A piece of news yesterday might have made many sigh again, as it rekindled the slightly faded memories of the Makati hotpot restaurant incident.
On November 13, police in Parañaque City arrested three foreigners suspected of shooting a Chinese man and possessing drugs worth 1.2 million pesos.
Two Chinese men, along with a foreigner, shot a fellow Chinese, and were found to be involved in drug trafficking upon arrest.
The victim, identified as "Li," a 35-year-old Chinese citizen working as a currency exchanger in Parañaque City, was shot in a residential area of Barangay Don Galo on Wednesday morning and was taken to Juan De Dios Hospital in Pasay City for treatment.
Officers from the Sto. Niño Police Station arrived at the scene and interviewed the victim, who identified the three suspects. The suspects are "Shi," 31, a Chinese citizen from Makati City; "Sui," 33, a Chinese citizen from Parañaque City; and "Edwin," 39, a Cameroonian citizen from Pasay City. They were arrested later that day. At the scene, agents found 200 grams of drugs valued at 1.2 million pesos.
This incident, lacking the shocking visuals of the hotpot restaurant, may not be as startling. However, it is essentially of the same nature: two Chinese individuals, along with a foreigner, shooting a compatriot in a foreign land. It's the same old formula, the same old story.
A seemingly "cliché" yet deeply saddening topic is being discussed again: why do Chinese people always harm each other in the Philippines? What deep grudges do they hold?
Indeed, whenever such news enters our view, our hearts are filled with horror and unease, and deeper still, an endless chill. We share the same roots, living in a foreign land, life is already challenging, we should be supporting each other, standing together against adversities, yet reality is so cruel! Why must compatriots kill each other, why must Chinese harm Chinese?
The proliferation of online gambling, telecommunications fraud, and drug trafficking is undoubtedly the root of all these problems. The high profits of these gray industries have destroyed our traditional virtues of mutual support and hard work, replaced by a quick-profit mentality. This mentality not only attracts numerous wrongdoers into our community but also corrupts some compatriots' will, leading to increasingly extreme and uncontrollable behaviors.
The warm stories of the older generation of Chinese working hard and supporting each other in Nanyang have now been replaced by the coldness of "do not speak with compatriots," which makes every Chinese in the Philippines feel deeply pained and ashamed.
To change this situation, the simplest and most direct way is to always pay attention to the safety of our surroundings.
Especially now, with the end of the year and holidays approaching, it is already the most active time for criminals. This year-end is particularly special, as all POGO workers must leave the country by the end of the year. However, according to the latest reports, only 2542 people have left, with more than a hundred thousand still remaining, their fate uncertain.
Keep in mind, this is just the number of legal personnel; those who have stayed for years through illegal means, engaging in gambling, money laundering, kidnapping, and other criminal activities, are even more numerous, possibly far exceeding the "regular army."
Now, as the Philippines is cleaning up these industries, the situation of these people has become awkward. They might be arrested if they return to their home country, and accustomed to making quick money, how can they settle for hard work? In the future, they might choose to remain hidden in the Philippine society, becoming "illegal residents," which undoubtedly poses a huge hidden danger to social security management.
Recalling a phrase I saw the other day, it might leave every Chinese person in the Philippines speechless. Online, a Chinese person complained about the poor security in the Philippines, and a Filipino retorted unhappily, "Your country's people come here to kill your own, and then say our place is unsafe. Is it my fault?"
