Aquino to use China visit to reconnect with Chinese roots - gulfnews.com

Manila: Philippine President Benigno Aquino III will use the last stretch of his five-day visit to China to reconnect with his roots in Fujian province, a statement issued by the palace in Manila said.

Aquino visited the hometown of his ancestors in Hongjian village, located in the township of Jiaomel, Longhai City, Zhangzhou municipality, Saturday.

Hongjian is a sleepy village that has about 1,700 residents with the surname Xu or Co. It is less than half an hour's drive from the bustling metropolis of the island of Xiamen.

During his visit Aquino led the traditional lighting of incense at the ancestral temple of the Xu (Co) clan. People in Xiamen, adhere to ancestor worship, unlike Catholicism, Christianity and other Abrahamic religions.

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Aquino's trip to Fujian province a is a journey of sorts for the president. While Aquino's father Benigno Jr is Filipino, his mother, the late president Corazon Cojuangco Aquino is a fourth-generation Filipino-Chinese.

The palace said that Corazon had descended from Chinese immigrant  Co Yu Hwan from Hongjian village who settled in the Philippines in 1861.

At least one out of every four Filipino-Chinese trace their roots to immigrants from Fujian province it is for this reason that Hokkien counts as one of the more widely spoken languages in the country outside the native Tagalog and other Filipino dialects as well as English.

According to the Philippine Embassy, Co Yu Hwan had converted to Catholicism on reaching the Philippines during the mid-1800s and had changed his name to Jose Cojuangco.

Jose married and had a son named Melencio Cojuangco in 1871 who married another Filipino-Chinese named Tiakla Chico in 1894.

Among their children was Jose Cojuangco, Jr., father to the late former President Corazon C. Aquino, who is the mother of the incumbent President.

Successful trip

Aquino had said that his trip to the People's Republic of China has been very successful and has exceeded his expectations.

He said that as substantive portion of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) China Fund that has been set aside for the Philippines

The Asean China Investment Fund is a private equity fund providing capital for small and medium sized enterprises located within Asean and the People's Republic of China. The Swiss Government, the Asian Development Bank and United Overseas Bank are among the sponsors/investors of this fund.

Aquino said the keepers of the fund had found favorable the various programmes the government has been implementing with the help of the local and international community to uplift the lives of Filipinos.

Aquino is expected to be back in Manila on Saturday evening after visiting Beijing and Shanghai as well as Fujian.

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