HK mag apologizes for Pinoy ‘racial slur’

The publisher and editors of Hong Kong Magazine yesterday apologized for the “politically incorrect” article written by its columnist Chip Tsao which has sparked outrage among Filipinos at home and in the former British colony.

In a statement, Asia City Publishing said it apologizes “unreservedly for any offense” that may have been caused by Tsao’s column dated March 27.

“HK Magazine has long championed the rights of Filipinos working in Hong Kong. We note that Filipinos have often been unfairly treated in Hong Kong, and that they make an important contribution to this community. As a magazine, we would never want to say anything that would negate that belief,” the statement said.

It was a half-apology, however as despite the apology, Asia City maintained that Tsao’s column was satirical and could be read in different ways.

“In this particular case, many people have read meanings into this column that were never actually intended,” it said, but assured its readers that “we have nothing but respect for Filipinos, both living in Hong Kong and abroad.”

The Philippine government blasted Tsao and his publisher for the “grave disrespect they have shown” to Filipino workers, who were the subject of the racist and demeaning magazine article.

Philippine Deputy Consul General to Hong Kong Kira Danganan said “it is unfortunate that such an article could be published in a city that prides itself as a progressive society, that has achieved milestones in multicultural harmony, and whose very character is defined by the presence of people from all corners of the globe.”

Reportedly noted for his sarcasm and punchy writing style, Tsao called the Philippines a “nation of servants” in his March 27 piece “The War At Home.

The Hong Kong columnist and broadcaster said the country’s claim on Spratlys was “reproachable,” saying “as a nation of servants, you don’t flex your muscles at your master, from whom you earn most of your bread and butter.”

China protested a new Philippine law that includes Kalayaan Group of Islands and Scarborough Shoal in the Spratlys, maintaining that it has “indisputable sovereignty over these islands and their adjacent waters” and that Manila’s claims over the territories are “invalid and illegal.”

Tsao also wrote in his column that he had reprimanded his

Filipino maid and warned her to tell other Filipino workers in Hong Kong that Spratly Islands belong to China or she would lose her wages.

“While Mr. Tsao may have intended his column to be a piece of satire, he has miserably miscalculated in this endeavour,” Danganan said.

The last part of Tsao’s column also said that some of his friends “declared a state of emergency at home” wherein their Filipino maids were made to shout “China, Madam/Sir’ loudly” at the mention of the word Spratlys.

Danganan said the image of racism that Tsao portrayed in his column “has demeaned the members of his own household and the more than 127,000 Filipinos working in Hong Kong as household service workers.”

“Their contributions to HK’s achievements are undeniable. Their work is a noble and dignified one,” she said. “Fortunately their views are not shared by the larger society in Hong Kong.”

Despite the incident, Danaganan said the long-standing friendship and mutual respect being enjoyed by the Filipino community in Hong Kong society will remain.

Earlier, after much hemming and hewing, the Philippine government finally demanded a formal apology from a Hong Kong columnist and his publisher for the “grave disrespect they have shown” to Filipino workers.

Tsao’s column drew an angry response from Philippine groups and politicians who branded Tsao a racist and demanded an apology from him and the magazine.

“Instead of contributing to intelligent discussions on ways to resolve the Spratlys’ dispute, Tsao only succeeded in eliciting hatred and sowing more confusion not only among Filipinos but maybe even among his fellow Chinese who are not aware of the intricacies of the issue,” Pia Cayetano, chairmanof the Philippine Senate’s committee on social justice, said in a statement.

Gina Esguerra, secretary general of Migrante International, the country’s largest alliance of overseas workers, said the article “smacks of unqualified racial bias that vilifies the hundreds of thousands of Filipinos in Hong Kong and puts them in danger of prosecution and harm.”

The group also called on Manila to declare Tsao a “persona non grata” in the Philippines.

Tsao, who is also a television and radio host, told the Mingpao newspaper that he was a little shocked by the response to his column. He said it was just his style of writing and asked his readers to take it easy.

The dispute over the Spratlys, believed to sit atop vast mineral and oil deposits, has been renewed following a near collision between Chinese vessels and a US naval surveillance ship earlier this month.

The chain of atolls and reefs is also claimed in whole or in part by Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam.

But for Makati Mayor and United Opposition (UNO) president Jejomar C. Binay, the public should also demand an apology from the Arroyo administration for its failure to provide meaningful jobs for Filipino women,

Binay said the Arroyo administration has contributed to the perception of the Philippines as a “nation of servants” by implementing programs like the “Super Maids” organized by Tesda.

“By all means, let us demand an apology from Chip Tsao. But we must also demand an apology from the Arroyo administration for giving no options for our women,” he said.

The opposition leader said the Arroyo administration deserves greater condemnation than the Chinese writer for “inflicting indignity on Filipino women.”

“Because of the administration’s failed employment policies, a record number of Filipino women have been forced to seek jobs abroad to make ends meet,” he said.

They include teachers and professionals “who found life too difficult in the Philippines under the Arroyo administration,” he said.

“Our domestics are hard working and decent Filipinos. They deserve all the protection that the Philippine government can extend to them, and even more. But they deserve more opportunities at home, and this is something that the administration has failed to provide,” he said.

Binay said programs like “Super Maids” – intended by Tesda to produce “world-class and professional domestic helpers” – only contribute to the perception of the Philippines as a nation of domestic helpers.

Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero joined the ranks of those chastising the racist comments made by Tsao saying that a condemnation by the DFA of the affair would not suffice in defending the country’s dignity.

“I am not asking the DFA file a diplomatic protest. But our government must address this issue squarely and defend the dignity of Filipinos.If we need to take legal action against Tsao, let us do so. Our government should be in the frontline on this; they can hire a lawyer in Hong Kong if at all, and file a case for damages,” he said.

“This move would serve two purposes, one, it will send the message that we as a nation will not take this sitting down, two, our government, even with its insensitivity to a lot of our people’s plights, can at least make our people who toil overseas feel that their government somehow listens and acts for them and defends them,” he said.

Members of the House of Representatives yesterday crossed partylines in lambasting Tsao for his derogatory and snide remarks against Filipinos whom he called a nation of servants.

According to Parañaque Rep. Roilo Golez the article is “very offensive article” and written by one who does not know the facts about Filipino workers in Hongkong.

“He does know there are many Hong Kong and multinational companies where key management positions are held by Filipinos,” Golez said yesterday even as he called for a boycott of travel and employment in Hongkong with the end of view of paralyzing the economy of the former British colony.

“If Filipinos stop going to Hong Kong, their economy would collapse. I propose a six-month, nay a one-year boycott of Hong Kong and let’s see what happens to their shops and hotels,” Golez said.

Valenzuela Rep. Rex Gatchalian said that it pains him that a fellow Chinese like Chip Tsao would write a very derogatory article on Filipino overseas workers.

Gatchalian, who is vice chairman of the House Committee on OFW Affairs, said that Tsao was making a mockery of the Philippines recent passage of the Baselines law claiming part of the dispute Spratly islands.

Gatchalian criticized Tsao for looking down on developing countries like the Philippines even as he reminded him that there was a time in history that Chinese people are despised by the Western powers as well as Japan calling China as “the sick man of Asia.”

Before Japan invaded China in the 1930s, several provinces and cities of the Mainland were occupied by western countries like Britain and Germany after the Chinese lost in the Opium War.

“Tsao should reread the history of China so he could have some enlightenment and humility that will prevent him from making insulting and degrading remarks against developing countries like the Philippines,” Gatchalian said. –Michaela P. del Callar with Angie M. Rosales, Gerry Baldo and Charlie V. Manalo, Daily Tribune