Senator Pia S. Cayetano today joined calls to demand a public apology from a top Hong Kong publication and one of its columnists over a recent opinion article that made a racial slur against Filipinos over the country’s right to claim the Spratly Islands.

Cayetano, chair of the Senate committee on social justice, said Filipinos deserve no less than a formal public apology for the opinion piece entitled “The War At Home” written by Chip Tsao which appeared on the March 27 edition of the widely-circulated “HK Magazine.”

Tsao’s column depicted the Philippines as a “nation of servants” not worthy of claiming the Spratys from China, as the latter employs hundreds of thousands of Filipino domestic helpers on very low wages.

“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.”

“Let’s not dignify Tsao’s views by not stooping down to his level. We shouldn’t allow ourselves to be bullied by people with narrow minds like him. HK Magazine and Tsao must apologize for insulting Filipinos, and they should pledge not to commit this mistake again.”

“Our being a poor nation does not diminish the validity of our historical and legal claim to the Spratlys. In the proper forum, this dispute will eventually be threshed out and resolved. Ignorance, hatred and racial bias are the last things we need in approaching this long-standing controversy.”

“Our claim to the Spratlys is as valid as the other claims being pushed by other nations. It does not mean that we’re disregarding the claims of others. We respect their claim inasmuch as they should acknowledge ours.”

Cayetano added that should Tsao make good on his whimsical threat to fire her Filipino househelp over the Spratlys dispute, then she’s confident that other employers in Hong Kong, including foreign expatriates and fellow Filipinos, would be more than willing to take her in.

“I’ll personally appeal on my Filipino and foreigner friends based in Hong Kong to hire her. I’m sure there are many more enlightened minds out there willing to take her in. Filipino domestic helpers are very much in demand in Hong Kong precisely because of their efficiency and positive ethic at work.”

“We should be proud that millions of OFWs are able to serve the world, whether as managers, laborers, caregivers or medical prefessionals. There’s nothing to be ashamed of as long as we’re earning an honest living without having to step on the dignity of others.”

from http://www.senate.gov.ph

The Russians sank a Hong Kong freighter last month, killing the seven Chinese seamen on board. We can live with that—Lenin and Stalin were once the ideological mentors of all Chinese people. The Japanese planted a flag on Diàoyú Island. That’s no big problem—we Hong Kong Chinese love Japanese cartoons, Hello Kitty, and shopping in Shinjuku, let alone our round-the-clock obsession with karaoke.

Chip Tsao on his way home??? lmao

But hold on—even the Filipinos? Manila has just claimed sovereignty over the scattered rocks in the South China Sea called the Spratly Islands, complete with a blatant threat from its congress to send gunboats to the South China Sea to defend the islands from China if necessary. This is beyond reproach. The reason: there are more than 130,000 Filipina maids working as $3,580-a-month cheap labor in Hong Kong. As a nation of servants, you don’t flex your muscles at your master, from whom you earn most of your bread and butter.

As a patriotic Chinese man, the news has made my blood boil. I summoned Louisa, my domestic assistant who holds a degree in international politics from the University of Manila, hung a map on the wall, and gave her a harsh lecture. 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.

Grimly, I told her that if war breaks out between the Philippines and China, 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. 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.

Oh yes. The government of the Philippines would certainly be wrong if they think we Chinese are prepared to swallow their insult and sit back and lose a Falkland Islands War in the Far East. They may have 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 a portrait of our Great Leader during the Cultural Revolution. I’m not sure if that’s going a bit too far, at least for the time being.

Di kaya ang kapal ng mukha nitong si Chip Tsao?

from http://hk-magazine.com