Asia-Pacific News
Journalist riles Filipinos with "nation of servants" slur
Mar 29, 2009, 8:45 GMT
Manila - A Hong Kong journalist was under fire in the Philippines on Sunday for calling the South-East Asian country a 'nation of servants' in a column about disputed areas in the South China Sea.
In his March 27 column for HK Magazine, titled 'The War At Home,' Chip Tsao denounced the Philippines' claims to the Spratly Islands, which are also claimed in whole or in part by China, Vietnam, Taiwan, Brunei, Malaysia.
'As a nation of servants, you don't flex your muscles at your master, from where you earn most of your bread and butter,' he said.
Tsao said he gave his Filipino maid a 'harsh lecture' on the issue and 'sternly warned her that if she wants her wages increased next year, she had better tell every one of her compatriots...that the entirety of the Spratly Islands belongs to China.'
According to the magazine, Tsao is a best-selling author and columnist. He is a former reporter for the BBC.
The Blas F Ople Policy Center, a Manila-based non-governmental organization providing assistance to migrant workers, called on the Philippine labour department to blacklist Tsao as an 'undesirable foreign employer.'
Susan Ople, the center's chairwoman, said Tsao should not use his Filipino maid as a 'pawn' in the dispute over the Spratly Islands.
'The household is not the place to resolve multiple claims to the Spratly Islands, and Filipino domestic workers should not suffer because of it,' she said.
Ople added that Tsao's maid 'deserve a sane and more humane employer while he deserves to clean up his own filth.'
Congresswoman Risa Hontiveros Baraquel, a representative of a left-wing party, condemned the column and lamented that Tsao's 'disgusting, derogatory and vile remark can only come from dim-witted and mediocre writing.'
'The article reflects the attitude that promotes intolerance and abuse against Filipino domestic workers,' she said.
On the magazine's website, Tsao has received numerous negative comments. While a couple of the commentators pointed out that Tsao could have been trying to be sarcastic and funny, they said he failed miserably.
'There is a point where irony done in very poor taste becomes not humorous, but crass, bigoted and stupid,' one commenter said.
Several commenters noted that without Filipino maids in Hong Kong, the island's economy would not be prosperous because its professionals would not be able to work.
On March 2, Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo signed a law defining the country's territorial boundaries and laying claims to disputed areas in the South China Sea.
The law identified a 'regime of islands under the Republic of the Philippines' or areas over which the country exercises 'sovereignty and jurisdiction.'
Those areas include the Scarborough Shoal - a group of islets, atolls and reefs claimed by China - and Kalayaan Islands, a part of the Spratly Islands.
China strongly opposed the unilateral claim, saying the disputed areas 'have always been parts of Chinese territory,' and dismissing Arroyo's legislation as 'illegal and invalid.'
COMMENT
blog comments powered by DisqusLatest Headlines in Asia-Pacific
- 1. Chinese dissidents hail late democracy activist Fang Lizhi
- 2. China "worried" over planned North Korea rocket launch
- 3. Myanmar's opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi meets Karen rebels
- 4. Chinese schoolboy sells kidney to buy iPad, iPhone
- 5. Myanmar president invites Karen rebels to form party
Older Talkback
page: 1
Apparently, the guy who wrote the article is a racist. If we Filipinos are like him there will be no Chinese businessman making millions in this country.
i read tsao's article and its really so absurd and definitely pathetic!! how did an educated man creat such contemptuous article??? i wish oneday i'll have a chance to meet him in person so i can say to him directly that 'i am proud of being a part of this nation than to be a part of nations of shabu chemist, smugler, and imitator i mean producers of pirated items!!! i dont see anything wrong about being a servant atleast its a decent job and its not against the law!'
This guy should also remember their history. What are they to the British brfore? He should also think that Hongkong is not the sole bread and butter for the Filipinos.
Filipinos have already occupied very important places in many parts of the world. And their global presence have already rooted to the societies of different nations. They already are dependent on Filipinos.
If all Filipinos are to be withdrawn from Hongkong, it would inflict a very huge damage to their activities.
To Mr. Chip of Hongkong .... Did you know that Philippines contributes a lot around the world? WHo are you to criticize us? Please note the we are not just working for our families but we work for God,, please read this from the website of : Saudi Gazette. Your only one of Million people who respect Filipino.We are Proud to be A Filipino & Imagine a World without Filipinos
The world without Filipinos
By Abdullah Al-Maglooth
Mohammad Al-Mograbi, a citizen, feels as if he has lost both his hands after his two Filipino workers who used to manage his gift and flower shop left the Kingdom.
Mohammad traveled to Manila a week ago to negotiate with two other Filipinos, asserting that no other nationals are as good as Filipinos. “There is no comparison between Filipinos and others,” he said.
What would the Kingdom be like without Filipinos?
Most of the Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) live in Saudi Arabia. Their number reached 1,019,577. In 2006 alone, we received more than 223,000 OFWs. The numbers are increasing.
Filipinos account for 20 percent of the world’s 1.2 million seafarers.
If the Philippines, for whatever reasons, halts exporting these seafarers, or they themselves go on a strike, then who would transport the world’s petroleum, food and heavy equipment? You can imagine the disaster. The world will come to a standstill if these ships stop.
Filipino workers are present on more than 51 ships navigating the world, performing exceptional duties in transport, maintenance and operation.
What makes Filipinos special?
They get technical training early during their academic years. They have a good command of the English language. Specialized training institutes in the Philippines polish the talents of their students with the best work-related training methods, as they also concentrate on majors ignored by many countries.
When we talk about Filipinos, we should not forget Filipino nurses who account for 20 percent of the world’s nurses.
Philippines has about 190 recognized universities, colleges and institutes that offer nursing courses. More than 9,000 female and male nurses graduate from these colleges and institutes every year.
Most of these graduates move directly to work in the US, Britain, Saudi Arabia, Ireland, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Singapore.
Kati Ann, a 35-year-old Filipina nurse who has been working in the Kingdom for five years, said she felt at home here because there are so many compatriots.
She said her training as a nurse started when she was just 4 years old. Her nurse aunt used to take her to her workplace and asked her to observe.
“I had become professional by the age of 11, measuring my grandfather’s blood pressure and injecting my mother with Insulin.”
We should respect Filipinos not only by recruiting them, but also by learning from them and their rich experience. – Al-Watan
source saudigazette
How the hell as an educated journalist comments an idiotic and bigoted statement like that.Mr Chip Tsao if you are not happy with your life don't take your frustration to your helper or to her whole race.If you got nothing good to say to someone you better close your freakin' mouth shut.Why don't you let the gov't of each country who claims sovereignty in Spratly's island solve it?Did they ask for your help?Keep your stupid comments to yourself
Even how popular he is, he has no right to say it. I don't think he is an educated person, because if he is, he would not do it.. Even he apologize in public it doesn't change anything because we already saw your real personality and attitude!! Having a maid does not mean that a person is powerful thus, he even threatened his own maid.. All of us are servants... WE ARE SERVANTS OF GOD.
To Mr. Tsao,
It was demeaning to read about your article and what you are doing to your domestic helper that prepares your food and maybe garnishing it with objects from the toilet that you want her to clean.
Let me let you , Master Tsao of your Chinese people here in Dubai where I stay. Last week end i went to Dragon Mart to shop. I asked one Chinese guy to carry my baggage and follow me around while I shop. He gets to do that for at least an hour while carrying all the things i bought.At the end of the day, I get to pay him USD3.
When I took the taxi home, I get to speak to a driver who just had sex with a Chinese girl who according to him would be glad to whatever he asked of USD 10. But the driver warned me that the Chinese are the filtiest prostitutes here and that he has to use 2 condoms just to protect himself as apparently because they are very cheap all other construction workers line up to have a quick fix.These girls needs to accomodate at least 100 guys a day just to pay for their visit visa renewal as they are illegally residing here.
Maybe this will give you an idea who the Chinese are in other parts of the world. Shopping slaves and dirty whores.Whose the master now? Maybe nexttime I'll order the slave boy to shout 'Spartly belongs to Philippines!' while carrying my bag. Or the whore to shout the same thing everytime the next construction worker has his way on her.
How do you like that??
Keep that in mind.
The remarkable thing is that we really love our neighbor as ourselves: we do unto others as we do unto ourselves. We hate others when we hate ourselves. We are tolerant toward others when we tolerate ourselves. We forgive others when we forgive ourselves. We are prone to sacrifice others when we are ready to sacrifice ourselves. This culture; amongst the Filipino values are the reason why the world acclaimed the Filipinos are unique.
Here's a juicy clip from wikipedia:
Tsao is married and has two children. He enjoys reading Chinese poetry to his children.[1] However, Hong Kong media have reported on his alleged infidelity to his wife. The proprietor of an hourly motel in Kowloon Tong claims Tsao is a regular customer there, and in 2004, a reporter for East Week tailed Tsao and an unidentified young woman to said hotel and took pictures of them. Tsao reportedly attempted to flee the scene with his head wrapped in toilet paper to obscure his face while the woman stood in front of the reporter's car to block pursuit.
He can't even provide a good disposition. NO morals whatsoever.
page: 1
A 16 year-old Filipino - tested for authenticityMar 30th, 2009 - 14:52:58
I've read the whole article and, of course, I felt bad. It was never a satire like some of the commentators claimed.
As an educated 'journalist', how I wish that he knows the history of his own country and the current internal challenges that it's facing. If being a nation of servant is demoralizing and funny enough, then...
Filipinos are very misunderstood by narrow - minded people of the world.
Remember this Mr. HK Journalist, Filipinos are citizens of the world. We know how to insult, much worse than yours, but we have the decency to keep it within ourselves and think of better (like an authentic satire) ways in expressing it. We are simply polite because we are dealing with the world and not just a single country like Hongkong.
And come on, having a maid doesn't mean that you're rich and powerful... It's the 21st century.. Domestic help is a job and its hierarchy is deemed significant by those people who practice liberation technically but not substantially.
Report this comment