text | Qiu Liben, originally published by Toutiao today
He once met Mao Zedong. It was 1974, when Marcos Jr. and his mother Imelda visited Beijing. The mother and son had a pleasant chat with China's supreme leader. Mao Zedong even kissed his mother's hand and hugged each other when they left. China was still during the Cultural Revolution, and its per capita income was only US$178, which was only about half of the Philippines per capita GDP of more than US$360. But about half a century later, China is already the world's second largest economy, and its per capita GDP has risen to more than 12,000 US dollars, which is higher than the Philippines' more than 3,500 US dollars and more than three times that of the Philippines.
Marcos Jr. has witnessed the great changes in China and the Philippines, witnessed the painful trajectory of the Philippines' national development, and experienced many misunderstandings; he must learn from the pain and explore the root causes of China's success and the Philippines' failure.
During the People Power Revolution in 1986, many Filipinos thought they could get rid of the authoritarian framework and move towards the broad road of democracy and prosperity. However, "transitional justice" in the Philippines has not brought prosperity. Instead, the economy has been lagging behind for a long time, social security has deteriorated, class conflicts have become acute, and southern separatism has become increasingly fierce. From the perspective of international scholars, the Philippines is a typical "failed country" that is unable to provide the basic well-being of most of its citizens.
The price of a failed country is the outflow of a large number of capable laborers. Tens of millions of Filipino workers go to the United States, Europe, Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore , Malaysia, Taiwan, the Middle East and other places to work as domestic helpers, nannies, Gardener, driver, musician. They remit huge amounts of money back to the Philippines every year, accounting for about 10% of the country's GDP. They are an important bloodline of the Philippine economy.
But this also brought blood and tears to many families. Most of the Filipino maids overseas have to face the tragic ending of their husbands' affairs and the eventual tearing of their families. Most of the middle class in Hong Kong hire Filipino maids to handle housework, so that housewives can go out to work and release the productivity of Hong Kong women. But behind the scenes, it is actually the tragedy of Filipino maids.
Marcos Jr. won the election and was regarded as the "Prince's Revenge", but can the prince revitalize the country and become rich and powerful, or is he just enriching his own pockets for the benefit of his own wealthy family?
The more than 30 million voters who voted for him have high expectations for this prince. They hope that the Philippines can get out of hereditary poverty and no longer be monopolized by a few wealthy families. They are not willing to be "used as a gun" by the United States. Become the vanguard of Asia’s anti-China campaign. Duterte’s friendship-with-China policy avoids being involved in the whirlpool of geopolitics, promotes economic development, and wins the support of the public. It allowed him to enjoy a 75% support rate when he was bidding farewell, and it also became the reason for Marcos Jr. to be elected. Important help.
In the future, people will review Marcos Jr.’s political achievements to see whether he has the ability to create more domestic job opportunities, so that Filipino maids scattered around the world can return to their hometowns without having to leave their hometowns for a long time and endure family divisions. suffering. They have been hailed as "national heroes" for the past thirty years. They have worked hard and raised many new generations. When a bird is tired of flying, it knows it will return. When it comes back, it comes back. Doesn't it know that its homeland has changed? Philippine politics realizes that what is today is not what it was yesterday, and we can catch up with those who know what is coming. Little Marcos is the commander of the wild geese returning home to Filipino maids. He wants to break the curse of a failed country and make the Philippines a better tomorrow.
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