My Thoughts on Chip Tsao's Apology and Justification

The Chinese columnist Chip Tsao's article earned itself a variety of reactions from Filipinos especially. Most are of course violent, but there are also some who found justification on what he wrote. There are even some Filipino analysts and columnists who "agree" with the nasty things Tsao said about us.

Here's a link where you can read the full article (thanks to jerry Liao):

http://asia.cnet.com/blogs/infochat/post.htm?id=63009834&scid=hm_bl

According to HK magazine his infamous statement "nation of servants" is merely a satire. But no matter how much they stress that that statement was not meant literally, they could never justify the insult on that statement because Tsao made his prejudice against Filipinos more evident when he said "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 everyone of her compatriots in Statue Square on Sunday that the entirety of the Spratly Islands belongs to China". Now tell me Chip, how could you justify this? This is clearly a manifestation of his discrimination over Filipinos. And by stating holds a degree in international politics from the University of Manila, he is all the more stressing the point that even educated Filipinos are "servants".

I read a blog and an article saying that it's funny how we Filipinos reacted harshly against Tsao's statement when it is true that a lot of Filipinos are domestic helpers. Yes, it is a stark reality that a lot of Filipinos work abroad as domestic helpers - even degree holders. It is not his statement per se that caused Filipinos in general to be furious - it is the content of what he said that we are angered about. Read between the lines of his article and you can feel his disrespect towards Filipinos. And this was published on the internet where everyone around the world can read about how he belittles us.

Tsao also said "it was never meant to hurt Filipinos". But what was he thinking when he "wrote" that article?

If we condone and justify what Chip Tsao said against us, it is like giving them the permission to insult our dignity and allowing them to exploit us. Filipinos had already been exploited since the time the Spaniards occupied our country and up to this day when we submit ourselves to cheap labor because foreigners know that as a nation, we are desperately needy.

So despite the apology I believe that a protest rally is still in order. To make known to the world that discrimination and insults will never be tolerated by "a nation of servants".