ASIA
Slur vs Hong Kong Pinays sparks outrage
By Delon Porcalla Updated March 29, 2009 12:00 AM
A screenshot of the website of HK Magazine that sparked outrage among
Filipinos for reportedly calling the Philippines a 'nation of servants.'
MANILA, Philippines - A congresswoman yesterday called on a Hong Kong
magazine to apologize to the Philippine government for offensive and
defamatory comments on Filipinos in an article on the country’s claim
over the Spratly islands which China also claims.
Akbayan Rep. Risa Hontiveros voiced strong protest over the article of
Chinese writer Chip Tsao published in the HK Magazine of the Asia City
Publishing Group, where he called the Philippines a “nation of
servants.â€
In his article, Tsao protested the Philippine claim over the Spratlys,
urging his compatriots not to bow to the Philippines because there are
“more than 130,000 Filipina maids working as $3,580-a-month cheap labor
in Hong Kong.â€
“As a nation of servants, you don’t flex your muscles at your master,
from whom you earn most of your bread and butter,†Tsao said in his
article.
He also mentioned that he employs a Filipina domestic helper named
Louisa and warned her that should a war erupt, “I would have to end her
employment and send her straight home, 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.â€
“With that money, she would pay taxes to her government, and they would
fund a navy to invade our motherland and deeply hurt my feelings,†Tsao
added.
“I sternly warned her that if she wants her wages increased next year,
she had better tell every one of her compatriots in Statue Square on
Sunday that the entirety of the Spratly Islands belongs to China,†Tsao
wrote.
The Chinese writer likewise said the Philippines should stop threatening
China.
“The Philippines may have a Barack Obama and the hawkish American
military behind them, but we have a hostage in each of our homes in the
Mid-Levels or higher. Some of my friends told me they have already
declared a state of emergency at home. Their maids have been made to
shout ‘China, Madam/Sir’ loudly whenever they hear the word ‘Spratly.’
They say the indoctrination is working as wonderfully as when we used to
shout ‘Long Live Chairman Mao,’ at the sight of portrait (sic) of our
Great leader during the Cultural Revolution,†Tsang said in his article.
Hontiveros took strong offense at this and said the magazine should
apologize immediately.
“This disgusting, derogatory, and vile remark can only come from
dim-witted and mediocre writing. The magazine should apologize
straightaway. The article reflects the kind of attitude that promotes
abuses against Filipina workers,†Hontiveros said.
She said Tsao’s story should not have been published, owing to its
defamatory nature characterized by racial discrimination against
Filipinos in general, and domestic helpers in particular.
“Chip Tsao should find another profession. He should leave the Spratlys
issue to the diplomats and writing to real writers because clearly he
has neither competence nor talent in foreign affairs and in writing,â€
Hontiveros added.
“When you make fun of a particular group, you expose them to abuses.
Wittingly or unwittingly, you end up supporting acts of intolerance and
abuses,†she added.
“Filipina domestic workers should hold a one-day strike to tell the
likes of Chip Tsao who’s the real master of the HK economy. If all
Filipino workers in HK would strike, the HK economy would grind to a
halt without us having to invade the territory,†she said.
She said Filipinos are not asking for political correctness, just
professional treatment.
“Domestic work is a decent job. It’s not just done by hired Filipina
domestic workers, it has also been the function of mothers of all
nationality, in Hong Kong and China and elsewhere. It should be treated
with respect,†she said, adding that by insulting Filipina domestic
workers Tsao has also insulted his own mother.
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