HK OFWs vow to guard against discrimination

By Jerome Aning
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 08:30:00 04/07/2009

MANILA, Philippines—Vowing to stay alert to all forms of discrimination against ethnic minorities, Filipino community groups in Hong Kong Monday ended their campaign against a controversial columnist who had described the Philippines as a “nation of servants” with a call to the Chinese territory’s government.

“We urge the government of Hong Kong to ensure that the rights of Filipinos and other ethnic minority groups in the territory are always protected, their contributions to society duly recognized, and the Racial Discrimination Ordinance and all other laws that prohibit any and all acts of discrimination be enforced,” organizers of Sunday’s rally said in a petition against Chip Tsao who wrote the HK Magazine article.

The document was signed by 136 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) representing groups from Philippine provinces of Abra down to Zamboanga, as well as 21 other individuals, including priests and professionals.

The petition, however, had a conciliatory tone because it acknowledged that Tsao’s article did not reflect the views of the majority of the people of Hong Kong.

“This unfortunate incident notwithstanding, we reiterate our commitment to preserving the long-standing friendship and mutual respect between the Filipino community and the people of Hong Kong,” the signatories said.

Eman Villanueva, one of the organizers of the rally, said Tsao’s portrayal of the Philippines as a “nation of servants” ridiculed not just 127,000 Filipinos working in Hong Kong as household service workers, but also Filipinos everywhere in the world.

The petitioners rejected Tsao’s explanation that his column was satirical and he had been misunderstood, saying: “We note the apology he has issued, but we believe it falls far short of what is just and proper under the circumstances.”

Tsao and HK Magazine owed Filipinos “a full and unconditional apology for the grave disrespect they have shown,” the organizers said.

Some OFW groups filed a complaint before the Hong Kong Press Council and the Equal Opportunities Commission, a government body that implements anti-discrimination statutes.

Meanwhile, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) is studying a recommendation of the Philippine consulate general in Hong Kong to remove the name of Tsao from its blacklist.

Ed Malaya, DFA spokesperson, said the recommendation was made by the consulate to the Bureau of Immigration which had placed Tsao on the list of aliens barred from entering the country after the latter formally apologized for branding the Philippines “a nation of servants.”

Tsao last week went to the consulate and apologized to its officials as well as to the leaders of the Filipino community in Hong Kong for what he had written in his column, “The War At Home” which was published on March 27 on HK Magazine.

“During his visit to the consulate April 1, Mr. Tsao indicated his interest to visit the country someday,” Malaya said. With a report from Cynthia D. Balana