The Curious Case of Mr. Chip Tsao

'Tsao' actually means a lot of things in Chinese, and the first thing that came to mind after I read his article ain't the not so nice definition.

I'm Chinese and I'm proud of my heritage, but after living in Beijing for half a year, I've come to terms with my nationality and I've identified myself as a true-blue Filipino above anything else.

I was swelling with Chinese pride when I watched the Olympics. But I was screaming when the Filipino contingent came out, even if Manny Pacquiao was the one carrying our flag.

Hell, even if I hate the guy's guts, I still feel proud when he wins.

People confuse Nationality and Race and Religion all the time. Like American (Kano) and White, Muslim and Arab (Arabo), Mexican and Latino, etc, etc.

Here in the Philippines people call me 'Intsik'. I usually try to remind people that the correct term is 'Tsino'. Sometimes I jokingly add, "you can call me Intsik as long as I can call you Indio."

I'm not an outsider. I was born in the Philippines, I eat adobo and sisig, I can use 'tangina' in myriad ways, and most of all I'm proud of my country.

So here we have Chip Tsao calling us a "Nation of Servants". I take great offense with remarks like this.

I can understand the Middle Kingdom mentality because my parents espouse this kind of belief, albeit indirectly. Even the term 'Huana' is not something I like using.

I don't know when this was but I overheard a student teammate from Xavier say "I'm so dark now, I look like a 'Kang Lang'. I actually had to remind the kid that it's not right to talk that way. It got me thinking that he must have gotten that kind of talk from his parents.

But then again, on the flip side, we as Filipinos must think why foreigners think of us like they do. Maybe we don't give them enough reason to admire our country aside from our beaches and food.

These among other things we need to think over. This is not just some lame reporter saying some improper things. It goes down a lot deeper.

Discuss.