Vice President Carlos P. Garcia said on December 3 he would communicate with Chinese Foreign Minister George K. C. Yeh on repatriation bf Chinese nationals in the Philippines who have overstayed their visitors' visas. "President Magsaysay is in a hurry to see an end to the diplomatic talks which have dragged on and off since the first emigration violations occurred in 1950," Garcia said. Garcia, who is concurrently foreign minister, told his weekly press conference the Philippine Government would "like to see the repatriation problem settled amicably."
About 3,500 Chinese are affected by the decision, President Magsaysay announced on December 2. The President said he would take up the matter directly with Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek, should the foreign office fail in its task.
Most of the Chinese came there about five years ago when their homes on the Chinese mainland were overrun by the Communists. The Immigration Bureau, however, said its records list 2,400 Chinese temporary visitors.
The statement came in the wake of a reported $2,500,000 lobby to legalize the stay of the Chinese. A spokesman for the Chinese Chamber of Commerce in Manila denied the report.
President Magsaysay said: "This country has been kind to these people. They have enjoyed our hospitality during their visit. They have, however, abused that hospitality by overstaying in violation of the terms of their visas." Temporary permits are valid for six months and renewable for another six months.
Chow Shu-kai, Chinese Charge d'Affaires, called on Foreign Secretary Carlos P. Garcia on December 9 in a move to stave off possible deportation of some 3,500 Chinese visitors whose visas are no longer valid. Charge d'Affaires Chow reiterated the Chinese Government's position that the visitors who came from the Chinese mainland before the Communist occupation should be permitted to stay in the Philippines as refugees because they cannot now return to the mainland. The Philippine Government's position is that the Chinese who came on temporary visitors' visas in 1947 and 1949 are staying here in violation of the Philippine law and should be deported to Formosa.
The Chinese Minister said, however, that the National Government on Formosa finds it "difficult" to accept repatriation of the visitors because of the existing conditions in Taiwan. He said that the population of Formosa is now nine and half million compared to six million before the war. Moreover, the visitors are not a public charge in the Philippines because they are being supported by friends and relatives there.
The Philippine Herald on December 7 urged the Philippine Government to give Chinese temporary visitors the same treatment as accorded to Indonesians who were recently granted legal stay in the Philippines. The paper in its editorial entitled "The Alien Visitors" pointed out that the most favored nation principle is applicable to matters like the status of foreign nationals. That is to say, the paper said, concession or requirement applied upon all and this kind of principled treatment of alien minorities would enhance goodwill of the Philippines among countries that have nationals in the Philippines.
Representative Joaquin Roces, commenting on the Chinese temporary visitors who have overstayed their visas, said on December 8 that "it is not advisable to kick them out." He urged the Philippine Government to seek a solution of this problem through negotiation with the Chinese Government. In his daily column "This Is My Own" in the Manila Times on December 8, Roces pointed out: "Nationalist China is not only a friend but also the most important ally in our fight against Communism. These temporary visitors came from the Chinese mainland. Most of them are not here because they want to be here. They have been virtually stranded by the Red occupation." Consequently, he said, the Philippines should consider other things besides technical enforcement of immigration laws. Roces, who is also the chairman of the Lower House Un-Philippine Activities Committee, said that Free China to day is already overcrowded. "When we consider that Taipei is undoubtedly our first front of defense against the Reds today," he added, "it would be good for us to weigh our action carefully and determine first whether it would be really beneficial for us to deport these aliens to Taipei and overburden her country." Roces lauded the spirit of friendliness and understanding shown by the Philippine Government in negotiating with the Indonesian Government for the solution of some 6,000 Indonesian illegal entrants in the Philippines. He said in the case of the Chinese temporary visitors, they at least entered the Philippines legally. Roces opined human beings are involved in this case and so it should be solved with humanity.
Chinese Detainees in P. I. Said Blackmailed and Tortured
Philippine Army Inspector Lt. Col. Conrado Uichangco testified before the Deportation Board on November 26 that many Chinese detainees at Camp Murphy, who were arrested en masse in December, 1952, were third degreed by Philippine Military Intelligence agents to extort money or confessions against their will. Uichangco also believed those detainees were arrested as Communist suspects without sufficient evidence against them. Therefore he urged that action be taken against those persons responsible for making these unjustified arrests. Besides, he said, some remedial measures should be taken to prevent similar recurrences of maltreatment and torture. Uichangco said in testimony many of the Chinese detainees he visited bore scars and marks of maltreatment inflicted on them during their detention.
Among the 152 detainees, all were released or granted bail except 13. The trial of these 13 Chinese is still pending.
A five-man committee was formed by the Philippine Defense Department to investigate into the maltreatment of Chinese detainees in Camp Murphy. Defense Under Secretary Rose Crisol declared that there will be no whitewash and those found guilty will be punished.
The Committee ordered on November 29 three officers, including Lt. Col. Conrado Uichangco who disclosed at the same time the maltreatment of the Chinese in Camp. Murphy, to submit documents to the Committee to shed light on the matter.
Chinese Quota Immigrants to U. S. A.
Overseas Chinese Affairs Commission Chairman Cheng Yen-fen revealed on December 4 that applicants who have formally approached his Commission for immigration into the United States have not been overwhelming in number. Reporting to a joint meeting of the Legislative Yuan's Foreign Relations and Overseas Affairs Committees, Cheng Yen-fen said that the limited number of applicants was chiefly due to the difficulty of those intending to apply in securing guarantors who must be American citizens.
According to the Overseas Affairs Chief, Chinese nationals who wish to emigrate to the United States may apply under two categories: (1) quota-immigration which is limited to 105 persons per year; and (2) immigration under the special refugee act.
The act provides a quota of 2,000 for displaced Chinese nationals who carry passports issued by the Chinese National Government to seek permanent residence in the United States. Besides, there is a 3,000 quota for. Asian refugees and a 4,000 quota for orphans the world over. Chinese nationals are also eligible under the latter two categories.
Cheng Yen-fen further gave a statistical breakdown of the number of passports issued by the Government for quota-immigration applicants as follows: 40 approved by the Chinese Government in 1947, 86 in 1948, 147 in 1949, 22 in 1950, 52 in 1951, 23 in 1952, 62 in 1953, 32 up to the end of November in 1954.
However, he said, not all of these applicants were given visas by U. S. consular authorities and thus only some of them got to their destinations in America. This is because of the American Government's preference in screening immigration applicants to accord first priority to those Chinese nationals who have previously stayed in the United States.
As for immigration under the special refugee act, Cheng Yen-fen revealed that so far about 108 had formally applied for passports through his Commission. Of these, 39 were granted permits and 13 disqualified, while the rest are still under consideration.
New National High School for Overseas Students
Plans for establishing a national overseas Chinese high school to accommodate, 3,000 students are now under study by the Ministry of Education which is negotiating with the FOA-China Mission and the Council for United States Aid for the necessary funds.
The high school for overseas Chinese students will have additional courses on Southeast Asia besides the usual high school curriculum. With a six-year system including three years of junior middle school and three years of senior middle school, the projected educational institution will have four branches-ordinary middle school, normal school, technical school and supplementary school.
According to preliminary estimates, NT$7,000,000 is needed for the construction of the school premises which are scheduled to be completed in three years. The estimates also made provision for NT$3,000,000 for annual maintenance.
Parts of the premises are expected to be completed by the autumn of 1955 when 700 overseas Chinese students will be admitted to the new school.
The Ministry of Education planned to admit 1,000 overseas Chinese middle school students to pursue their studies here during the next school year. Of the 1,000,700 will be enrolled in the new school while the remaining 300 will be admitted to the various other high schools.
The 700 students will be enrolled in 14 first year classes of the new school according to their individual standards. The 14 classes include nine first year classes of the regular middle school, two first year classes of the normal school two first year classes of the technical school, and one first year class of the supplementary school.
Nanyang University to Open October, 1955
The Chancellor of Nanyang University, Dr. Lin Yutang, announced in Singapore on November 17 that the University will open in October, 1955. He will be going to the Malaya Federation with the multimillionaire, Tan Lark Sye, Chairman of the Board of the University, to raise funds for Nanyang early December.
Lin estimated St.$4,000,000 would be spent on developing the University's 500-acre site at Jurong, an outskirt which is 15 miles from the town, into the "show-piece of Singapore." "No expense will be spared to make the campus beautiful," he said, "it must have good roads, beautiful lawns and brooks."
Dr. Lin announced he would delegate complete authority for the running of the faculties to the deans of the three colleges. The three deans are Dr. S. I. Hsiung of the Arts College, Dr. Hu Pok-yuan of the College of Sciences and Dr. Wu Chin-yuan of the College of Commerce.
Dr. Lin Yutang said, "We are planning to provide higher education for the Chinese of this area to train them in specialized fields and to help in the administration of Malaya when it becomes self-governing." He further stressed that the aim of the University was to see that Chinese culture was fully developed among the younger generation.
He added that he would be calling a conference of principals of Chinese high schools throughout Singapore, Malaya, North Borneo and Sarawak to discuss the problems, requirements and conditions of the schools to help draft the plans and syllabi of the University.
On the educational policy of the University, Dr. Lin said, "We must not sacrifice quality for quantity. We will only accept as many students as the budget will allow without compromising the standard of the University. We aim to produce graduates who are not only skilful in their special fields of study but all round students, with both a knowledge of Chinese culture and history and up-to-date information of modern sciences."
Dr. Lin will urge his staff to spend more hours outside the classrooms mingling with the students than in the classrooms lecturing to them. "It is only through informal discussions at the table and at play that one creates an atmosphere of earnest interest in scholarship," he emphasized. He stressed the importance of research, "the foundation of scholarship."
The University will establish an institute of economic research at first, publishing a weekly economic supplement to help businessmen in Malaya as well as the areas around, and an institute of research on Chinese culture.