Two separate items got our attention in today’s Sunday Morning Post. In the letters page, Mark Peaker extols the “superior service” of Cathay Pacific when compared with other airlines his aquaintances had the misfortune to fly with over the Christmas period. Mr Peaker, from his lofty abode on the peak, very often offers his unsolicited support for Cathay Pacific, and in the past for HSBC. I wonder what his motivation is? And what the SCMP letters policy is on individuals whose letters are motivated by self-interest. No doubt Mr Peaker is a substantial shareholder in both companies and seeks to indulge in some personal PR for them in the hope he can deflect some of the more critical reports in the media, surely he cannot be a satisfied customer. They never write letters!
The second item was a quote from Ronnie Chan Chi-chung, arguing that trade seats in the legislature should stay even after the introduction of universal suffrage as they are in line with what Aristotle has to say about democracy, i.e. it should combine public opinion with participation by the elite. Ronnie obviously considers himself one of the elite. Would it be impertinent to point out that perhaps Aristotle, as a great thinker, might have had intellectuals in mind when he referred to an elite, rather than our self-centred, idiotic, but rich imbeciles like Ronny. I’d call him a half-wit but I fear it would be a compliment.
Filipina Nurses
An editorial in yesterdays SCMP suggested the government could solve the severe shortage of nurses in Hong Kong by employing Filipina nurses. Great idea. The editorial then states that the Hospital Authority cites the major stumbling block is language; most patients are Cantonese, forgetting of course that the majority of Filipinas in Hong Kong pick up Cantonese quite easily. The editorial failed to mention the most salient reason… racism. It’s no secret. There are some in Hong Kong, albeit a significant minority, who believe Filipinas are no better than servants, and the use of ‘dogs eyes’ towards them, a term once exclusively reserved for the ‘gweilo’ who looked down on the local, is common. When I first came here, I was shocked by a young kid abusing his domestic helper in a McDonalds: “You’ll do as your told he shouted and I’ll have what I want.” I was apoplectic at the obnoxious wee shite, I very nearly ‘cuffed him on the lug’ as they would say in Scotland, sadly, I learned it was normal for 10 year old brats to abuse their helpers in this way, the spoiled little emperors learn it from their parents. Another time I had the misfortune to engage one of Hong Kong’s very few talkative taxi drivers who spent the journey regaling me with his exploits with prostitutes in Shenzhen. I jokingly asked: “Why don’t you go to Wanchai where there are Filipina prostitutes.” He turned around while driving, looked at me as if I were mad and held his fingers to his nose. And then there was Chip Tsao, a one-time columnist with HK magazine, amongst others, who, in an article he claimed was satire, called the Philippines a ” nation of servants.” He did apologise and again emphasised his satirical intent, only problem is Chip, satire is supposed to funny!
Of course there are many local people who treat their helper as one of the family, but as long as there is this racist undertone towards domestic help in general and Filipina ones in particular, don’t expect to see any Filipina nurses in Hong Kong anytime soon.