Teresita Ang See has played a significant role as a bridge of understanding, acceptance and cohesion between Filipinos and Tsinoys (colloquial term for Chinese Filipinos). Bringing unity and cohesion in the midst of diversity is an important task she has undertaken and continues to undertake.

She has served as past President of the prestigious International Society for the Study of Chinese Overseas (ISSCO 世界海外華人研究學會), the Philippine Association for Chinese Studies (菲律濱中華研究學會). She has also given lectures in local and international fora and written extensively on issues of Philippines-China relations, ethnic identities, culture, race relations, integration, with the goal of enhancing understanding of such issues.

She is the founding president of Kaisa para sa Kaunlaran (Kaisa 菲律濱華裔青年聯合會), a movement composed of Chinese Filipinos which intends to promote the full integration of Tsinoys into mainstream society and tapping their full potentials in nation-building. Currently, she serves as Executive Trustee of the Kaisa Heritage Center (華裔文化傳統中心), which houses Bahay Tsinoy, the Museum of the Chinese in Philippine life (菲華歷史博物館) and the Chinben See Memorial Library (施振民紀念圖書館). The center is a repository of the historical and cultural legacy of the Tsinoys in all aspects of Philippine life. With Kaisa as publisher, she has written, edited and co-edited 19 books.

As a Political Science graduate of the University of the Philippines in 1971, at the height of student activism that led to the first quarter storm and Diliman commune, her eyes were opened to social ills and political realities. She lamented then that Chinese Filipinos of her generation, due to legal and social circumstances, remain as bystanders as political events unfolded.

In the early 1990s. she became the face and the voice of hapless, helpless, kidnap victims. She became known as an anti-crime advocate, having championed the cause of Tsinoys at the height of the kidnapping menace. This is what she continues to fulfill as founding Chairperson of the Movement for Restoration of Peace and Order (恢復治安運動), Board Adviser for Judicial Reforms Initiatives and Executive Chair of People’s Law Enforcement Board of Manila.

Having started in 1971, this year marks half a century of her role as a social activist, educator, cultural and development worker, and an active advocate against crime and justice reforms. She received numerous awards and recognitions, including The Outstanding Women in the Nation’s Service (TOWNS), Lifetime Volunteer awards, among many others. In 2005, she was among the 1,000 women all over the world nominated for the Nobel Peace Award, a recognition of all the work she has done through the years.

She firmly believes in the credo of Kaisa: “Our blood may be Chinese but our bonds grow deep in Philippine soil and our bonds are with the Filipino people.” She emphasizes that all her life’s work has the end purpose of finding for Tsinoys their rightful places in the Philippine sun.