On Hong Kong's Chip Tsao's Racial Slur vs. Filipinos

HK magazine regrets columnist’s racial slur By Jerome AningPhilippine Daily Inquirer

MANILA, Philippines – (UPDATE 2) Publishers and editors of a Hong Kong magazine apologized on Monday for an article that labeled the Philippines "a nation of servants" and which said that the Philippines could not afford to pursue its claim to the disputed Spratly Islands.

The apology was issued by Asia City Publishing Group (ACPG), publisher of the HK Magazine's print and online editions, which carried on March 27, an article by Chip Tsao titled "The War at Home" which has been scored by Filipino groups in Hong Kong, the Philippines and other parts of the world.

"The publisher and editors of HK Magazine wish to apologize unreservedly for any offense that may have been caused by Chip Tsao's column date 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," ACPG said.

"As a magazine, we would never want to say anything that would negate that belief," it added.
Copies of the apology were distributed by the Department of Foreign Affairs.A copy was also posted in the agency's website (http://www.dfa.gov.ph/).

The Philippine consulate general in Hong Kong joined politicians and migrant and labor groups in demanding for a public apology from Tsao and the publishers. ACPG, however, noted that the Tsao's column was satirical and the comments it expressed were not intentional.

"One aspect of a satire is that it can at times be read in different ways. In this particular case, many people have read meanings into this column that were never actually intended," the publishing company said.

"We wish to assure our readers that we have nothing but respect for Filipinos, both living in Hong Kong and abroad," it added.

The Philippine Consul General said Tsao’s article was a huge miscalculation. "While Mr. Tsao may have intended his column to be a piece of satire, he has miserably miscalculated in this endeavor," said Philippine deputy consul general Kira Dangan, in a statement issued by the DFA in Manila.

She demanded for an apology for the "grave disrespect" they have shown to the Filipinos in Hong Kong.

"Fortunately, their views are not shared by the larger society in Hong Kong," she added.
According to her, it was "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."
Dangan noted that Filipinos contributions to Hong Kong’s achievements were "undeniable," adding, "Their work is a noble and dignified one."

Despite the incident, Dangan said that the "long-standing friendship and mutual respect" being enjoyed by the Filipino community and the Hong Kong society would remain. The Hong Kong magazine made the apology as Tsao’s article received an avalanche of condemnation from Filipino groups.

Migrante-Hong Kong and its Manila-based central organization, Migrante International, denounced Tsao’s "insulting wit" and called on the Philippine government to declare him "persona non grata."

"For the mockery and ridicule we are subjected to and for the license given to treat domestic workers harshly, we demand no less than a public apology from Mr. Tsao," Migrante-HK chair Dolores Balladares said in a statement emailed to the Philippine Daily Inquirer. She said the group hoped Tsao would be "civilized and humble enough to admit that his column was way out of line."

"Such contemptuous regard for migrant workers is unconscionable," she added. In Manila, Migrante-International secretary-general Gina Esguerra called the column "the most racist, insulting and demeaning attack yet against Filipino domestic helpers."

“The article smacks of unqualified racial bias that vilifies the hundreds of thousands of Filipinos in Hong Kong and puts them in danger of persecution and harm. We demand no less than a public apology from Mr. Tsao and from the Hong Kong Magazine for allowing this bigoted garbage to appear on its pages,” she said.

Esguerra said Tsao’s diatribes were “a cause for alarm for overseas Filipinos and their families, especially in this time of intensifying global financial crisis where bigotry and racial intolerance are customarily whipped up by host governments in a desperate attempt to evade responsibility on the crisis and to use the army of migrant workers as their convenient scapegoats.”

Before the issuance of a public apology by the Hong Kong magazine, DFA acting spokesman Ed Malaya criticized Tsao for his "condescending attitude" towards Filipino domestics and added that the article was made "not in the best light" and was "uncalled for."

Malaya said that while Tsao, a best selling author and former British Broadcasting Co. reporter, was merely expressing an opinion, the consulate was taking "appropriate action" upon consultation with the Filipino community in the Chinese special administrative region. Tsao's article has been pulled out of the HK Online website. As of 4 p.m., the Inquirer checked the March 27 article entitled “The War At Home” by columnist Chip Tsao and found its URL or Web address (http://hk-magazine.com/feature/war-home) no longer active, with the reader directed to the main Features page. No explanation was provided by the publisher.

A check made on the site around 2 p.m. showed that the article generated at least four pages of comments from readers, mostly denouncing Tsao for being racist and insulting to Filipino domestics, with a few defending him and saying that the article was a satire and should be taken tongue-in-cheek.

Balladares said Filipino domestics in Hong Kong were hurt by the article for using them in the discussion of the Spratlys issue.

She said Tsao’s article not only failed to shed "intelligent light" on the Spratlys issue, but became "a cheap shot, distasteful and demeaning of domestic workers who are already under extreme working and living conditions here."

"In his failed attempt to be witty, Mr. Tsao regrettably trivialized the very serious domestic workers’ situation in Hong Kong society. Such an article to appear publicly is very dangerous for it projects that it can be socially-permissible to treat domestic workers as no more than slaves ready to be lectured, ordered around, easily threatened with termination, and made to jump at every whim of employers," she added.

Balladares said the article could not be labeled as a satire, explaining: "Political satire as a journalistic device is used to challenge or even make fun of authorities and the status quo. Mr. Tsao did not do so in his latest column. Instead, he further beats up the already low and downtrodden."

"Behind such lines that Mr. Tsao may likely but wrongly justify as satire, there lies the precarious reinforcement of the master-slave treatment of domestic workers. Mr. Tsao makes it appear that it is alright to denigrate us and take potshots at us," she added.

Tsao wrote that the Philippines, as "a nation of servants" should not "flex your muscles at your master, from whom you earn most of your bread and butter," referring to the more than 130,000 Filipino domestics earning HK$3,850 monthly in the territory.

He wrote that he summoned Louisa, his domestic assistant who holds a degree in international politics from the University of Manila, and gave her "a harsh lecture."

He said he warned her that if she wanted her wages to increase, she would better tell other domestics that the Spratlys belonged to China and that if war broke out over it, he would have to terminate her "because I would not risk the crime of treason for sponsoring an enemy of the state by paying her to wash my toilet and clean my windows 16 hours a day."

He said that the taxes of Louisa's wage could go to the Philippine government, which might use it to fund a navy to invade Chinese territory.

With an earlier report Erwin Oliva from INQUIRER.net

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(Comments)

Note: I personally wrote two (2) replies against Mr. Tsao’s dangerous article which I reprinted below. I was in HK when I emailed these replies.

My magalang na reply (not published by HK Mag, cc'd to Ms Balladares of UNIFIL):

Dear Editors,

Truly Mr. Tsao's latest article which you've allowed published online has created bad sentiments and ugly image to your publication. It was poorly written, discriminatory, of poor taste, irresponsible, and degrading not only to Filipinos but to all honest migrant workers in Hong Kong. If your intention of publishing Mr. Tsao's article online is just to increase traffic, or add fame or whatever mileage you people think would benefit your outfit, then you are dead wrong.

In this regard, I am calling many of our friends, associations, colleagues including business associates to stop supporting your outfit and remove their advertisements on your publications. We are emailing and forwarding emails to all your advertisers and pick-up outlets in Hong Kong to stop supporting your publications both paper and online.We are also forming an advocacy group to call on all Hong Kong maids including their associations to inform their English-speaking employers to BOYCOTT your publication until a formal apology of both you (editors and Mr. Tsao's) is published online.We shall continue to forward this cause until your apology is published.

By the way, your forum warning in RED color at the top of the forum section is meant to censor reactions from your readers. We think it's too late for that now since the damage has been done:"The War At Home --Please refrain from using profanity or making inappropriate comments. Comments will be disabled if profane or inappropriate comments continue. Please don't ruin the discussion for everyone."

You of all people should have thought it over before allowing a low-life, sick writer Mr. Tsao to unleash his damning article through your outfit. We are forwarding this same email to a lot of good people in Hong Kong including concerned groups and NGO's.

Ricky Rueda Sadiosa
Presidential Candidate 2010


My censored and angry reply (not published by HK Mag – my nose and ears fuming, so pardon the bad words—for adults only. HK Mag is being read by many foreign expats in HK, so there goes my street lingo):

All these Chinese crap and an asshole mathafucker called Tsao
Submitted by rickyrueda on Mon, 30/03/2009 - 11:22.

Facts:

There are more than 10,000,000 chinese and Chinese-Filipinos in the Philippines. Let's massacre them all!

There are 1,000,000 Chinese and Chinese-Americans in the U.S. Let's massacre them all too.

Let's BOYCOTT HK Magazine and tell all our english-speaking friends and employers not to read this crappy cheap mag. Just use them as sheets to clean our windows and dripping walls. This is because this mag thinks and allows mothafuckers like Tsao to use its pages to mock not only Filipinos but other maid nationals in HK... that this mag thinks that it's cool to insult people through its pages. This is very irresponsible and stupid-- f_cking editors and publisher(s) of HK mag. This mag thinks that all these are just for fun to entertain its readers. Perhaps we can visit this mag's office and give its owners and writers a nice pat on the head.

Let's all visit Mr. Tsao's office and give him a nice pat in the head too.

Did I get your attention? Pardon the extremes of my invite to kill Chinese – though this is just a hyperbole for HK mag and Chip Tsao to notice my email from the deluge of emails coming from Filipinos and non-Filipinos all over the world condemning this malicious and racist article!

HK, when still being ruled by the Brits, was just a piece of rock filled with Chinese prostitutes back in the 60's and 70's. People here were as poor as sh_t (like the Philippines now). Back then Filipino tourists did not even consider walking the streets in HK because the territory was filled with triads, narcotics, beggars and prostitutes. It was a very dangerous piece of sh_t back then. So, I guess Mr Tsao forgot this piece of HK history because he was too busy sucking d_cks (yes, this stupid writer Tsao's a foggot) of his classmates while his school teacher was teaching him history.

Again, the people of HK and this foggot Tsao should not brag about Filipinos being a "country of servants" because his grandparent's asses were also poor as rats in the 50's, 60's and 70's. Even my late uncle, who was a small time mayor in our province back in the 60's, has welcomed Chinese migrants in the his home in our province to work as amahs. He had 3 chinese amahs then. I still have that black and white photo with his Chinese maids (who ran away from Amoy and sought refuge in the philippines), standing on both ends of the family clan reunion photo in the 60's all having long pony tails and wearing traditional Chinese dresses.

Ngayon lang kayo yumaman, yumabang na kayo! Mga p_tang-ina n'yo! Galing din naman kayo sa wala, ah! Pwe! (For chinese racists, go and ask your Filipino maids to translate what I've written here in Tagalog and savour the sweet smell of its meaning).

So this BBC-kicked out irresponsible and idiotic journalist Tsao should better read the correct version of Chinese history and be humbled by their true history. I guess he grew up and learned his education from fake Chinese teachers (China is the most notorious product fakers in the world) who, like desperate chinese historians, wanted to present an immaculate history of how China became a superpower - and trying to change and rewrite the not-so-pretty history of their country from the inhuman astrocities during the building of the Great Wall to the Communist Cultural Revolution in the 50's-70's down to the country's persecution of the fa lung gongs of modern china.

"Long live Mao" is Tsao's desperate act of swallowing the errors committed by the former mass murderer of China. During Mao's leadership, more than 30,000,000 chinese died, including many of those who escaped in HK, the Philippines, Taiwan, Korea, Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia. Mr Tsao and HK Mag should really apologize. Tsao should be greatful that without the Philippine's hospitable policy of welcoming Chinese escapees and refugeees during their worst political nightmares, there will be no SM's, Cojuangcos, Tans and more than 10,000,000 Chinese and Filipino-Chinese who now are controlling the Philippine economy with the connivance of few Filipino as_holes in the country.

Finally, HK will not be as pretty and clean these days without the "130,000 Filipino slave workers" as this as_hole Tsao has written in his damning article! This alleged bestseller (my ass), self-proclaimed writer should be crucified and ass-kicked from HK Mag -- and this mag finally padlocked!

Enrique Sadiosa
Presidential Candidate 2010

(Comment #2)

In the light of this racist slurs and controversy, our government and past governments should be party blamed for allowing its people to work like slaves in foreign countries. I remember this policy of sending OFWs was a temporary "cure" for the worsening unemployment during the waning Marcos years. It was the former Blas Ople who helped chart the policy of sending OFWs back then to temporary "solve" unemployment.

Now, this policy became a hanapbuhay of the government to earn precious dollars to continue their corruption and neglect of the Filipino people at their expense. Results: Millions of Filipinos today are "motherless and fatherless", many workers are in foreign jails due to various "offences and stupidities" as their foreign host countries charge them. How many Filipinos suffered psychological traumas, physical abuses, some even left on the sidewalks to die like pests, how many thousands are suffering from various mental syndromes far worst than those being suffered by servicemen in their battle against terrorism?

All these because of the Philippine government's neglect and corruption. Do we OFWs really think that we are the "modern heroes" these corrupt officials and their cohorts are labelling us to be? At least, my book "Mga Bagong Bayani" has documented more than 200 of them toiling overseas. But these alleged "protectors of migrant workers" made OFWs as the modern milking cows just for the country to stay afloat. Without the annual OFWS remittances of US$8 billion, the country has already fell into civil war because of hunger!

I say we start changing our impressions and images of our politicians. For more than 40+ years, most of our politicians have had struggled but failed in making the country strong and stable. They failed to uplift our way of life, failed to strenghten our industry, failed to improve the image of the country abroad, failed to stop kdnappings, failed to give solution to the Mindanao problem, hasn't stopped the NPAs from roaming our hills, failed even to produce rice for our people, or even give solution to the traffic-pollution-garbage-over population of Metro Manila, failed to control infaltion, and thousands of other simple problems of the country? 40+ years, mga kababayan! Walang nagawa ang mga sweet-talkers na mga 'to! Plakda pa rin ang bayan!

So, why choose politician candidates to run our lives for the next 6 years again in 2010? Some of these corrupt officials are even sons and daughter of former corrupt politicians posing as "opposition" candidates. One of them even is a son of a former action-movie star-turned president and was convicted of economic plunder and got jailed for it! Now, both him and his dad are running for president! Sonnavabitch! Saan na tayo papunta, mga kababayan?

Can we not understand that the country is only being ran by political families and dynasties which actually brought the country to poverty and hunger? They fight amongst themsleves. They throw accusations among themselves as being corrupt, magnanakaw, mangagnahoy, mamamatay-tao, kidnappers, hamletters, vigilantes, kick-backers and all sorts of degrading insults. They fight among themselves for personal gains in the senate and congress at the expense of our money, time, and efforts. While they insult and fight in the senate and congress, they waste their time, money and efforts while we pay our precious taxes so that they can feed their families, buy their expeditions, villas, resorts, travel abroad, or finance their private armies. And mind you, these are in billions of pesos!

If I am president, this will stop and rechannel these monies to infrastructures, hospitals, schools, health, additional salaries, sound government projects to create jobs, jobs nad more jobs!

I suggest we start rethinking of our choices, our decisions to elect non-politicians or individuals who can present and deliver better solutions to our economic woes and dificulties. Honest candidates who can give "lights at the end of the tunnel" to our suffering 88 million people.

Politicians will NOT give solutions to our current problems. Period! Choose people who have good connections abroad, good business know-how, candidates who knows how to deliver solutions to the economy, who has a heart for OFWs and Filipinos seeking for better lives. Kandidatong me pakiramdam at malasakit sa kapakan ng nakararami (hindi sa iilang mayayaman at kilala na na ang tanging layunin ay isahan ka para lalo silang yumaman).

Lets choose candidates who can teach our people how to create their own businesses and support them too. Candidates who knows how to control the people's money and invest them locally -- invest on their people. Candidates who can network the country to other countries through sound trading where both are winners through import and export of goods. Candidates who aim to see the country becoming industrialized, a country capable of producing its own food and raw materials and process them to benefit the many and earn dollars not by exporting its people, but exporting its products that can compete worldwide.

Let's change ourselves and we can change the country.