Learning about Kongsi democracy is so intellectually stimulating. Here's a non-Western democratic tradition based on Chinese heritage and frontier settler politics in Borneo.
—Kongsi democracy, much like bourgeois democracy, emerged out of a mercantile class that desired material gain outside of feudal and peasant social relations, social relations that were prevalent in China
—Though unlike bourgeois democracy, kongsis emerged out of specifically religious associations centered around temples and cults that eventually evolved to a form of assembly democracy centered around an institution called a zongting, or an assembly hall (Bookchinites eat your heart out)
—The class character of kongsi democracy is neither clearly proletarian nor bourgeois, since these class categorizations are eurocentric
—Rather, there were indeed immigrants from peasant backgrounds, but there were also others from educated backgrounds that immigrated from the mainland
—Chinese settlement in Borneo was not a project of state-making like it was in the American or Russian frontiers because Chinese immigrants were invited by Malay sultans as a way to exploit their labor and gain access to Chinese mining technology and their own natural resources in Borneo; in fact, the Qing restricted emigration from the empire
—Eventually, kongsi associations federated and began a project of state-building that did involve overthrowing the yoke of the Malay sultans, allying with indigenous Dayak people, and even making war on other kongsi groups and growing territory
There are still other questions that need answering as I read more.
—How can we characterize the mode of production under kongsi democracy?
—What are the class characteristics of Chinese settler society in Kongsi districts?
—How do we characterize Chinese settler society in relation to Malay settlements and the indigenous Borneoans?
I finally tracked down a copy of a book about kongsi democracy and the so-called Lanfang Republic. This has been a long time coming. I've really been wanting to learn more about how immigrant Chinese in Borneo built a democracy based on guild- or syndicate-like unions called kongsi with very little reference to Western liberalism.
Kongsi democracy predate other Southeast Asian republicanism by hundreds of years. After the conquest of the Lanfang Republic and the other kongsi republics by the Dutch, this kind of republicanism would not be seen again until the Philippine Revolution hundreds of years later.
Check out the book, “Chinese Democracies: A Study of the Kongsis of West Borneo (1776–1884)” by Yuan Bingling. I'll upload it to libgen soon.
It's #BINISAYA Film Festival 2023 week! Don't miss out on the amazing films showing at UP Lawak Sinehan. Be sure to catch the opening film, Cleaners by Glenn Barit today at 5:00 PM!
#BINISAYA has been around since 2009. They have conducted workshops and screenings in various cities, from rooftops to basketball courts, in different barrios across #Philippines. It has showcased works from neighboring #tootSEA countries such as Thailand, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Afghanistan through the Asian shorts competition. BINISAYA is important to independent local filmmakers as it provides a platform for discussing the direction of Cebuano films and their place in the world.
Good morning from me and my Payless Pancit Canton Calamansi!!! Added wansoy, shiitake mushrooms sauteed in sesame oil, hard boiled egg, crunchy garlic, and fried shallots.
This song was played in the ending credits of the #HorrorMovie#Nocebo. The entire album slaps and it's all about the experiences and suffering of workers and labourers. I'll post the translation in a bit since there's a word count limit on Mastodon.
Hello, I am looking for some cool Filipino accounts on Mastodon that you guys can recommend. Can be food, travel, news, as long as it’s an active account / group. :) thank you in advance, much love ❤️🇵🇭
You can follow any of these from your own server as long as they are not blocking each other. You don't need to create an account on the other servers if all you want is to interact or follow.
This is not a comprehensive list. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of Filipinos on the fediverse network.
Hyphenised to avoid mass tagging. Just remove the hyphen or convert to URL format.
Oldest, active, and largest groups/communities (in no particular order):
Best Philippines Mastodon accounts
Hello, I am looking for some cool Filipino accounts on Mastodon that you guys can recommend. Can be food, travel, news, as long as it’s an active account / group. :) thank you in advance, much love ❤️🇵🇭