Disparaging Comment About Korean/Japanese Men/Women

The following comment may appear heartfelt, but rather inappropriate coming from a senior official.

In a Chinese book titled Hong Kong People Ruling Hong Kong, Various Sparkling Talent (港人治港, 群英荟萃) published in 1997, the first group of senior officials to run Hong Kong after the territory's handover to China was profiled.

One such official was Hong Kong Executive Council Member Nellie Fong Wong Kut-man (方黄吉雯, pictured).

The writeup quoted her in the following way: "身为一名香港的女性, 方太感到幸运, 她说, 有男士爱护你, 事事让你, 又可穿得靓靓的, 实在很有满足感. 如果下一世有选择, 她仍然会选择做女性, 不过要做香港的女性, 而不是韩国或日本的女性, 因为她们的社会地位卑微."

Translated: "Mrs. Fong felt lucky to be a Hong Kong woman. She said men cared for women, gave in to women, and women can dress up prettily, and these gave her tremendous satisfaction. If she had a choice in her next life, she would still choose to be a woman, but more specifically a Hong Kong woman, and not a Korean or Japanese woman, as the latter had low social status."

With that one comment, Mrs. Fong had effectively disparaged four groups of people - 1) Korean women, 2) Japanese women, 3) Korean men, and 4) Japanese men.

Or was this just a case of having her foot in her mouth?