In Hong Kong and

Macao
Rizal was forced to leave his country for a second time in February 1888. He
was then a full-gown man of 27 years of age, a practicing physician, and a
recognized man-of-letters.
The first time he went abroad in June 1882, he was a mere lad of 21, a
youthful student in search of wisdom in the Old World, a romantic idealist
with beautiful dreams of emancipating his people from bondage by the
magic power of his pen.
The Trip to Hong Kong
On February 3, 1888, after a short stay of six months in his beloved
Calamba, Rizal left Manila for Hong Kong on board the Zafiro. He was sick
and sad during the crossing of the choppy China sea.
He did not get off his ship when it made brief stopover at Amoy on February
7,
Amoy-the stop over of the ship.
Fot three reasons:
1. He was not feeling well.
2. It was raining hard.
3. He heard that the city was dirty.
He arrived in Hong Kong on February 8.
During his stay in Hong Kong, a British colony, Rizal wrote a letter to
Blumentritt, dated February 16,1888 expressing his bitterness.
In Hong Kong, Rizal stayed at Victoria Hotel. He was welcomed by the
Filipino residents, including Jose Maria Basa, Balbino Mauricio, and
Manuel Yriarte (son of Francisco Yriarte, alcalde mayor of Laguna.
A Spaniard, Jose Sainz de Veranda, who was a former secretary of Governor
General Terrero, shadowed Rizal’s movement in Hong Kong. It is believed
that he was commissioned by the Spanish authorities to spy on Rizal.
“Hong Kong,” wrote Rizal to Blumentritt on February 16, 1888, “is a small,
but very clean city. Many Portuguese, Hindus, English, Chinese, and Jews
live in it. There are some Filipinos, the majority of whom being those who
had been exiled to the Marianas Islands in 1872. They are poor, gentle, and
timid. Formerly they were rich mechanics, industrialists, and financiers.
Visit to Macao
On February 18, Rizal, accompanied by Basa, boarded the ferry steamer
Kiu- Kang for Macao.
He was surprised to see among the passengers a familiar figure- Sainz de
Varanda.
Macao is a Portuguese colony near Hong Kong.
“ The city of Macao,” wrote Rizal, in his diary, “is small, low, and gloomy.
In Macao, Rizal and Basa stayed at the home of Don Juan Francisco
Lecaros, a Filipino gentleman married to a Portuguese lady. He was rich and
spent his days cultivating plants and flowers, many of which came from the
Philippines.
During his two-day sojourn(stay) in Macao, Rizal visited the theatre, casino,
cathedral and churches, pagodas, botanical garden, and bazaars, he also saw
the famous Grotto of Camoens, Portugal’s national poet.
In evening of February 19, he witnessed a catholic procession, in which the
devotees were dressed in blue and purple and carrying unlighted candles.
On February 20, Rizal and Basa returned to Hongkong, again on board the
ferry steamer Kiu Kiang.
 Experiences in Hong Kong
During his two week visit in Hong Kong, Rizal studied Chinese life,
language, drama, and customs.
He wrote down in his own diary the following experiences:
1. Noisy celebration of the Chinese New year which lasted from February
11th, Saturday to 13th Monday. Continuous explosions of firecrackers. The
richer the Chinese, the more firecrackers he exploded. Rizal himself fired
many firecrackers at the window of his hotel.
2. Boisterous Chinese theatre, with noisy audience and noisier music. In the
Chinese dramatic art, Rizal observed the following:
1. A man astride a stick means a man riding on horseback.
2. An actor raising his leg means he is entering a house.
3. A red dress indicates a wedding,
4. A girl about to married coyly covers her face with a fan even in the
presence of her fiancé, and
5. A man raising a whip signifies he is about to ride a horse.
3. The marathon Lauriat party, wherein the guest were served numerous dishes, such
as dried fruits, geese, shrimps, century eggs, shark fins, bird nests, white ducks,
chicken with vinegar, fish heads, roasted pigs, tea, etc. The longest meal in the world.
4. The Dominican Order was the richest religious order in Hong Kong. It engaged
actively in business. It owned more than 700 houses for rent and many shares in
foreign banks. It had a millions of dollars deposited in the banks which earned
fabulous interest.
5. Of the Hong Kong cemeteries belonging to the Protestants, Catholics, and
Muslims, that of the protestants was the most beautiful because of its well-
groomed plants and clean pathways. The catholic cemetery was most
pompous, with its ornate and expensive mausoleums and extravagantly
carved sepulchers. The Muslim cemetery was the simplest, containing only a
little mosque and tombstones with Arabic inscriptions.
 Departure From Hong Kong
On February 22, 1888, Rizal left Hong Kong on board the Oceanic, an American
steamer. His destination was Japan. He did not like the meals on board, but he
liked the ship because it was clean and efficiently managed.
His cabinmate was a British Protestant missionary who had lived in China for 27
years and knew the Chinese language very well. Rizal called him “a good man”.
Other passengers, with whom Rizal conversed in their own languages, were two
Portuguese, two Chinese, several British, and an American woman Protestant
missionary.
Note: Read and study this lesson for our quiz.

Prepared by:
Anna Rose M. Gadia
RSU Faculty