Tsao faces Pinoys in Hong Kong

MANILA, Philippines - Controversial Hong Kong columnist Chip Tsao went to the Philippine Consulate General in Hong Kong on Wednesday night to convey his “most sincere” apologies to Filipinos, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said yesterday.

DFA spokesperson J. Eduardo Malaya said the consulate relayed to them that Tsao offered to meet face to face with the Filipino community in his desire to address the very group that he had offended.

Tsao personally appeared at the consulate to apologize for his controversial article, “The War at Home,” published in the March 27 issue of HK Magazine. In his article, Tsao described the Philippines as “a nation of servants” and said Manila’s claims to the disputed Spratly Islands in the South China Sea were ridiculous in the face of Beijing’s rival territorial claims.

Tsao conveyed his sincere apologies to the Filipino people for the offense he had caused through his commentary, explaining that he had never intended to demean any particular group when he wrote the article, whose aim was to poke fun at local authorities and other sectors. 

He said he now realized that he had crossed the line, for which he was “terribly sorry.”

After his brief address, Tsao stood up and bowed before the group.

But some OFWs present were still mad at Tsao and rejected his apology.

“Mr. Tsao, I think you are lying,” an angry OFW snapped during the meeting.

The Philippine Consulate and community leaders officially accepted Tsao’s apology and acknowledged his gesture of visiting the Consulate General to personally meet and convey his apology to the consulate and to the Filipino community.  

After the meeting, the Philippine Consulate General and Filipino community leaders appealed to the Filipino community not to allow the incident to undermine the friendly relations between the community and Hong Kong society.

The meeting was attended by leaders and members of the Filipino community in Hong Kong, including representatives of the household service workers sector, religious groups, non-government organizations, and professionals.

Tsao issued a public apology over ATV Hong Kong Tuesday night and in his apology, he justified his choice of words and cited Scripture in saying people are all servants of God.

Despite his apology, the planned protest of the Filipino community in Hong Kong against Tsao will push through on Sunday with full support from the alliance of Filipino migrants, the Migrante International.

Meanwhile, Immigration Commissioner Marcelino Libanan said Tsao is still not allowed to enter the Philippines, despite his apology.

Libanan said Tsao himself would have to apply to Philippine authorities in Hong Kong to have the ban lifted.

“Tsao can request from the (Philippine) Consulate in Hong Kong who will then communicate to the DFA (Department of Foreign Affairs),” explained Libanan.

The DFA would inform the BI about Tsao’s application and the latter will decide whether to remove the journalist from the blacklist or not.

Libanan also said he would leave it up to Consul General to Hong Kong Kira Danganan-Azucena to assess the sincerity of Tsao’s apology and if it would be prudent on the part of the Bureau of Immigration to lift the blacklist order against him. - With Rudy Santos, Evelyn Macairan and Jose Rodel Clapano