PH Consulate Hosts Lecture on Emilio Aguinaldo’s Exile in HK
Dr. Emmanuel F. Calairo, professor of history and President of the De La Salle University Dasmariñas, is given a certificate of recognition by Sir Pieter Nootenboom, Knight Grand Order of Rizal, for his commemorative lecture at the Philippine Consulate General in Hong Kong on 3 June 2018 on the exile of the leaders of the Philippine revolution against Spain, led by General Emilio Aguinaldo, to Hong Kong. The other participants are (from left) Mr. Jonathan Balsamo, Dr. Arlene Abella, Vice President of the Cavite Historical Society, Lady Zeny Navarro, Sir KH Chan, KCR, Lady Lilibeth Cruz, Dr Nagar Lai, KCR, Sir Fidel Manuel, KCR, Sir Thomas Chan, KCR and Sir Ricky Sadiosa, KCR, Area Commander for the Order of the Knights of Rizal in China, Hong Kong and Macau. (Knights of Rizal, Hong Kong Chapter photo)
HONG KONG 27 June 2018 – The Philippine Consulate General hosted a public lecture organized by the Order of the Knights of Rizal’s Hong Kong Chapter commemorating the nearly five-month exile of the leaders of the Philippine revolution against Spain, led by General Emilio Aguinaldo, to Hong Kong on 03 June 2018.
Dr. Emmanuel F. Calairo, professor of history at the De La Salle University Dasmariñas, discussed the so-called Hong Kong Junta comprising Aguinaldo and revolutionary leaders, who went on voluntary exile to Hong Kong from 27 December 1897 to 16 May 1898 after acceding to the Pact of Biak-na-Bato with the Spanish colonial government.
Through the pact, Spain was able to negotiate a short-lived truce with the better organized Aguinaldo-led revolutionary forces, who exiled themselves in exchange for amnesty and indemnity. After Spain deposited 400,000 Mexican pesos into Hong Kong banks, Aguinaldo used the money to procure arms and eventually set up a government-in-exile in Hong Kong.
This revolutionary government was the Hong Kong Junta formed by Aguinaldo to reassess and reorganize what historians call a decisive phase of the revolution against Spain, which became an extension of the Spanish-American War after the involvement of the United States starting in May 1898.
The Hong Kong Junta, which was eventually expanded into the “Supreme Council of the Nation,” met at a house on Morrison Hill Road in Wan Chai District, where the first Philippine flag was hand sewn, from designs inspired by the masonic movement and the flags of Latin American countries that won independence from Spain in the early 19th century.
Deputy Consul General Roderico C. Atienza gave his welcome remarks at the lecture, which was also attended by Philippine Historical Association Secretary Jonathan Balsamo, and Cavite Historical Society Vice President Arlene Abella, as part of events leading up to the commemoration of the 150th birth anniversary of Aguinaldo in 2019.
After the commemorative lecture, Knights of Rizal in China, Hong Kong and Macau Commander Ricky Sadiosa, and ex-officio local chapter Pieter Nootenboom, led members and guests to offer wreaths at a historical marker at the Morrison Hill Park.
The Order of the Knights of Rizal is the sole order of knighthood in the Philippines founded in 1911 to honor and uphold the ideals of national hero José Rizal. Apart from Hong Kong, there are more than 25 chapters around the world, including Australia, Bahrain, Belgium, France, Czech Republic, Germany, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, and the United States. END
For more information, visit www.hongkongpcg.dfa.gov.ph or https://www.facebook.com/PHLinHK/
Deputy Consul General Roderico C. Atienza gives welcomes the audience to the commemorative lecture on the Hong Kong Junta delivered by Dr Emmanuel F. Calairo, professor of history and president of the De La Salle University Dasmariñas, at the Philippine Consulate General in Hong Kong on 03 June 2018. (Knights of Rizal, Hong Kong Chapter photo)
Dr Emmanuel F. Calairo, professor of history and president of the De La Salle University Dasmariñas, is surrounded by members and officers of the Order of the Knights of Rizal’s China, Hong Kong and Macau Chapter at the conclusion of the commemorative lecture on the Hong Kong Junta at the Philippine Consulate General in Hong Kong on 03 June 2018. (Knights of Rizal, Hong Kong Chapter photo)
Officers of the Order of the Knights of Rizal’s China, Hong Kong and Macau Chapter offer memorial wreaths on 3 June 2018 at the historical marker for the Philippine revolutionary government-in-exile at Morrison Hill Park in Wan Chai District (from left): Lady Lilibeth Cruz, Dr Emmanuel F. Calairo, professor of history and president of the De La Salle University Dasmariñas Sir Ricky Sadiosa, KCR, Dr Arlene Abella, Vice President of the Cavite Historical Society, Sir Pieter Nootenboom, KGOR, Sir Thomas Chan, Lady Zeny Navarro, Sir Fidel Manuel, KCR and Mr. John Ray Ramos. (Knights of Rizal, Hong Kong Chapter photo)