MANILA WAS A CONTRAST of old and new, rich and poor, grand and humble, Asian and European. Many rated it as the most beautiful city in Asia. It was a college town, with more than a dozen secular and Catholic universities. Its many modern hospitals provided the best medical care in Asia. Before the Japanese invasion, it had been a banking and commercial hub, where leading international firms had maintained major offices. It had broad boulevards, verdant parks, first-class hotels, grand public buildings, spacious plazas, and the spires of many Gothic churches. Manila had a Spanish character,
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