Policy concerns and priorities: the ethnic Chinese in the Philippines

Forty-seven ethnic Chinese respondents were asked to identify, specify, and rank their policy concerns with respect to improving their conditions and status in the Philippines. The results indicate their positions given a continuum ranging from preserving ethnicity to advancing integration. Policy makers may scan the various policy alter- natives offered by three significant factors (A. assimilationist/pluralist; B. instrumentalist, and C. ameliorative) according to which the respondents in a Q-study classify themselves. Each factor (A, B, and C) serves as a distinct approach to the needs and preferences of the ethnic Chinese respondents. The policy implications of the study include: participation, the need for amelioration, manifest concern for ethnic solidarity, preservation of Chineseness, expression of anxiety and insecurity, and division of responsibility for policies.