Reply to the Apology of the Editors

Because the editors of HK Magazine has apparently flagged my comment on their website as potential spam, I shall post my comment on my blog, which is not spam! Wahahahaha!

I have included their apology as part of my blog and I am going to cite it lest they charge me with plagiarism.

An Apology

• The comment you posted has been flagged as potential spam. It will not be visible until the site administrator has a chance to review it.
• Your comment has been queued for moderation by site administrators and will be published after approval.

April 3rd, 2009

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:

http://hk-magazine.com/feature/war-home#comment-3185



MY REPLY


To the editors of HK Magazine.

If you are making an apology, please just make a plain and simple statement of "I AM SORRY!" Please reserve sweet talking to the lower intellectuals that actually read your articles.

There is nothing satirical about the article made Mr. Chip Tsao. Satire is defined extensively as the use of comedic punchlines to indirectly invoke to or pertain to current political and social circumstances. Firstly, there is nothing funny about the words used by Mr. Tsao. He has nothing but contempt at the Filipinos, both as a country and as a nation. No comedic punchlines were delivered. Even genuinely English-speaking people does not find it comedic. Hence, it cannot be considered satirical.

Secondly, when reading a satirical column, provided that the column is indeed satirical, one must read the entire article to determine the thought being laid down by the writer. Any person, be those with simple or extensive understanding of the English language would generally reach a pure and simple conclusion. In this matter, the outpouring of disgust shall speak for itself as the most simple conclusion reached by everyone.

Lastly, you claim that you respect the Filipinos for their contribution to the HK community. On that matter, THANK YOU. But we Filipinos have something more important than the shallow respect you have of us. It is called DIGNITY. Respect is earned, but dignity is never skin deep. It is inherent in every Overseas Filipino Worker, who braved leaving the comfortable life they have in the Philippines to work in a measly job on foreign lands in order to help his/her family. On that matter, that is something, none of you would ever understand.

APOLOGY ACCEPTED! Now that, is SATIRE!

Just a short reply to Mr. Chip Tsao

This is the controversial article made by Chip Tsao in his column "War at Home" over HK Magazine.

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.

========================== MY REPLY==========================

His shameless apology is nothing but a blatant disregard of Filipino intellect and pride. Who is he fooling by saying that he was misconstrued in his use of the word "servant"? That the said word is sacred to him? And that all persons are servants in one way or another? Any Filipino who can perfectly understand English can clearly see the thought he was trying to imply in his article.

Let me say this clearly to Mr. Tsao, we Filipinos may serve you and some of your Chinese hullaballoos, but let me make it clear, WE ARE NOT YOUR SERVANTS! Giving service is one of the utmost characteristic of a Filipino, moreso, an overseas Filipino.

So please, spare us the shananigans. Your apology is insincere and is full of sh*t!

REPOST - Di na paaalipin

Di na paaalipin
in Radical Pinoy 

Ito ay hango mula sa akda ni Vencer Crisostomo sa Pinoy Weekly

NITONG nakaraang Oktubre 29-30, 2008 ginanap ang Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFDM) sa PICC sa Maynila, at binuksan ito ng mga pahayag ni Gloria Arroyo at UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon na nagkaisa: Ang migrasyon ay instrumento para sa kaunlaran.

Ilang kanto mula sa venue ng GFMD, nagtipon ang International Assembly of Migrants and Refugees (IAMR). Nagsama-sama rito ang mga hindi imbitado sa GFMD -- ang mga migrante mismo, ang mga alipin ng bagong mundo mula sa iba’t ibang panig, at sa kanilang mga sarili ay nagtanong: Nasaan ang kaunlaran sa dustang kalagayan?

Nagpulong ang mga migrante at nagbahagian ng mga kuwentong tiyak na di tatalakayin ng mga hari, burukrata at negosyante sa PICC. Habang pinag-uusapan nina Arroyo at Ban ang remittances, batas at mga proseso ng maramihang pagpapadala sa ibang bayan, pinagkukuwentuhan ng mga migrante ang kanilang mga pamilya, mga kasamahan, at ang kanilang pangarap na umuwi sa kani-kanilang mga bayan.

Malinaw ang kanilang deklarasyon: Hindi kaunlaran ang mahiwalay sa pamilya, maabuso, mabigyan ng mumong pasahod, makaranas ng pang-iinsulto at pagkakapahiya, nakawan ng perang pinagpaguran para sa bulsa ng iilan. Hindi kaunlaran ang magahasa, mabartolina, mapugutan ng ulo, mabitay, mawalan ng asawa, anak, magulang.

Hindi kaunlaran ang mabigyan ng sahod-alipin na nanakawin pa ng malalaking bangko at mga gubyernong mapagsamantala. Kung may salamangka na hatid ang remittance, black magic ng panloloko ito sa mga mamamayan ng mundo.

Sa araw ng pagbubukas ng GFMD, lumabas ang mga migrante at nagmartsa. Isantambak ng mga pulis at sundalo ang itinapat sa kanila. Napigilan man nito ang paglapit nila sa lugar ng pagpupulong, bigo itong puksain ang kapangyarihan ng kanilang nagkakaisang tinig na pinaalingawngaw sa buong daigdig.

“Now we speak for ourselves!” Ito ang islogan ng International Migrants’ Alliance (IMA) na nanguna sa martsa. Isang makatindig-balahibong pahayag kung tutuusing mula ito sa mga mamamayang itinaboy mula sa sariling bayan, pinagkaitan ng boses at pinilit magsalita sa tinig ng iba, at tinanggalan ng sariling karapatan bilang tao pagkat tinuring bilang kalakal.

Oktubre 29-30, 2008, nagtipon ang mga naghahari-harian at mga alagad ng karimlan at sila’y nagkaisa: Higit nating pahirapan ang mga alipin, higit nating pagsasasaan sila at ang kanilang mga anak.

Ilang kanto mula rito, itinipon ang nagpupuyos na galit sa puso nilang matagal nang dinusta. Iba’t ibang lahi, iba’t ibang salita, pero iisa sa pagbabanta: Di na kami paaalipin, di na palalansi, ang kinabukasan ng mundo ay sa amin at sa aming mga anak.