MANILA, Philippines — As a country known for its resilience, friendliness and hospitality, the Philippines is a nation with a culturally colorful background. The Filipino population is a medley of different cultures, with select customs and beliefs adopted from years of history shared with world explorers.
None is more prominent than the Filipino-Chinese influence. Apart from the noodles, lanterns and fireworks, Chinese elements in the lives of Filipinos go beyond special occasions. These days, Philippine popular culture has overwhelming Chinese influence. One can easily spot Filipino-Chinese celebrities endorsing local brands in EDSA, hundreds of dim sum restaurants lining the streets of the country, and businesses carrying Chinese charms for luck.
From the old to the modern, the Filipino-Chinese relationship has truly evolved exponentially from barter trading found in the history books to the success of China-branded gadgets with features that rival those developed at Silicon Valley. Evidently, Filipinos have embraced Chinese influence over time to continuously improve their standard of living.
As a stalwart representation of this phenomenon, the Federation of Filipino Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Inc. (FFCCCII), in cooperation with the Camera Club of the Philippines (CCP), launches an online photo contest that aims to promote the ever-changing Filipino-Chinese culture.
The concept “Connected Community” perfectly encapsulates the Filipino-Chinese ties. “Connections” loosely translates to guan xi, a relationship of one person or party to another with obligation built overtime or simply—reciprocity.
“While guan xi is mainly applicable in Chinese business deals, the theme “Connected Community” persuades the observant eyes to delve deeper,” expressed FFCCCII President Angel Ngu. “Through this competition, we encourage the participants to look beyond the obvious Chinese elements, look past the connections made. Let us examine why Filipino-Chinese ties stood the test of time. What makes it true and lasting?”
The online photography competition is open to both professional and amateur Filipino photographers, ages 18 and up. Those who will be able to flawlessly capture the theme in a photo are in for great rewards with cash prizes as big as P 70,000.
The competition will run between August 8, 2016 to October 2, 2016 and the awarding ceremony is slated in mid-October.
“Over and above the technical aspects of each photo entry, what makes the competition a real challenge is how one can comb through the interwoven Filipino-Chinese culture, traditional and new, to produce incredible works of art,” said CCP President Philip Clayton Yu.