCF AsiaPacific has a strong leadership formation programme. This programme is presently in need of additional funds. Hence an allocation of $10,000.00 should be made from the Special Funds.

 

5.   All the allocations made for programmes in 1983 amounts to $45,000.00. An administrative budget of $5,000.00 for all the above programmes should be provided. The Committee recommends that amount for the said purpose.

6.   Regarding the administration of the Special Funds of $50,000.00, the Committee proposes that a separate account be opened in Hong Kong authorising Rev. George Ninan (CCA) and Mr. Ann Jaewoong (WSCF) to be co-signatories of the said account, the accounts of which will be maintained be the WSCF Asia-Pacific office. 

7.   The Ad-hoc Coordination Committee proposes that it meet again sometime between March and December of this year to follow up on the implementation and to made supplementary/complementary recommendations.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

JESUS CHRIST • THE LIFE OF THE WORLD

THE SIXTH ASSEMBLY of the WORLD COUNCIL OF CHURCHE6

VANCOUVER-CANADA-JULY 24 TO AUGUST 10 1983

 

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Press statement

                                                    

ASCM URGES INDEPENDENT FOREIGN POLICY

 

The Australian Student Christian Movement (A.S.C.M.) at its national conference strongly condemned the momentum of the arms race. It called for a transfer of resources from military spending to programmes designed to meet urgent human needs. The race was described as 'idolatrous', placing faith in weapons and involving human sacrifice through neglect and war.

The conference, based on the theme 'Christians and Conflict1, was held at Chum Creek near Melbourne between December 28 and January 3. 170 people from all over Australia attended. Guest speakers included: the Anglican Bishop of Bendigo, Oliver Heyward; the Secretary for Justice, Human Development and Peace for the Uniting Church, Rev. Dick Wootton; Moderator of the Uniting Church in South Australia, Rev. Darcy Wood; peace researchers and activists. Dr. Joe Camilleri and Dr. Herb Feith, and leading figures from the early Australian peace movement, Alison Dickie and Marion Hartley.

The conference considered wide-ranging issues, including conflict within the church and the wider society, pacifism, peace theology, the Australian peace movement from World War II to the present and Australia's role in the nuclear and conventional arms race.

Noting Christ's call to us to be peacemakers, the conference stressed the real difference between 'defence spending' and 'peace spending', the latter involving the Biblical concept of 'shalom', which aims at the total welfare, development and cooperation of all peoples as members of God's family. With the Australian Government's defence spending now averaging $300 per annum for every Australian at a time of severe economic and social hardship for many Australians and for others in our region, the A.S.C.M. believes the Federal Government should substantially cut conventional militaristic defence spending and redirect resources to areas of human need, such as public housing, job creation, health and welfare services, education and overseas aid.

The A.S.C.M. strongly identifies itself with the world-wide peace movement and especially supports Christians - in both the West and East power blocs - who oppose abuse of power and militarism in both blocs.

The A.S.C.M. supports the Quakers' belief that Christians must 'speak truth to power' and in so doing proclaim Christ's message of love and the sacredness of all creation, which we now threaten with nuclear destruction.

Australia has the opportunity and obligation to speak clearly and truthfully to both the U.S.S.R. and the U.S.A. and indeed to all countries. To do this credibly the A.S.C.M. believes Australia needs to pursue and independent, humane and reconciling foreign policy. Accordingly, the A.S.C.M. Conference urged the Australian Government to:

(1)  remove foreign bases from Australian territory, beginning with those that are priority targets for nuclear attack,

(2)  deny port facilities to nuclear-powered and nuclear weapons-earring warships.

(3)  deny facilities, including entry rights into Australian air space, to air-based nuclear forces,

(4)  urgently promote an Indian Ocean Zone of Peace and a Nuclear-Free Pacific, and

(5) immediately allocate at least 0.1% of the defence budget to establish a Peace Research Institute to positively promote initiatives for peace.

The A.S.C.M. will encourage students to work for the survival of life on the planet by becoming actively involved in the peace movement.

 

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News in brief

 

EXCO MEETS IN GENEVA

 

The meeting of the Executive Committee of the Federation met in Geneva from April 19-25, 1983. The meeting heard General Secretary's Report, Treasurer's Report and Regional Reports to highlight some major aspects of the work in 1982 and of the projections for 1983/1984.A minutes of the Ex Co has published by IRO recently.

Representing our Region on the Ex Co are Marshal Fernando, Choe Hyondok (Proxy for Cho Young Ock), Lidy Nacpil and Ahn Jaewoong.

 

 

 

THE HRD '83 HONG KONG

 

The Human Resources Development (HRD) Programme is a programme of the Asia/Pacific Region in Leadership Formation. The HRD'83 was successfully held in Tao Fong Shan Ecumenical Centre in Hong Kong from May 16 to June 11, 1983. A total 24 persons from 16 member movements and 3 Fraternal Organizations (CCA-Youth, YMCA-Asia and IMCS-Asia) in the Region were represented on the theme of "Asian Quest: Living Faiths in Ideological plurality". We would like to express our sincere thanks to all those who supported the HRD'83, particularly to speakers-provided challenging inputs and supporting agencies for their continued interest in the work of the Federation. The details of the HRD'83 report is in preparation and next issue of the Praxis will be able to contains in an effective way.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Participants from Indonesia, New Zealand and Malaysia, PNG and Pakistan

 

 

SCM HONG KONG

 

The Annual General Committee of the SCM-Hong Kong was held in Kowloon Union Church on July 3, 1983. Mr. Po Bing-Wing, councillor of the Urban Council was invite as guest speaker and to received all the reports as well as made a decision of the programme of the SCM-HK, Ms. Angala Wong was elected as Chairperson of the SCM-HK , Praxis wishes for her every success in the future.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ANGELA WONG

 

“As far as finance is concerned,

(a)     We would like to express our heartily gratitude to the Hong Kong Council of the Church of Christ in China for their kind donation of ten thousand Hong Kong dollars to support our student ministries.

(b)    We are very grateful to the WSCF (IRQ, Geneva) office, from which we receive a movement grant of one thousand USD.

(c)     Members of the Exco decide to found a separate and independent fund to support students sacrificing their summer vacation to serve for student movements. This fund will be independent of the SCM-HK finance; and we need your prayer for the fund. (From No.12 Newsbrief, SCM-HK).”

 

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KSCF

 

On April 18, the KSCF and PAX ROMANA jointly organized a celebration at Conference Hall of the Korea Christian Building in Seoul, to Commemorate the Student Revolution of April 19th, 1960.

More than 2,000 students attended in this annual celebration on the Theme-- of "The April Revolution and the meaning of Resurrection" and heard Rev. Moon Ick-Hwan and Fr. Kim Byung-sang.

 

 

 

The KSCF and NCCK/Churches had a two-day National Consultation on the follow-up measure of the CCA-WSCF joint venture. More than 70 people; e.g.: students, university teachers, senior friends, pastors and church leaders - participated in the meeting which clarified a number of issues. The documents are in preparation in English so that we are going to circulate as soon as we have it from the KSCF. The meeting was held at Korea Christian Academy House in Seoul from April 6 to 7,1983.

 

 

 

 

 

 

          

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

HWANG IN-SUNG

 

We are pleased to inform you that Mr. Hwang In-Sung has been elected as New General Secretary of the KSCF. His inauguration ceremony will be held at the Conference Hall of the Korea Christian Building on 15th of July, 1983. Mr. Hwang is an active student leader among the Academic Communities and churches as well. He married to Chung yun-woo. We wishes him the best in the future of the Student Christian Movement in Korea.

 

 

KOSHY RETURNED TO INDIA

 

This is to inform our constituency and friends of the Federation that Koshy Mathew who has been on the staff of the WSCF Asia/ Pacific has returned to India last June 18th with his wife Tina on completion of his term with the WSCF.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

KOSHY MATHEW

 

Koshy who served the region since January 1981 made useful contributions to the life and work of the Fedeartion. While his presence will be missed, we are pleased to inform our readers that Koshy is now engaged in the equally challenging task of establishing the 'Social education' programme in the Christian Institute for the Study of Religion and. Society, Bangalore, India, as its Secretary. We wish him well in his new tasks!