What is your take on this?

You're 95% wrong. The chinese took advantage of ignorant indigenous people by being more educated and smarter when they landed. They used loan sharking to steal land from filipinos who had poor judgment. Generally illegal interest rates and procedures. And also outright theft. Many used bribery an unethical business practices. And it takes money to get money anywhere. After the chinese community became dominant they continued to expand their wealth the same way they got it, via crooked politics, bribery and extortion.