Tsinoy

I quite like that term, because it accurately says who we are, who I am. Tsinong Pinoy – Pinoy being the noun and Tsino the adjective. The English equivalent would be Chinese-Filipino, not the often used Filipino-Chinese.

Make no mistake, Tsinoys are Filipino, and those who would say or believe otherwise can go off to where they feel they belong or to where they owe allegiance – kung tatanggapin sila doon.

Semantics aside, Tsinoys will celebrate Independence Day like all Filipinos should – with pride, with a sense of nationhood, a realization of our journey as a people and the sacrifices made along the way to get us to where we are today, notwithstanding our messy politics (to trial or not to trial, that is the question) and even messier roadways (to fix or not to fix Edsa, that is the question).

We’ve gone way past the stereotypes and pejoratives, and these days most if not all Tsinoys are comfortable with and secure in their identity. To some degree there might even be a bit of reverse discrimination – with people now proclaiming “Intsik ako!” and claiming to have “Chinese blood.” Many might not agree, but I don’t find the terms “intsik” and “singkit” to be derogatory; the former comes from “din tsiek” or your uncle and the latter is, well, an obvious physical fact.

I asked some folks what it means to be Tsinoy, and – huh? – everyone had to pause and think. I guess it’s not a concept to think about – it just is. Hands down it means having the best of both worlds – Chinese and Filipino, values and traditions of both cultures.

University professor Scott Allison Si says being Tsinoy “means bridging the best of both worlds…finding home in a bowl of wanton noodles just as much as in a sizzling plate of sisig.” Well said – and yum!

For 17-year-old Jeremy Reaport, a budding archer who has won medals in national competitions, Tsinoy means “having Chinese values while developing in the Filipino culture…since we are born and raised here.”

Doctor and businessman Ronnie Lao sees Tsinoy as “a badge I wear with pride because I am able to enjoy, practice and relish the best of (both) cultures.”

Businessman Alexander Si notes that Tsinoys are “multilingual, fluent in English, Filipino, Hokkien and Putonghua,” a “cultural fusion” that leads to “global citizens who easily bridge the gap between Eastern traditions and Western modernity.”

Interventional cardiologist Dr. Kent Tan sees Tsinoys as “individuals raised under Chinese heritage but with a Filipino heart.” The latter is very true in his case, as he uses his skill as a surgeon – he specializes in adult heart disease – to serve others. Taking advantage of the tie-up between the Chinese General Hospital where he practises and the Tzu Chi Philippines organization, he performs angioplasty and other complicated life-saving surgeries – pro bono – on patients who would otherwise not be able to get the treatment. “The ultimate reward is always the life-changing moment you provide for your patients,” he says.

My friend Ang Chak Chi, who oversees the Bahay Tsinoy Museum at the Kaisa Heritage Center in Intramuros (do visit this newly refurbished interactive museum and get a better understanding of what indeed it means to be Tsinoy), says it “strengthens my core values which are from the best of two cultures.” Like me, he says the term Tsinoy “defines who I really am – a Filipino proud of our Motherland the Philippines as well as my Chinese ancestry.”

To that I can only add – Mabuhay!