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<img src="https://cdn.kahimyang.com/resources-25/jose-yao-campos.avif" alt="Jose Yao Campos" loading="lazy"/>
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(Jose Yao Campos)
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Early Life and Migration to the Philippines
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Born Yao Cho Diat on September 16, 1921 in Ha-ngo-po, a village in Jinjing Town, Jinjiang, in modern-day Quanzhou, China, Campos grew up steeped in Chinese classics and Confucian values. As a young man, he dreamed of attending the prestigious Whampoa Military Academy, an honor he described as "the ultimate dream of all patriotic Chinese boys". However, his father had other plans, sending him to Quezon province in the Philippines to learn the trade from his older brother, Yao Shiong Shio, a successful trader.
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Arriving in the Philippines before <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II" class="news-link-ext" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer">World War II</a>, Campos started modestly, working in his brother's buntal hat business. During the war, he survived as a buy-and-sell trader, honing his entrepreneurial instincts. After the war, he adopted the name Jose Yao Campos, embracing his new home while maintaining his cultural roots. These early experiences instilled in him a blend of discipline, frugality, and perseverance that would define his career.
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September 16, 1921: Jose Yao Campos was born in Quanzhou, China