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Capiz Governor Castro urges cooperation between Philippines and China on the issue of the WPS
ROXAS City, CapizโCapiz Governor Fredenil H. Castro has called on the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr to study the partnership between the Philippines and China over the issue of the West Philippine Sea (WPS). ‘
In a dinner banquet hosted by Castro for the Filipino-Chinese community here Friday night, the governor said that he believed there was no sense between the ongoing disputes between the two countries and the WPS.
“I believe there is some sort of misunderstanding (between the two countries). There is no sense in the disputes. What is best is to look for a common ground for everybody to enjoy whatever it is in the WPS,” he said.
Castro, who is married to a Chinese-Filipino wife, has spearheaded the province-wide five-day Lunar New Year Festival in Capiz. The festival started on February 5 and culminated on February 10.
He added that he organizes the festival to also lure Chinese investors to the province. “Long ago, Chinese traders and Capiznons were living together in the province in harmony.
We wanted to revive this tradition through the celebration of the Lunar New Year in Capiz,” Castro said in a separate interview Friday night, February 9.
Among the Chinese traditions that were held in the province were the lion and dragon eye dotting ceremony, the lion and dragon dance around Capiz, the Lotus Lantern floating at the Panay River, the Chinese Food Festival, and the music and dance presentation.
In a press release from the Department of Foreign Affairs, Castro went to the city of Shanghai and the city of Ningbo in Zhejiang Province, hoping for partnerships with Chinese investors in the fields of agriculture and fisheries and to develop its emerging manufacturing and ICT-BPO industries.
Roxas City Mayor Ronnnie Dadivas, in his welcome remarks at the banquet, said that he commends Castro for introducing the Lunar New Year Festival and his vision to the Capiz in promoting the Chinese tradition.
Ronald So, the secretary of the Roxas City Filipino-Chinese Chamber of Commerce, said that though they have an active membership of 40, they have hundreds of Filipino-Chinese families all over their 16 municipalities. “We have yet to count how many are the populations of Chinese-Filipios in Capiz.
For his part, Danilo So-Chan, the president of the Roxas City Filipino-Chinese Chamber of Commerce, said in his speech during the banquet that, based on history, Chinese did not come to the Philippines by force but through trade, winning the hearts of Filipinas all over the country.
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