Hongkong, Macau and Japan Rizal

CHAPTER 12
HONGKONG, MACAO, AND JAPAN, 1888

Hounded by powerful enemies, Rizal was forced to go abroad for a second time in
February, 1888. He was then a full-grown man of 27 years of age, a practising 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.
•
•
Times had changed. Rizal at 27 was an embittered victim of human iniquities, a

disillusioned dreamer, a frustrated reformer.
He was on his way to foreign lands to carry on the fight, where the vindictive hands
of his enemies could not touch him.
The Trip To Hongkong. On February 3, 1888, after a short stay of six months in his
beloved Calamba, Rizal left Manila for Hongkong. He was sick and sad. To aggravate his
discomfiture, he was sick during the crossing of the choppy China Sea.
He did not get off his ship when it made a brief stopover at Amoy for three(3) reasons: (1)
he was not feeling well, (2) it was raining hard, and (3) he heard that the city was dirty.
During his stay in Hongkong, a British colony, Rizal wrote a letter to Blumentritt,
dated February 16, 1888, expressing his bitterness. This letter runs as follows:
At last I can write freely. At last I can express my thoughts without fear of censorship from the chief!
They formed me to leave my country. Half sick I left the house.
oh, dear Blumentritt, you have no idea of my minor odyssey. Without the aid of my friend Lieutenant
Taviel de Andrade, what would become of me! Without the sympathies of the Governor-General, the
directors of the civil administration and civil government, I would now be in some dungeon.
All the provincials and the archbishop went daily to the Governor-General to complain against me. The
Syndic of the Dominicans wrote a denunciation to the alcalde that at night they saw me hold secret meetings
with men and women on top of a hill. It is true I went walking at dawn to a hill accompanied by many men,
women, and children, for the purpose of enjoying the coolness of the morning, but always escorted by the
lieutenant of the guardia civil who knows Tagalog. Who is the conspirator of secret sessions that will hold
them in the open air among women and children? I allow the accusation to reach the Governor-General so
he could see what kind of enemies I have.
My countrymen offered me money to leave the islands. They asked me to do so not only for my own
interest but also theirs, because I have many friends and acquaintances whom they would have deported
with me to Balabag or the Mariana Islands. Thus, half sick, I bade a hasty farewell to my family. I am
returning to Europe by way of Japan and the United States. We should see each other again. I have so much
to tell you.
In Hongkong, Rizal stayed at Victoria Hotel. He was welcomed by the Filipino
residents, including Jose Maria Basa, Balbino Mauricio, and other exiles of 1872.
A Spaniard, Jose Sainz de Varanda, who was a former secretary of Governor
Terrero, shadowed Rizal’s movement in Hongkong. It is believed that he was
commissioned by the Spanish authorities to spy on Rizal.
Visits to Macao. On February 18th, Rizal, accompanied by Basa, boarded the ferry
steamer Kiu-Kiang for Macao. He was surprised to see among the passengers a familiar figure
– Sainz de Varanda.
Macao is a Portuguese colony near Hongkong. “The city of Macao,” wrote Rizal, in his
diary, “is small, low, and gloomy. There are many junks, sampans, but few steamers. It looks
sad and is almost dead.”
In Macao, Rizal stayed at the home of Don Juan Francisco Lecaros, last Filipino delegate
to the Spanish Cortes. This old Filipino gentlemen married, a Portuguese lady and resided in
Macao. He was rich and spent his days cultivating plants and flowers, many of which came
from the Philippines.
During his two-day sojourn 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 natinal poet. In the evening of February 19th, he witnessed Catholic procession, in
which the devotees were dressed in blue and purple dresses and were carrying unlighted
candles.
On February 21st, Rizal and Basa returned to Hongkong, again on board the steamer Kiu-
Kiang.

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CHAPTER 12

HONGKONG, MACAO, AND JAPAN, 1888

Times had changed. Rizal at 27 was an embittered victim of human iniquities, a

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