Nation of Servants

Term jokingly used by a Hong Kong writer to describe the Philippines.

Many Filipinos were incensed by a recent satirical article in HK Magazine (now removed) that chided:

As a nation of servants, you don’t flex your muscles at your master, from whom you earn most of your bread and butter.

The column was written by a Hong Kong journalist, Chip Tsao, after the Philippines passed legislation reaffirming the country’s claim to the disputedSpratly Islands – over which China, and a number of other countries, asserts sovereignty.

According to The A.P., around 130,000 Filipinos are employed as domestic workers in Hong Kong; hundreds recently marched through the region’s financial district protesting against Tsao’s article and carrying placards that read: “No Chip shots at Filipinos,” and “We are workers, not slaves.”

Ken Kamoche observed in The Daily Nation:

[Tsao] described the Philippines as a nation of servants and wrote that he summoned his Filipina domestic helper to warn her that if her country continues laying a claim on the disputed Spratly Islands, she would face dire consequences.

Of course the tone of the column was pure satire, especially where he says that if the Philippines declared war on China he would have to fire his helper since he can’t be seen to be sponsoring an enemy of the state by paying her wages.

However, ironic or not, some regarded Tsao’s article as indicative of Hong Kong’s attitude toward foreign workers. HK Magazine issued an unreservedapology, as did Mr Tsao who reportedly asserted that his intention was to satirize Hong Kongers’ reprehensible attitudes toward their maids, not to malign Filipinos.