HK Magazine removes Chip Tsao from website

MANILA, Philippines - The controversial article of Chinese writer Chip Tsao describing the Philippines as “a nation of servants” as well as his profile photo has been pulled out of the online edition of HK Magazine.

Tsao’s March 27 article entitled “The War at Home,” which sparked uproar from politicians, migrant workers and Filipinos all over the world, could no longer be found on the magazine’s website.

On Monday morning, or three days after the article was published online, hk-magazine.com posted a warning for readers not to leave derogatory comments on the website. In the afternoon, the link to the online version of the column was rerouted to another page.

A search in the magazine’s homepage yielded different page results for “The War at Home” and Chip Tsao. There were articles that could not be accessed unless one is a registered user.

In another development, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) announced that it would not consider filing a diplomatic protest against Tsao, saying Asia City Publishing, publisher of HK Magazine where the article came out, has already apologized for Tsao’s politically incorrect commentary.

DFA Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs Esteban Conejos Jr. also noted that the Philippine Consulate General in Hong Kong has already issued a very strong statement.

“We just had an incident and there was response. Let us look and wait. We move in calculated steps. Let us take a look at what happens. We take actions depending on what happens,” Conejos said in a press conference.

But he said they would still await the Senate Resolution asking the DFA to file a diplomatic protest.

Despite the apology, Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri still filed yesterday Senate Resolution No. 955 condemning Tsao for his derogatory remarks against the Philippines.

Zubiri asked the Philippine Overseas Employment Agency (POEA) to look into the plight of Filipino workers in Hong Kong.

“Any patriotic Chinese man should not be arrogant by giving derogatory remark against any nationality including Filipinos in particular,” Zubiri said.

He also challenged Tsao and other Chinese nationals of his kind to look into their past and see that there was no shame in being OFWs.

“He should do his research and he might find that his ancestors were OCWs as well,” Zubiri said.

“China was once the largest producer of overseas contract workers (OCWs) who constructed the train stations in the US, who worked in the mines of Central Asia and the country that established the most number of so-called Chinatowns in the world,” he said.

Zubiri said if “Tsao feels that the OFWs of Hong Kong should be all kicked out, then there should be reciprocity by banning all Chinese-made products in the Philippines, which is a very big market.”

Meanwhile, Immigration Commissioner Marcelino Libanan yesterday said that he is willing to lift the blacklist order on Tsao if he would just apologize.

Last Monday, Libanan signed the one-page order banning Tsao from entering the country.

A copy of the order has already been circulated to the different major airports, like the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) terminal 1 and 2, and seaports nationwide. - With Rudy Santos, Evelyn Macairan, Christina Mendez