Rants : Chinese Ambassador Apologizes for Chinese Embassy First Secretary's Blunder

H.E. Ambassador Ma Keqing of China

Having lived and worked in China in the early '90s, I have a very good impression of the Chinese people. The Chinese I had met during my stay there were very humble, hospitable and happy people. I think these good qualities are inherent of the Chinese people and its culture.

But recently, the news I have been reading about Chinese expatriates give a different picture of their character and behavior. Did I get a wrong impression about the Chinese people during my stay in China? Or did they have a reversal of values because of the prosperity and wealth they have now.

Last year, there was a news about a Chinese expatriate driving a Ferrari that drove thru a red light signal in Singapore causing his death and the death of a Singaporean cab driver and a Japanese passenger. The Chinese national involved in the accident was not an ordinary laborer but a financial adviser, which means that he was a highly educated person. The accident created a backlash on mainland Chinese expatriates living in Singapore. The Chinese embassy's "first secretary" in Singapore had to apologize on behalf of the mainland Chinese expatriates' behavior.

Two weeks ago, another road accident happened involving a mainland Chinese expatriate, this time in Manila. A Chinese diplomat by the name of Wang Ben bumped the car in front of him. The car he rear-ended happened to be the car of the MMDA(Metro Manila Development Authority) Chairman Francis Tolentino. According to report, "Wang, who appeared to be drunk, showed a photocopy of his ID and then suddenly drove off in the middle of their exchange, Tolentino said"[1]. Chairman Tolentino gave chase but lost him. It was a good thing that nobody got hurt when the Chinese diplomat drove and sped off, it would have been another big diplomatic problem between the Philippines and China.

The Chinese diplomat involved in the accident was the Chinese embassy's first secretary. A few days after the incident, the Chinese ambassador apologized to the MMDA Chairman for the incident. The irony of  the matter is that the Chinese embassy's first secretary would normally be the one apologizing on behalf of misbehaving Chinese citizens in a host country, like what happened in Singapore last year. But this time it was the Chinese ambassador H.E. Ma Keqing herself, apologizing on behalf of the Chinese embassy's "first secretary".

Why couldn't the Chinese embassy's first secretary Wang Ben apologize by himself to MMDA Chairman Francis Tolentino? Why the need for the Chinese ambassador to apologize for Mr.Wang's traffic violations and his disrespect of a Philippine government official? As a diplomat, he is covered by diplomatic immunity and won't be penalized, so why the fear of owning up his blunder? Anyway, the humble gesture by the Chinese ambassador was accepted and very much appreciated by MMDA Chairman for him to forgive and forget the incident.

I wish diplomats like Mr. Wang Ben be transferred to Afghanistan for posting.
I am sure China does not tolerate abusive behavior from its diplomats abroad, specially from a high ranking officer like an embassy's "first secretary".

I hope my good impression of the Chinese people remains a good one.

Picture source and related link :
Click link below to know about H.E. Ambassador Ma Keqing of China :
http://ph.china-embassy.org/eng/sgxx/dsjl/
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/390057/chinese-ambassador-says-sorry-to-mmda-chief-over-car-bump [1]

Trivia : The Philippines - Most Emotional Country in the World

Filipinos the most emotional? I always thought the Italians are the most emotional people in the world. I had a chance of working with Italians for quite awhile and mind you the workplace was full of  drama. The scenes that you see in "The Godfather" movies are normal ( except for the killing of course ) everyday scenes with Italians around. They laugh, curse, talk, show affection in the full spectrum of emotions, couple that with their thick Italian accent, it's an opera.

But despite their being emotional and prone to sudden burst of temper, the Italians are one of the nicest nationalities I had worked with.

Click to enlarge map

Most emotional countries

Map Source : http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-11-20/map-where-the-emotionally-challenged-live

Let me go back to the original topic : Filipinos the world's most emotional people?
There was one incident where a  fellow Filipino engineer and our Italian supervisor fought in the company where I used to work. They had a fist fight and if it were not for the intervention of cooler heads either one of them might have had ended up in the hospital. There was a lot of cursing and emotions while two engineers settled their differences.The Filipino engineer was more intense, and emotional in proving his point. In the end, our Italian supervisor ended up apologizing to the Filipino engineer.

If a Filipino can "out emote" an Italian, then I guess the survey is right, we are the most emotional. I hope that also translates to a higher EQ (emotional quotient) and not being emotionally challenged.

But the survey is not just about one end of the emotional spectrum, it encompasses the whole bandwidth of emotion: happy, sad and other emotions in between. To quote the article : "Filipinos were the most likely to admit feeling both positive and negative emotions"

I guess there is also some positive note to the survey when the article mentions :
Bloomberg Businessweek quotes Gallup’s Jon Clifton as saying: “If you measure Singapore by the traditional indicators, they look like one of the best-run countries in the world. But if you look at everything that makes life worth living, they’re not doing so well.”

Okay Pinoys, don't cry now!

Source :
http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-11-20/map-where-the-emotionally-challenged-live
http://interaksyon.com/article/48582/omg--philippines-is-the-worlds-most-emotional-country-poll-says

Related Link :
http://247wallst.com/2012/11/30/the-worlds-most-and-least-emotional-countries/?utm_source=247WallStDailyNewsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=NOV302012A&utm_campaign=DailyNewsletter