Fil-Chinese Community in Baguio enjoy stronger ties

January 27, 2020 Provincial

BAGUIO CITY — the annual celebration of the Spring Festival of the Lunar New Year is the key to further strengthen the relationship between Filipinos and the Chinese in this city.

“As we have emphasized in every Spring Festival celebration, we greatly value relationships and the celebration of this grand event will surely foster a closer and stronger bond between the Filipino and Chinese communities,” Peter Ng, chairman of the Spring Festival celebration in the city, said during the media fellowship night on Thursday.

The Chinese New Year will be celebrated on January 25. “The year of the rat will be highlighted by the different community events,” Ng said.

Several Chinese nationals are now residents of Baguio, as well as municipalities of Benguet province, many of them married to Filipino women, thus the rise of the Filipino – Chinese community.

“The blending of these two unique cultures, through this celebration, will definitely promote unity, peace, and prosperity for all of us,” Ng said.

One tangible proof of the community relationship of the Filipino-Chinese is the Baguio Filipino – Chinese friendship garden inside the Botanical Garden. The friendship garden was established through the collaboration of the two communities. The garden measures 1,600 square meters.

“Today, tourists, visitors, and the whole community enjoy the new welcoming environment of the park. The success was achieved because of our years of partnership and friendship,” Ng added.

As part of the celebration of the Lunar New Year, the Filipino-Chinese community will hold its annual barangay gift-sharing on January 21 and a gift-giving program on New Year’s Day at the Bell Church.

This will be capped with the annual Spring festival parade at the city’s main thoroughfare on the afternoon of January 27.

Baguio city is among the local governments in the country that has institutionalized the celebration of the Spring Festival in an ordinance passed in 1999.

PNA/ABN