Satire is it?

I have written about the article of Chip Tsao/Chip Tsai in the HK magazine which a lot of Filipino have been furious about. The said writer have already apologized by going to the Philippine consulate in Hongkong and conveyed his apology. I don’t really think if his apology is sincere since I can’t get over his statement as well as the statement of HK magazine.

Here is the line of Chip Tsao.

“The article was never intended to be insulting to the Filipino domestic workers,” Tsao told AFP.

He added in the report that “English, being a global language, is open to different interpretations by those who come from various cultural backgrounds”.

“Has anyone been deeply upset, it was never my intention and I feel sorry,” Tsao was quoted in the report.

source : ABSCBN news

And here is the apology from HK magazine :

The publisher and editors of HK Magazine wish to apologize unreservedly for any offense that may have been caused by Chip Tsao’s column dated 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.

As a magazine, we would never want to say anything that would negate that belief.

The column in question was satirical. One aspect of 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.

We wish to assure our readers that we have nothing but respect for Filipinos, both living in Hong Kong and abroad.
source : HK magazine

Are they really sincere in giving out their apology? Why is there a need to say that the article was interpreted differently because of the English language and that article is a SATIRE? Why would SATIRE be always the excuse whenever some article or show would come up insulting the Filipino people. And tell me is this article a SATIRE or satire is just a lousy excuse for coward people who cannot take responsibility for something that they did?

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.

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.

Oh well, I may not be well versed in English as well as ten of thousand Filipino out there not to get the message, eh?

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