Someone should write a book about the communist cadres who were given asylum in China after the declaration of martial law in 1972. Aside from now Philippine Ambassador to China Chito Sta. Romana, it’s only now that the name of Mario Miclat surfaced. F. Sionil Jose writes about Miclat who recently passed away at the age of 71…
In 1971 when Marcos lifted Habeas Corpus, a group of Diliman activist fled to China. Mario and [his wife] Alma were in this group. They stayed there for 15 years, specially cared for by the Chinese government. Both worked at Radio Peking, airing a 30-minute program three times a day; both also learned Mandarin.
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My conversations with Mario were candid and enlightening; I was intensely interested in China’s massive land reform, the communes and the Cultural Revolution. It was Mao’s great effort to reshape China and make revolution perpetual – a socio cultural experiment that in the end brought chaos and famine. To my mind, however, the Cultural Revolution was yet another test not just for the Chinese people but the flexibility and durability of their civilization.
As a scholar, Mario probed into how the society coalesced and moved, their interaction with the foreigners was circumscribed by the fact that, like all foreigners, they were in special enclaves.
What is the current ideology of leftist-liberal-militant groups led by Joma Sison? They are now anti-China. They can’t be pro-Vietnam, Cuba or North Korea either. These are the last “communist” states in the world. Is their ideology now Sisonism seeing as how their leader has written several books on the “revolution” he is waging? Jose makes the claim that China is just following in the footsteps of American robber barons who built the US to what it is now in the 18th century. This may be true but China is not going about it in the way of the robber barons if we are to note how it has clipped the wings of Jack Ma and his Alibaba Group.
What is more interesting is Miclat’s revelations about Sison not being a true leader and having blood on his hands. This is the underlying story behind the split in the CPP between the pro-Sison and the pro-Lagman camps which resulted in the purge which left Lagman dead and formalized the breakup.
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Recalling the early days of the NPA, Mario flatly said that Jose Maria Sison was no leader. He pretended to work but was actually living like a sybarite while the cadres slaved. Mario said Sison’s hands were dirty with blood.
This should be asked of the original remaining leaders, particularly Satur Ocampo.
Another interesting posit of the national artist for literature is his claim that Marxism is more Christian than communist in its social construct. History has shown the failure of communist states in Europe and Asia. Vietnam has followed in China’s path of one country, two systems which was put forth by Deng Xiao Ping. Cuba has remained communist and has only its public health system to show as its singular achievement. It has also began to show signs of adopting an economic policy moving towards free market principles than the central economy which only benefits the chosen few.
What is clear though is there are no more ideologically pure members of the CPP/NPA/NDF. Their present leadership is nothing more than that of brigands who fleece from the public devoid of critical thinking. They have become snake oil salesmen in the traditional political sense. It is really about time that these leaders be put down for good.
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