In April 1988, Corazon, the first democratically elected female president in Philippine history, visited China, and she set her first stop on her visit to Hongxue Village, a small village in Fujian Province, China.
Someone asked curiously, "Why didn't Madame go to Beijing, China first?" It is not only the capital of China, but also the world-famous Forbidden City and the Great Wall. What made you make your first stop a small village in Fujian Province, China? ”
Corazon smiled and shook her head, compared to the bustling Beijing, Hongxue Village in Fujian Province is the place she most yearns for and most wants to go, where there is the deepest bond with her.
Corazon
Later, When Corazon fulfilled her wish, she came to the village of Hongshi, where she said affectionately to the villagers in the square: "In a sense, I am the daughter of this village. ”
As president of the Philippines, why would Corrazon say he is the daughter of a Chinese village? What exactly is her relationship with China?
In 1986, the results of the Philippine presidential election were announced, causing an uproar.
The re-election of the dictator Marcos, who was widely boycotted by the Filipino public, provoked an outcry. The Filipino people believe that there was serious fraud in this election, and Marcos was elected through improper means.
In fact, Marcos was indeed selected by fraud. He secretly pressured members of Congress to change the outcome of the election by coercion and inducement.
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However, although Marcos achieved re-election through various means, the people did not accept and buy it at all, and Marcos, who was completely demoralized, was rejected by people to recognize the results of his election. Filipinos rallied in protest to expose Marcos's fraud and launched a new round of elections.
This time, in a fair and equitable election, the people's heart chose Ms. Corazon, 53, to become the eleventh president of the Philippines. This Ms. Corazon made history by becoming the first female president in the history of the Philippines.
Born into a political family, Corazon received an orthodox classical education from an early age and studied literature in the United States. Later, Corrazon married Benigno, a Filipino democrat. After marriage, the couple had a very good relationship, and the two conceived four daughters and a son, and lived very happily. Corazon enjoyed a peaceful and happy life and had no intention of pursuing politics.
However, the sudden change made her finally embark on the political road without hesitation.
At that time, Philippine President Marcos engaged in dictatorship, and he lived an extravagant and lavish life without the slightest concern for the lives of the people, which made the filipino people unhappy, and the people complained that they could not see hope. Benigno, the then mayor, was not accustomed to the country being smoked by Marcos, and he united some like-minded democrats to resist Marcos's dictatorship and wanted to fight for a democratic, free, and happy new life for the Filipino people.
Corazon and Benigno
However, the road to winning democracy by overthrowing the dictatorship was arduous, and unfortunately, Benigno failed. In the end, Benigno was arrested and imprisoned by Marcos on trumped-up charges, and the sentence was a full 7 years. Even sadder is that Benigno also suffered from a serious heart attack, and while he was in prison, he was still suffering from the pain.
But even then, Benigno never gave up. After his release from prison, Benigno gave up a happy and peaceful life with his family in the United States, and resolutely chose to return to the Philippines to continue to devote himself to the overthrow of the Marcos dictatorship. As the leader of the opposition, he and other aspirants never gave up fighting for the people.
However, Benigno never returned.
After Corrazon lost contact with Benigno, he went around to inquire about the relationship investigation. However, she was eventually told that her husband had long since been assassinated at the Manila airport.
The bad news of Benigno's sacrifice caused a great stimulus to Corazon, and the woman who had only wanted to live a good life suddenly understood the meaning of the career that her husband had always insisted on. It turns out that as long as the Philippines is under Marcos's dictatorship, there will be no real happiness.
After Benigno's death, the domestic opposition was furious and could not stand Marcos's dictatorship. The people in the country also demonstrated many times, demanding that the truth of Benigueno's murder be ascertained and that the perpetrators be severely punished. The resentful And remorseful Corrazon endured the grief and carried her husband's unfinished business on his back and officially entered the Philippine political stage. She wants justice for her husband and democracy for the Filipino people.
Born into a political family, Mr. Corazon's grandfather, father, and brother were all members of Congress, and his uncle and cousin were also members of Congress. Under the influence of his family, Corazon possessed a keen sense of politics and a clever political approach. In addition, her husband Benigno's many years of resistance to the dictatorship also had a profound impact on her, which gave her a great political boost.
After Benigueno's death, Corazon devoted himself to political activities against Marcos's dictatorship, and was eventually elected president of the Philippines with the support of the people, the opposition, and the Catholic Church.
After becoming the president of the Philippines, Corrazon used his ingenuity and clever political means to start a radical reform movement, sweeping away the shortcomings left by President Marcos in one fell swoop and creating a new and hopeful Philippines for the people.
Internally, she cracked down on corruption politically, severely punished corrupt officials and purged the bureaucracy; encouraged the development of agriculture according to the advantages of the Philippines, and successfully reversed the economy that had originally shown negative growth into positive growth; And Corazon also took the initiative to formulate a new constitution that clearly stipulated that the successive presidents of the Philippines could not be re-elected.
Externally, Corazon has been negotiating with the US military, and finally turned the US military base in the Philippines into a free special economic zone, and used superb political means and diplomatic skills to ensure the legitimate rights and interests of the Philippines.
This series of reform measures has given the Philippines a new look and renewed vitality and hope.
It is worth mentioning that Corazon also actively established a good cooperative relationship with China, which once brought China and the Philippines closer. And all this is not only out of political and diplomatic considerations, but also has the most sincere homeland feelings.
After Becoming president, Corazon said in a public speech: "Many Filipinos are of Chinese descent, and I am one of them. I feel wonderful and proud of my origins with China, and I think many Filipinos feel the same way I do.
At the end of the Qing Dynasty, the Qing government was corrupt, the great powers repeatedly violated the tiger, and the people's lives were in dire straits. Some Chinese, who are unable to bear the chaos and humiliation of war, can only choose to leave their hometowns in desperation.
Southeast Asian countries such as Thailand, Malaysia and the Philippines, due to their close proximity to China, convenient travel and low cost of living, have become the main areas for the migration of people in Fujian and Guangdong provinces, and Corazon's great-grandfather is one of them.
Corazon's great-grandfather, Xu Yuhuan and his original name was Xu Shangzhi, an ordinary young man in Hongwei Village, Fujian Province. After the First Opium War, Xu Yuhuan helplessly followed his elders away from his homeland to the Philippines. He married a Filipino girl here, had children and officially settled down.
Xu Yuhuan has the spirit of Chinese hard-working and has a keen business vision. He seized the natural geographical advantages of the Philippines, planted rubber, made sugar, rice, and construction business, and soon became a famous and successful local businessman, accumulating a lot of family property and fame, and became a famous family in the Philippines.
And Corazon's father is Xu Yuhuan's eldest grandson. It is precisely because of this origin that Corrazon will not only openly declare that she is of Chinese descent, but also send special envoys to Fujian, China, many times to find her roots and ancestors, and the legendary female president has a special and deep affection for China.
In 1988, Corazon visited China and deliberately set the first stop of his visit to China as his ancestral home, Fujian Province.
When the special plane sailed into China's territory and hovered above Fujian Province, Corazon looked at the beautiful coastal city below and couldn't help but feel a lot of emotion.
Many years ago, his great-grandfather Xu Yuhuan left China to marry and have children in the Philippines. This great-grandfather who laid a great foundation for the Xu family and single-handedly built the Xu family into a famous and prestigious family has always had the greatest wish to return to his hometown to see.
Years later, Xu Yuhuan, a 20-year-old young man who had left his hometown, has passed away, but his great-granddaughter has returned to his homeland with his affection, to the land where his ancestors lived and loved.
The plane hovered and landed, and Corazon finally arrived at the destination of many years of searching for his roots and ancestors - Fujian, China. The representatives of filipino students in China were very excited about the arrival of the president, holding aloft the placard "We love you, Corrie". The people of Fujian, China, also welcomed her with warm cheers and a happy face full of smiles, and the governor of Fujian Province and the Chinese ambassador to the Philippines also warmly greeted her.
Every Chinese welcomed the Philippine female president with sincere enthusiasm, and this ancient land was dispelling the strangeness of the wanderer with its own enthusiasm.
Subsequently, Corazon and his two daughters accompanied by everyone to the ancestral home of Hongwei Village.
The villagers of Hongwei Village all waited at the head of the village to greet her, and people waved the national flag and ribbons with flowers and eagerly welcomed her return. The villagers are strange and respectful to the female president, but the thought of her ancestors living in the same land as themselves can't help but feel a little affectionate.
The village director of Hongwei Village welcomed Corazon and his party to the reception room of the village committee, and on behalf of the fathers and villagers of the hometown, they gave a pair of traditional dragon and phoenix hanging plates, a set of classical court wine utensils and a photo album of hongwei village scenery as souvenirs to Corazon.
Although the gift is small, it is full of the welcome and true feelings of the fathers and elders of Hongzhi Village to Corrazon, and also represents the expectation and support of the Chinese people for maintaining friendly relations between China and the Philippines. Corazon solemnly accepted the gift and sincerely expressed his gratitude to the villagers.
Subsequently, Corazon took his two daughters to his "root place" - the Xu Family Temple.
"Water has a source, trees have roots, and families have a genealogy", Corazon, who was deeply influenced by Chinese Confucianism, traced back to his roots here. Corazon took his daughters to worship his great-grandfather Xu Yuhuan in the Xu Family Temple.
After the worship, Corazon visited the village kindergarten. Children are the hope of the country, and looking at the innocent smiling faces of children, Corazon also smiled heartily. The happy Corazon finally took his daughters to plant a araucaria tree in the small garden of the village, which carries the homesickness of the wanderer for hundreds of years and the deep friendship between the Chinese and Filipino people.
After the visit to the village, Corazon, accompanied by Wang Zhaoguo, governor of Fujian Province, delivered a speech of more than 10 minutes in the village square. This small square was perhaps the most rudimentary podium Corazon had ever boarded, but her agitation was not affected in the slightest.
Standing in the middle of the square, Corazon said loudly to all the fathers and fellow countrymen: "My trip to China is both a state affair and a private reason. I'm not just the head of state of the Philippines, in a sense, I'm also the daughter of this village. ”
When the words fell, the villagers at the scene gave them a warm applause, and many people couldn't help but blush their eyes.
As the president of the Philippines, the legendary female president has always maintained respect for China, and as a "daughter of China", the descendants of this Chinese have been using their own efforts to promote friendship between China and the Philippines and promote the common development of the two countries. She is worthy of the Filipino people and has not lived up to the Chinese blood in her body.
After the trip to find the roots and ask the ancestors, Corazon also enthusiastically donated a "children's paradise" to Hongshi Village, she hopes to do something for the homeland instead of her ancestors, and also hopes to let generations of children witness the long-standing friendship between China and the Philippines.
China has a long history and a long history of culture. The family consciousness and concept have forged an unparalleled cohesion in the process of historical development in China. In the magnificent history, the Chinese people have experienced many great migrations, most of them migrated from north to south in the country in the past, and in the modern period, due to the development of navigation technology and the convenience of adjacent locations, many Chinese sons and daughters regard the countries in Southeast Asia as migration destinations.
Many years have passed, and many of the sons and daughters of China who migrated in those years have passed away. But as descendants of Yanhuang, after leaving their homeland, they all have a common voice in their hearts - looking for roots and asking ancestors. Like Corazon, there are many foreign Chinese who have a deep attachment to China and have always wanted to return to China to find their ancestors, and they feel wonderful and proud of their historical relationship with the ancient countries of the East.
Returning to China, looking for roots and asking for ancestors, looking at the land where the ancestors lived, and seeing the Chinese people who were in the same line as the ancestors have become the common aspirations of the descendants of the Chinese people. And China has always opened its arms, warmly welcoming all wanderers who have left home, welcoming chinese descendants, and welcoming foreign friends.
Only when there is a family can there be a country, and only when there is a country can there be a home. Only when all the sons and daughters of the Chinese nation do not forget to love and care for our motherland forever, will Chinese society make progress and the Chinese nation will continue to create miracles and get better and better!