“Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”, this award-winning movie title best describes the China that I saw when I visited the capital city, Beijing, two weeks ago. After a 3 ½ hour gentle Air China flight from Hong Kong, we landed in an airport 3 times bigger than Chek Lap Kwok Airport. If there is one obvious spectacle that a non-Beijinger would immediately notice upon arrival, it is its grandeur and sheer vastness. As part of a K-Touch group (Manufacturer and Distributor of K-Touch Mobile phones) on a 4-day business trip, we were welcomed by our local counterpart who immediately ushered us to the hotel. True to my first impression, the 30-minute ride through smooth traffic in a late afternoon on an almost empty freeway reinforced my thoughts -- that the airport, the freeways, the transport system and other structures that I saw, are obviously built to accommodate a business environment that is yet to come, say 5 or 10 years in the future. What strikes me with admiration though is the ability of its leader to prepare their country for these challenges ahead. That is what I call VISION!
Except for the slight distraction caused by this “Chip Tsao incident”, I have no doubt that the Filipino politicians and entrepreneurs have already noticed this transformation and consider China as a serious partner both economically and politically.
On a personal level, Chip Tsao’s article has not elicited my contempt simply because it’s not worth it. Instead, I pity this poor soul for “he know not what he is doing”. On his opening statement – "The Russians sank a Hong Kong freighter last month, killing the 7 Chinese seamen onboard. 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…”, Mr. Tsao is implying that he can take the bullying from “stronger” countries and at the same time rejoice in bullying the “weaker” ones. This kind of persona reminds me of infamous people such as Hitler, Mussolini, etc… characters who had provoked and incited people to harbor hatred against others through their misguided or misplaced concept of nationalism. And so it is no wonder why his article brought condemnation both from the Filipino community and Hong Kong people. In this age of the internet -- where the world becomes a small global village -- this kind of mentality, no matter how Mr. Tsao defends it, has no place in a just and decent society. He is a disgrace to the Chinese people in general. Instantly, my local Chinese friends called me to express their disgust as soon as they came across his article. Mr. Chip Tsao’s mentality towards people who are doing honest labor, no matter how menial, is what creates animosity in our society. That is what I call DIVISION!
On the other hand, as responsible members of our community, we should treat this incident as a wake-up call for us to discipline our own ranks and stay on guard at all times. Meaning, we have to be vigilant to the excesses that may arise in our conduct as “transients” in our adopted home. On this regard, I strongly urge our community leaders to take notice of how our people behave in public places, especially during holidays, such as gambling in public view (i.e., tong-its, pusoy…), barricading highly visible walkways with thick cardboards (karton) which is obviously an eyesore, leaving behind piles of trash in places of convergence, or any acts for that matter that may offend the sensitivities of others. Kailangan pa bang antayin natin ang Hong Kong government pa ang magbawal sa atin? Officers of the Philippine Consulate must look into this matter and come out with appropriate recommendations. I understand the shortage of manpower from our consular office but there is urgency in this problem that I think they must seriously consider. In as much as I admire and commend our consular staff for gracing our community events with inspirational speeches, I urge them to do a brief detour to the places where our OFWs get together during holidays before proceeding to their appointments so that they themselves can witness what many already know – that during Sundays and holidays our kababayans have literally taken over the many paved walkways and corridors, especially areas around Central and Admiralty, making it appear like we are squatters. We should come up with answers as to why our workers choose these places for “rest & recreation” instead of the more appropriate areas such as public parks and other shelters. Is it lack of space? Is it because of its proximity to Worldwide House? O kaya likas lang talagang wala ng halaga sa loob natin ang maaaring ipuna o masagwang masabi ng ibang tao sa ating lahi? Whatever is the reason, believe me, we should get answers now or find ourselves being bombarded with complaints in the very near future. Have we ever forgotten the old saying: “An ounce of prevention, is worth a pound of cure”? Now, I challenge you to act on this “PREVENTION”.
As for us in True Friends Newsmag, we will continue to do our share of raising awareness to some of our negative traits so that we can rectify it before another persona of Tsao’s mentality take advantage of it and poke fun at us once again.
Author: Tony Bartolome
*Published in TF Newsmag (April 2009 Hong Kong issue)
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1 comment:
Tony,
This is a great message! If anything, Mr. Tsao should be thanked for giving rise to an occasion for bringing the OFW's together. Aside from that he would just be on my list of cowardly bigots who have a short memory. I guess he doesn't remember back in history when Chinese coolies, immigrant workers etc., were unwelcome and, such as in Panama, "prohibited immigrants." In the United States for a long time they suffered discrimination, persecution and general disdain for being "Chinese." So, Mr. Tsao's comments come as a bit of a surprise in their insensitivity and offensiveness. Me thinks he is doing it to focus attention on his otherwise insignificant self.
Lydia
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