THE CHINESE INVASION
It seems that anywhere you go in Manila, you will see a Chinese national not acting like a tourist but being at home in the country. This may not be an exaggeration as there has been a “total of 3.12 million Chinese” arrivals due to the sunshine industry that is the Philippine Offshore Gaming Operations (POGO) which was introduced by the administration as soon as it took office in 2016. There are claims that the government “is losing count of how many Chinese workers are in the country legally or illegally” working in “53 offshore gaming licensees (which are mostly) Chinese companies.”
With the influx of the mainlanders who come here with tourist visas then later have them converted to working visas, there is a resentment that those jobs are supposed to be for the already unemployed and underemployed Filipinos who are forced to leave their families and work abroad. To make matters worse, the Chinese are allegedly being paid higher.
Not only that, Filipinos are being eased out from buying real estate in favor of these nationals who are more liquid buying not just units but entire floors at a time, consequently driving up prices beyond the capability of the ordinary Pinoy including OFWs.
So what are we, Filipinos, to do? Or to be more precise, what are we who are evangelicals and just happen to be Filipinos to do? Since they are already here and more are expected to come, let us be missional.
Missionaries go to China and do their work in secret but face deportation if caught. Chinese Christians are also persecuted in their country by the state. But with them coming to our country in droves, we can do missions work with them here freely.
Local Tsinoy churches are already doing it with their free English classes but the burden should not be limited to them. Even Pinoy churches with no single Tsinoy member can do the same especially if they have a regular encounter with the Chinese nationals (hopefully not because the pastor and his congregation work in POGOs…).
A Chinese-Filipino friend is rallying his Pinoy church to offer not only English classes but Tagalog and even Taglish using the Bible as reference. His Chinese national friend suggested offering orientation to the local culture especially on the practical side. Although his friend has lived in the Philippines for two years now, he doesn’t know how to commute using our jeepney. We, the church, can bridge the gap. Being the hospitable people that we are, we can also introduce them to our food and show them how the Chinese culture has influenced it. Let us befriend them with the goal of evangelism and discipleship. Let our churches be their second family. Then when they go back to their country, they can add to the number of believers there. Let us view the Chinese invasion with Great Commission glasses then we won’t see them as people taking away something from us but us taking them away from the pits of hell.