HK legislator wants answers, apology from Aquino
HONG KONG - Another solemn memorial for a people still in shock. Another sad day in Hong Kong.
Hong Kong chief executive Donald Tsang led all senior government officials at the Golden Bauhinia Square in Wan Chai in observing a 3-minute silence in honor of those who perished in Monday’s hostage-taking incident in Manila.
For 3 minutes, public servants coped with the nation’s loss.
They stopped working, except for those stationed at emergency services and border control.
Flags were flown, then lowered at half-mast a day after the bodies of the victims were flown back to home.
Officials here said that more than anything, the only consolation that can be given to the victim’s families is a true account of what happened.
For Hong Kong legislative member Regina Ip Lau Suk Yee, that means getting clear answers from a thorough investigation in Manila, and from a leader who sincerely commiserates with Hong Kong’s loss.
“I think Hong Kong people are really very unhappy at the way President [Benigno] Aquino [III] responded to questions. He appeared frivolous and dismissive to the losses of Hong Kong people again,” said the legislative council member.
Mrs. Ip is Hong Kong’s former secretary for security.
She did not mince words when she told ABS-CBN News how disappointed she was watching what is supposedly "Manila’s Finest" bungle the hostage negotiation process.
“If it happened in Hong Kong, our officers would have resolved it earlier without resorting to violence…How many Hong Kong visitors are actually shot by a hijacker or killed by friendly fire?” said Mrs. Ip.
In the end, this Hong Kong lawmaker said she believes the only way to move on from a tragedy like this is to do so the grown-up way.
“If the Philippine authorities mishandled this, they owe us an apology! I think President Aquino III must give Hong Kong straightforward answers to our many questions,” said the lady legislator.
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CHINESE WHERE IS YOUR APOLOGY?
Subject: Family of tourists killed by crazed man: A Filipino family, that is, in Beijing
Think about this.
Interesting contrast/parallels......
The known facts are these:
On August 19, 2005, Emmanuel "Bong" Madrigal, a Manila-based Filipino executive of the multinational Shell, was visiting Beijing on vacation with his wife Vivian, his daugher Regina Mia, and two younger daughters. That day, they rode a tourist bus to Tiananmen Square, the heart of the capitol.
Upon arriving at the square, Emmanuel Madrigal was the first to descend from the bus, followed by Vivian and Regina Mia. A Chinese man wielding a scythe--in some reports it was described as a sword--suddenly appeared out of nowhere and hacked Emmanuel across his torso. He died on the spot. The man also attacked and seriously wounded Vivian. He then slashed at and killed Regina Mia. By this time, bystanders were trying to subdue the man, and Vivian shouted to her two other daughters to get away and save themselves. Somehow the girls made their way back to the hotel. Vivian was brought to a Beijing hospital, where she died several days later of her injuries.
An Associated Press report still circulating on the internet states that the killer was Wang Gongzuo, 25, a farmer from eastern China's Jiangsu province. He was sentenced to death for the murder of the Madrigals and executed a few weeks later, in September. The AP report states: 'Wang's motive for killing the two is unclear. After the incident occurred the Beijing Morning Post reported that he had wanted to 'affect society using extreme actions,' but didn't elaborate."
Reflect on the parallels. A family of vacationers on a tourist bus: the Leungs and the Madrigals. A killer out to "affect society using extreme actions": Mendoza and Wang. A massacre in a public place of symbolic significance: The Quirino grandstand, where the presidential inauguration had been held just weeks before, and site of the civil society protests against the Marcos regime; and Tiananmen Square, since ancient times the symbol of the centralized power of the Chinese state, and site of the 1991 civil protests against the government.
In both incidents, the state failed miserably in protecting innocent tourists.
And there the parallels end.
President Aquino has apologized to the families of Mendoza’s victims and conveyed his sorrow to the people of Hongkong, Chief Executive Donald Tsang, and Ambassador Lin Jian Chao. The Philippine National Police acknowledge that they botched matters beyond comprehension. Philippine legislators, ahead of their Hongkong counterparts, called for a full investigation. Philippine media organizations are looking to their own culpability in the affair. And masses of ordinary Filipinos, on TV, radio, print, and the Internet, are expressing collective horror, remorse and pity over the terrible fate of the innocent tourists, and bow their heads in shame before the Hong Kong people's sorrow and anger.
That is how it should be, that is only right. But.
To this day, five years after it happened, there is no public record of any Chinese official acknowledging the tourist killings in Tiananmen Square and apologizing to the Madrigals, much less the Filipino people, for the murder of Emmanuel, Regina Mia and Vivian. Not a single expression of regret that the Chinese police failed in their duty to protect the lives of innocent tourists in the very heart of Beijing, in the symbolic center of a state that prides itself most of all for its ability to control and contain disorder. There was a total blackout on the part of the Chinese press, and, according to another news report, government censors quickly blocked many internet sites where Chinese users had begun to post comments about the killing. So we will likely never know what ordinary Chinese citizens had to say about about the incident. Maybe some of them were actually sorry for what happened.
The closest thing to expressed regret was in fact the final reported action of the killer Wang, who waived his right to appeal the sentence of execution, and got a bullet in the back of his head.
To add to the horror, it would appear that the Arroyo administration was complicit in the silence. No public statement was ever made by the Philippine government regarding the incident. Unlike in Hongkong, no flags were flown at half-mast in Manila, and no three-minute silence was observed to mark the deaths of the innocent Filipino tourists. No demand has ever been made by any Filipino official for an apology, and for an accounting.
A full investigation of the Quirino Grandstand killing is ongoing. But what of that other killing, also in August, five years ago in Tiananmen Square?
Julian P. Aguila
CHINESE ARE HYPOCRITE AND ARROGANT PEOPLE
GOOD GRIP!!!!
THE PERSON RESPONSIBLE FOR YOUR CLAIM IS DEAD. IF YOU NEED COMPENSATION THEN STOP TRAVELING TO OUR COUNTRY. THAT WILL BE YOUR COMPENSATION.
OUR GOVERNMENT IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR THE INSANITY OF ONE PERSON. IT IS BEYOND OUR CONTROL THIS TRAGEDY IS HAPPENING. IT'S LIKE THE MASSACRE OF THE UNIVERSITIES IN THE US AND OUR COUNTRY. WE CAN'T DO ANYTHING IF THE PERSON RESPONSIBLE IS DEAD. IF CRIMINAL WHO COMMIT THE KILLING IS ALIVE WE CAN GUARANTEE YOU THAT JUSTICE WILL BE BROUGHT RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU.
MOVE ON AND GET OVER IT. SOLVE YOUR DIFFERENCES WITH THE TIBETIANS AND THE DALAI LAMA. TREAT YOUR ETHNIC GROUP WITH RESPECT AND FAIRNESS. STOP BULLYING POOR COUNTRIES AND IF YOU WANT FAIRNESS THIS WILL BE ACCOMPLISH IF YOU START IT AT YOUR OWN DOOR.
What a nut-less Toughy-Missy
“If it happened in Hong Kong, our officers would have resolved it earlier without resorting to violence…How many Hong Kong visitors are actually shot by a hijacker or killed by friendly fire?” said Mrs. Ip.
PLEASE !!!!! How can this Ms Ip claim such B.S. ? How would you know they wont resolve into violence? In a situation like what happen Manila, no one can truly say for sure the "WHAT IF's" you are dealing with a person that is mentally unbalance. Ms. Ip being a security chief in her country should have known and sounded more convincing than what she is saying now. She is definitely just trying to grand stand, trying to get squeeze some political mileage out these. Of course Ms. Ip here now sound as if she is a very very smart expert..... well after the fact. Folks what we have here is a monday morning quarterback.... what it means is she knows all the answer the next day not during the game. Get the heck outta here!
10 things to know about CHINA!!
Some authorities and government agencies made mistakes..but not all the Filipinos..BUT what about this CHinese Government DID to their own Citizens..read this article''''''''
http://chinaview.wordpress.com/10-things-to-know-about-china/
10 things you have to know about China
1. Large scale forced human organ harvesting:
Organ Harvested from live Falun Gong adherents, in China Labor camps, hospitals, prisons and military facilities, started from 1999 till present
Reports:
- “bloody harvest“, by David Matas, Esq. and Hon. David Kilgour, Esq. Canada
- UN report on China organ harvesting
Video:
- CTV Newsnet Live: Press conference from Ottawa (on China organ harvesting)
(You need the latest version of Media Player to watch the video)
- Youtube Video: Press conference, by David Matas and David Kilgour:
Part1, part2, part3, part4
2. Largest wave of resignation from the Chinese Communist Party and its affiliated organizations is happening:
Till June 2010, more than 74 million Chinese have quit the CCP and its affiliate organizations– the Chinese Youth League (CYL) and the Chinese Young Pioneers (CYP). People are continue quitting at a rate about 50,000 to 70,000 per day.
This wave started from the end of 2004, triggered by the publication of “Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party” by the overseas largest Chinese-language media The Epochtimes.
The publication revealed for the first time a historical account of the CCP’s formation, its advocacy of violence and deception, its destruction of traditional beliefs and the disaster it has brought upon the Chinese people.
Chinese people post their statements on the Quit CCP Statements website (in Chinese)
More information can be found from Quitccp.org
3. “6-10 office”, a modern Gestapo organization exists
Formed by former leader of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Jiang Zemin, the “610 office” has its central office in Beijing, and branches in all the Chinese cities, villages, governmental agencies, institutions, and schools.
It is an organization that is allowed to exist outside of the established framework of the CCP and the Chinese government. The power it has far exceeds that which is officially authorized under the Chinese constitution and other laws; furthermore, it is free from budgetary constraints.
This organization does not have any legal basis, which is very similar to Nazi Germany’s Gestapo and the “Central Committee of the Cultural Revolution” during the Chinese Cultural Revolution.
More details from WOIPFG.org ‘s special report: General Report on the “610 Office”
4. Torture widely used in more than 300 Foreced Labor camps located all over the country
Details: List of China Modern Torture Methods (slideshow)
5. As many as 80 million Chinese died after the Communist party gained power since 1949
This number exceeds the total number of deaths in both World Wars combined.
Details: On the Chinese Communist Party’s History of Killing (external link), by the Epochtimes
6. 5000-year-long traditional Chinese culture was destroied by the Chinese Communist party
Especially in the 10-year-period “culture revolution”, from 1966 to 1976
Details: On How the Chinese Communist Party Destroyed Traditional Culture (external link), by the Epochtimes
Youtube Video: First half, Second half
7. Tibetan shot to death by Chinese soldiers, October, 2006
Youtube Video: Olympic host China -Their Soldiers Killing Innocent Tibetans
Reports: Video footage shows Tibetans shot in the back by Chinese soldiers, October 13th, 2006
8. Armed police publically open fire to villagers in south China, December, 2005
Place: Dongzhou village, Shanwei City, Guangdong Province, southeast China
Date: Dec. 6, 2005
Reason: Farmers protest the government plans of partially infilling the bay and build a new power plant
Details: Dongzhou protests, from wikipedia
9. Gulja killing- Handreds, perhaps thousands of ethnic Uighurs killed by armed police, 1997
Place: Gulja (Yining) city, Xingjiang, northwest China
Date: Feb. 5~6, 1997
Reason: calling for an end to discrimination against ethnic Uighurs
Details: Torture Campaign Leaflets, Amnesty International
- Rebiya Kadeer’s personal account of Gulja after the massacre on 5 February 1997, Amnesty International
10. Tiananmen massacre – June. 4, 1989
Thousands of students shot to death by tanks and soldiers on Tiananmen square in capital city Beijing in 1989
Place: Tiananmen Square, Beijing, China
Date: June 6, 1989
Reason: University students protested corruption, appealing for democracy
THE TOURISTS WERE FROM HONG
THE TOURISTS WERE FROM HONG KONG, NOT MAINLAND CHINA!!!
HONG KONG IS THE SITE OF THE LARGEST TIANANMEN SQUARE REMEMBRANCE MARCH IN THE WORLD!!!!! WE ARE PRO-DEMOCRACY!! WE ARE NOT MAINLAND CHINA!!!!!
STOP USING THE WRONGS OF MAINLAND CHINA TO JUSTIFY THE CRIMES THAT YOUR COUNTRYMEN INFLICTED UPON HONG KONG PEOPLE!
GIVE ME A BREAK ! HONG KONG
GIVE ME A BREAK ! HONG KONG IS PART OF CHINA! YOU ARE THEYRE COUNTRYMEN!
IF THE FILIPINOS HAVE TO TAKE ACCOUNTABILITY FOR ONE MANS ACTION, YOU ALSO HAVE TO TAKE ACCOUNTABILITY FROM EVERY PRESIDENT OF CHINA FROM MAO TO HU JINTAO FOR THE CRIMES AGAINST THE TIBETAN PEOPLE!
GIVE ME A BREAK ! HONG KONG
GIVE ME A BREAK ! HONG KONG IS PART OF CHINA! YOU ARE THEYRE COUNTRYMEN!
IF THE FILIPINOS HAVE TO TAKE ACCOUNTABILITY FOR ONE MANS ACTION, YOU ALSO HAVE TO ACCOUNTABILITY FROM EVERY PRESIDENT OF CHINA FROM MAO TO HU JINTAO FOR THE CRIMES AGAINST THE TIBETAN PEOPLE!
AQUINO SHOULD BE SMART
Remember Mr. president, Hong Kong does not need the Philippines, but we need them. We have about 200,000 OFW in the tiny colony, and if they terminate at least half of them, that would be alot of problem for us. I guess we have to be prepared for the worst. Even Senator Jingoy Estrada and Kris Aquino has already experienced some sort of backlash, and they are popular and powerful people, how much more our poor OFW, most of whom are domestic helpers. If HK people will not be fair to our OFW, kawawa talaga sila. So please Mr. president, do something before the situation becomes worst. After all, you are partly to be blamed for your indecisiveness and for the incompentence of some of your cabinet members, not to mention the ineptness of our police officer.
Kumandera in Chief
Sino Ba ang Commander in chief? Diba si Abnoy?
Kung sa tingin nya na medyo magulo na ang sitwasyon, makialam na siya! Hindi naman siya kelangan pumunta dun habang nagkakagulo, ni walang input from the Kumandera in Chief! BOBO!!
Tapos tsaka siya makikialam AT PUPUNTA DUN KUNG TAPOS NA?!! BOBO TALAGA!! GOOD LUCK FOR THE NEXT 6 YEARS KE ABNOY!!
Why blame our president????
Nobody wants the tragedy, But to instruct our president to give an apology to you, that is lack of respect.
Our president will give his apology when he finds it necessary, may dignidad naman kaming nga Filipino.
D nyo kami utusan, hindi lahat ng Filipino ay dimestic helper nyo noh!!! masyado kayong nasanay sa mga Filipino DH dyan noh!!!