BECAUSE of my Chinese surname (and nickname), some people tell me I do not belong here and have no business telling Philippine history, and to go back to China even if all my life the Philippines has been home.
I was born in Tarlac, Tarlac on Jan. 19, 1984, 39 years ago, to the couple Charles Derecho Chua and Vilma Briones Chua. My Chinese heritage is undeniable. Charles was the son of Quintin Chua (Chan Huan Tit), who was the son of Chan Bun Lin from Fujian, China, who married Francisca Gonzales of Paniqui, Tarlac. Recently, through Chinese Filipino genealogist Eduardo de la Cruz, who turned out to be a distant relative, we found out that our Chan clan's home is Eni village in Fujian and that we were all descended from one of Confucius' students, the philosopher Zeng Shen or Zeng Si (Master Zeng). The early death of my grandfather, at the young age of 42, deprived me of the opportunity of ever meeting him and finally detached me from the Chinese culture and language. But recently, our friends from Kaisa para sa Kaunlaran, its president Michael Guzman, historian and translator Go Bon Juan, and Anson Yu recently gave me a Chinese name based on my generational name, Chan Hua Xiao — The Chan who introduces culture. So apropos, I said.
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