Hong Kong  - A Hong Kong magazine columnist was defiant Monday after around 2,000 Filipinos marched to protest a column in which he referred to them as a "nation of slaves."

Chip Tsao, who stirred up a storm of protest among Hong Kong's Filipino workers with his column in HK Magazine, said: "I have already done what should be done. I have no further comment. I am not a racist."

Tsao's comment in Monday's South China Morning Post came a day after an angry protest over the column, which Tsao earlier claimed was satirical and had been misunderstood by some readers.

His explanation has been angrily denounced by groups representing the 120,000 Filipino workers in Hong Kong who want an unequivocal apology and say that Tsao's column reflected wider racism in the wealthy city of 7 million people.

In the column, titled "The War At Home," Tsao dismissed the Philippines' claims to the Spratly Islands, which are also claimed in whole or in part by China, Vietnam, Taiwan, Brunei and Malaysia.

"As a nation of servants, you don't flex your muscles at your master, from where you earn most of your bread and butter," he wrote in the March 27 column.

Tsao said he gave his Filipino maid a "harsh lecture" on the issue and "sternly warned her that if she wants her wages increased next year, she had better tell every one of her compatriots ... that the entirety of the Spratly Islands belongs to China."

One of Sunday's march organizers, Eman Villanueva, said: "For us, it's just an additional insult by saying we misunderstood (the column).

"We're not that stupid. Racial misunderstanding is not easily misunderstood. If it is political satire, it should be directed at the government, not domestic helpers."

Tsao met Philippine consular officials and union and media representatives last week to explain his column and has faced calls for him to be banned from travelling to the Philippines.

HK Magazine has posted an apology for Tsao's column on its website, with a statement: "The column in question was satirical. One aspect of satire is that it can at times be read in different ways. In this particular case, many people have read meanings into this column that were never actually intended." (dpa)