Posted on 05/02/2009 10:19:53 AM PDT by nickcarraway
A scathing editorial written by a Chinese columnist that referred to the Philippines as a "nation of servants", last month sent thousands of protesting Filipinos onto the streets of Hong Kong and threatened to spiral into a full blown diplomatic spat between Manila and the former British colony and current autonomous region governed by China.
The inflammatory column was published in late March by HK Magazine and referred to the Philippines' overlapping territorial claims with China to the nearby Spratly Islands. Written by former British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) correspondent Chip Tsao and entitled "The War At Home", the writer advised Hong Kong's
estimated 130,000 Filipino maids and other workers not to "flex your muscles at your master, from whom you earn most of your bread and butter".
The commentary piece was perceived as being laced with racist overtones and in an unprecedented show of collective force on April 5 drove thousands of Filipinos into the streets, some holding placards saying "Treat us fairly and with dignity" and "Foreign domestic helpers contribute to Hong Kong's economy". Over 150 Filipino organizations and prominent individuals signed a statement underscoring their disgust with Tsao's article.
Over a million Filipinos voted on social networking website Facebook for Tsao to make a public apology. The fervor represented one of the rare occasions that officials from the Philippine consulate in Hong Kong have seen eye-to-eye with migrant organizations. The groups have called for better monitoring and conditions for the overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and often criticize the government's perceived blind eye policy for migrant workers.
One Filipino legislator in Manila publicly challenged the Hong Kong reporter to a boxing match over the slight, while the Philippine government slapped a travel ban against the writer.
(Excerpt) Read more at atimes.com ...
They’re just attacking a nation, not race. Thats okay though
The inflammatory column was published in late March by HK Magazine and referred to the Philippines' overlapping territorial claims with China to the nearby Spratly Islands. Written by former British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) correspondent Chip Tsao and entitled "The War At Home", the writer advised Hong Kong's estimated 130,000 Filipino maids and other workers not to "flex your muscles at your master, from whom you earn most of your bread and butter".Spratly Islands -- CIA World Factbook.
This was a poorly written commentary that nonetheless falls under the “hard truth” category. In our nation it is just as difficult...if not more, to bring these topics up. But to speak about topics like unwed motherhood without delving into race/class/nationality is just dishonest. It is not Americans of Japanese descent that are producing American bastards. It is not Americans of Finnish Descent who are filling up California’s prisons.
One Filipino legislator in Manila publicly challenged the Hong Kong reporter to a boxing match over the slight, and added, “Your mother sleeps with Russian infantrymen. Hell, your mother IS a Russian infantryman.”
China briefly drops its mask.
In actuality, most Filipinos in the Philippines know this to be true - the racist attitude of the man from Hong Kong not withstanding.
The nation is even more greatly dependent on its overseas workers than is Mexico. The national politicians are in a bind - unable to create greater productive employment for their people at home and, in the meantime, in need of continued growth in the overseas workers, for the remittances they send home.
Who woulda thunk that one day the Filipinos would hate the Chinese even more than the Japanese.
Yes. Racism. Plain and simple.
American whites are the most racist folk on earth... except for just about every other race and nation and culture I’ve ever experienced. Majority Mexican culture treats the Indian “mestizos” like crap, Han Chinese culture looks down on most of the 56+ ethnic minorities, majority Japanese culture disdains virtually everyone else, many African tribesmen are a perceived insult away from beheading others from neighboring tribes... the rare examples of nations or cultures that have overcome internal racism are generally those cultures that have seen the ethnic majorities wiped away through interbreeding, like Brazil.
I thought that only white people could be racist?/sarc.
This is going to be a big shock to the Joy(less) Behars of the world.
The nation has staggering debt, thanks to World Bank loans to usually corrupt governments. These loans never really managed to better the country, but some politicians got really rich. Kind-of like the US taxpayer funding the IMF never really benefits us, just rich politicians and the global elite.
You are right that such topics don’t get honestly discussed. In fact, the only acceptable way to discuss some topics is to distort or lie about the topic—no progress is likely to come from that but it’s the situation we face.
Filipino’s have exceptionally conservative morals and their culture values education highly. Filipino’s also tend to value and benefit from that education. Unfortunately, their government is corrupt and opportunities to advance are few. So, they travel to other countries and send money home which keeps them from pressuring their gov’t to improve (sound like Mexico to you?).
The BBC comedy insult to Filipino’s is particularly angering to Filipino’s. I suspect the insulting images arise from exposure to prostitutes who work near military bases which are the only exposure some foreigners have to Filipino society. It would be like traveling to the US and only visiting inner-city Detroit or the Castro District of San F. You would have an odd view of the US and wouldn’t know anything about a typical family in Peoria.
“The nation has staggering debt, thanks to World Bank loans to usually corrupt governments. These loans never really managed to better the country, but some politicians got really rich. Kind-of like the US taxpayer funding the IMF never really benefits us, just rich politicians and the
global elite.”
As James Easterly noted in his book “White Man’s Burden”, among all the “third world” and underdeveloped nations, starting in the 1960s, those “third world” and underdeveloped nations that received the largest amounts and largest per-capita-of-GDP % of World Bank, IMF and UN “development” loans and aid, made the least economic progress compared to their “third world” and 1960s-underdeveloped peers.
All conservatives who are concerned about U.S. foreign aid programs can arm themselves with tons of well-researched facts from his book.
“The White Man’s Burden: Why the West’s Efforts to Aid the Rest Have Done So Much Ill and So Little Good By William Easterly New York: Penguin, 2006. Pp. 436. $27.95.”
“William Easterly reminds us that rich-country governments’ efforts to help poorer nations raise their living standards go back at least to Robert Owens’s utopian visions in the nineteenth century. Owens argued that “through the progress of physical and mental science ... perpetual prosperity” for all was in sight (p. 19). However, this particular road to riches, despite being paved with the best of intentions and billions of dollars (and other currencies), is littered with countless failed theories and “bold ...
http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-162360784.html
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.