Hong Kong University Students' Union (HKUSU)
Exposure Trip : Philippines
香港大學學生會 藍帽子 周游列國 : 「尋找菲律賓的故事」
In Cooperation with League of Filipino Students (LFS), Philippines


Trip001 : Day 3 - Wednesday 15 March 2000

am - Visit the non-government-funded Trinity College, and the National Council of Churches in the Philippines (NCCP)
pm - Visit Trade Union's picketline at Mendiola (the avenue leading to the Presidential Malacanang Palace) and at Manila Hotel (left the scene at 6pm when police began to disperse the picketers)


With the editors of Trinity Observer,
the student newspaper of Trinity
College
Attended a Church Forum organised by the National Council of Churches in the Philippines (NCCP)

Logo of NCCP (the 2000/2001 Calender given to me by Jen of the Student Christian Movement of the Philippines (SCMP).
Member and Associate Members of the NCCP. We should be familiar with the
Salvation Army and the Lutheran Church.

Picketline of riot police and barbed-wire at Mendiola (the avenue leading to the Presidential Malacanang Palace)
Anthony and Koen at the picketline, with 2 water cannons on the left. Rally means protest with fun - food-vendors, effigies, dolls, dances, songs ...

From Left: Anet of LSF, Jen of SCMP, Anthony of Trip001, Julius of College Editors Guild of the Philippines (CEGP), and a speaker on a jeepney's top at the picketline.


Chairman of Anakbayan (United Youth for
the People) Renato Reyes (from UP -
University of the Philippines) speaking on the jeepney's top, denouncing corruption, unjustified hike of petrol price and tuition fee...) 演講 (學生領袖批評腐敗，濫加油價，學費...)


Charriol, Anthony, and the exhausted Renato. Many food-vendors sold drinks and snacks, making the picket look a bit like a fiesta (before
police dispersal).
Any fiesta needs the Erap Effigy/Doll. Erap is the nickname of the Philippine President Joseph Estrada. Hence the slogan "Erap is corrupt". The poster turns the oil pump into a gun against the people. Here another speaker - a chairwoman of a certain organisation. (note the cameraman; Erap was ousted in the Jan 2001 People Power 2.)

Aother view of the chairwoman through the jeepney's window, the Erap Effigy/Doll, the cameramen, and the red flag.
Another picketline at the Manila Hotel, with
flags and cameras, while negotiation took
place between the striking workers and the
police.

在水炮前 - 禱告 Another view of the Manila Hotel picketline, showing the water cannons, riot police and students sitting down (there were prayers, songs, dances, speeches)
Compare the Philippine scene with that in Taipei, and the Taiwanese trumpet sound 台灣式喇叭聲 (Apple Daily 000321)

At 6pm, the announced time of disperal by the police, our jeepney drave away from the scene 在警察清場前一分鐘 苗嘴走人. The Philippine water cannon in action would be similar to that in Taipei, Photo from Apple Daily 000321
But Manila police nabbed 16 picketers, including one priest, one pastor, one union leader, and some students. Photo from newspaper Philippine Daily Inquirer internet version 000316

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但當地一名神父，一名牧師，和學生共十六 人被捕. Photo from newspaper Philippine Daily Inquirer printed version 000316 p.1: "the arrested included Fr. Jose Dizon, chairperson of the Sept 21 Movement; Pastor Rey Gellaogan of the NCCP, and Teddy Casino, secretary-general of the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (N.B. its acronym is BAYAN). This was the 2nd time Casino was nabbed in the Manila Hotel picketline. Last month, he was nabbed along with the KMU chair Crispin Beltran". (N.B. KMU means Kilusang Mayo Uno or May 1st Movement).

Thanks to the traffic jam, students on foot
were able to catch our jeepney in a manner similar to the above photo from the booklet Tagalog For Travelers (but not so exaggerated). One male student was all wet; and a female had
a muscle spasm in her left leg.
The students and other bayan (organisation) members re-grouped in the Philippine Independence Church a few km away. We found another girl with a painful leg, and a guy still running out of breath. One police petrol car with
several policemen were watching from outside the church gate, where the street was full of food-vendors and
commercial jeepneys.

We then went to the nearby Wendy's to enjoy 享受 our dinner. From Left: Dax, Yan, Charriol,
Eleanor, Billy, Anthony, Tony, Anet, Tempo, Jen, Connie.
Discussion, Assessment, Recommendations
In the Philippines, there is a strong social movement initiated and supported directly or indirectly by organised groups of students, workers, the poor, and the churches e.g. NCCP, LSF, SCMP, CEGP, Anakbayan, Sept 21 Movement, Bagong Alyansang Makabayan, KMU (Kilusang Mayo Uno or May 1st Movement) and PISTON (Pinag-Isang Samahan Ng Mga Tsuper At Operaytor Nationwide, meaning Nationwide United Association for Drivers and Operators). [NB: The corrupt president Estrada was ousted in Jan 2001 by People Power 2. The People Power 1 ousted the dictator-president Marcos in 1987]. An excellent reference book is: Nonviolent Social Movements: A Geographical Perspective edited by Stephen Zunes, Lester R. Kurtz, and Sarah Beth Asher 1999, HKUL 303.61 N81 Z95.
In Hong Kong, social movement is comparatively weak, still less student involvement. Ah Yan told us that students were involved in the recent rally of the workers of the Housing Authority. The CUHK Student Union (CUSU), after the liberal leadership of the Father of Optical Fibre Professor Charles Kao, has demonstrated strong social/political awareness e.g. their "Declaration on the 10th Anniversary of June 4". The HKUSU has also persisted in retaining the Pillar of Shame and the poster on the Swire Bridge.
Exposure Trips can be publicised and promoted to HKU and other universities, with a view to increase the social/political awareness of the students at large. Promotion in the HKU can be done by creating the website of http://www.hku.hk/exposure . To promote the HKUSU membership/activities, HKUSU can build a Dr SUN statue sitting on a row of empty chairs outside the Main Building for students/visitors to "have a photo with Dr Sun" (where Dr Sun gave a lecture in 1923). Also, a mobile speaker's platform with Dr Sun on one knee holding a microphone for the speaker can encourage more students to speak up. [NB a Sun statue will be set up as part of the HKU 90th year anniversary per official email 010309].

This website is the 3rd draft designed and written for the HKUSU by Anthony C.H. CHUA 蔡誌慶, PhD Student in Law, HKU, and member of Trip001, on 10 March 2000 (then 26 March 2000, 8 Mar 2001) pending formal approvals from the Trip members and from HKUSU, and pending linkage/transfer to the HKUSU website. (please see acknowledgement section in FrontPage)

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