Society

HK mourns victims of hijacking

By Timothy Chui and Zhang Chunyan (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-08-25 07:20

HONG KONG - The special administrative region flew its flag at half-mast on Tuesday as it mourned the deaths of eight Hong Kong residents killed in a dramatic bus hijack in Manila broadcast live on TV the previous evening.

A monk consoles relatives of one of the hostages killed in the bus siege during a Buddhist religious ceremony at the site of the hostage taking in Manila on Tuesday. [Agencies]

The Chinese government has asked Manila to "thoroughly" investigate the incident.

President Hu Jintao, Premier Wen Jiabao and Vice-President Xi Jinping on Tuesday sent messages of condolences to the families of the Hong Kong victims.

Related readings:  Two Hong Kong hostages leave Manila for home  China demands investigation of Manila hostage-taking incident: FM  9 killed on hijacked tourist bus in Manila  HK officers head for Manila to help hostages

Hong Kong Chief Secretary Henry Tang attended vigils in Central and Western District Tuesday evening.

A Hong Kong woman whose husband and two daughters were among the tourists killed tearfully blamed Philippine authorities on Tuesday for the tragedy.

The survivor, who identified herself only as Mrs Leung, sat sobbing outside a hospital in Manila after the deaths of her two daughters - aged 14 and 21 - were confirmed.

Her 18-year-old son was in intensive care with a serious head injury, according to media reports.

"I can't accept this. Why did they do this to us?"

"(The gunman) did not want to kill us. He only shot us after negotiations broke down," she said on Hong Kong Cable News TV.

Her husband had died when he tried to stop the gunman. "My husband was a hero," she said, adding that she had played dead to survive.

The family of five were on holiday in Manila.

A total of 18 condolence sites were set up throughout the city together with a dedicated Facebook page at www.facebook.com/hkmourning.manila to provide information on the government's action to help the bereaved families. The public can also visit the website to post messages of condolence.

Government websites and newspaper banners were displayed in black and white, while online tribute sites quickly mushroomed, with one Facebook site garnering more than 245,000 visits from people wishing to express their sympathy within 24 hours after the incident.

One online tribute site set up by Chinese news portal sina.com.cn had racked up more than 185,000 visits by sympathizers as of 8 pm on Tuesday.

Newspaper editorials questioned the response of Philippine authorities to the stand-off.

"Their appalling professional standards, and the lack of strategic planning, made observers both angry and sad," the Hong Kong Economic Journal said.

About two dozen Liberal Party members led by lawmaker Vincent Fang protesting outside the Philippine Consulate in Hong Kong, criticized the way the rescue operation was handled.

Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi telephoned his Philippine counterpart Alberto Romulo to voice his concern about the incident.

"The Chinese government demands the Philippine government launch a thorough investigation into the incident and inform the Chinese side of related details as soon as possible," Yang said, according to a statement posted on the ministry's website late Monday.

Yang said the Chinese government "was appalled" by the murders.

A Chinese working team arrived in Manila at 10:35 am on Tuesday to help deal with the aftermath of the tragedy, Wang Xiaobo, Chinese consul to Manila, told China Daily.

China "strongly condemns" the violent act, Chinese ambassador to the Philippines Liu Jianchao said.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu said "China has requested the Philippine side to take pragmatic measures to ensure life and property and the safety of Chinese nationals in the country".

The death toll from Monday's hostage crisis in Manila, not including the hijacker, stood at eight as of 8 pm on Tuesday, Wang said.

Susanna Lau Mei-sze, general manager of Hong Thai - the travel service which organized the Hong Kong tour group to Manila - also confirmed four males and four females between the ages of 14 and 57 were killed.

The 31-year-old Hong Kong tour guide Masa Tse Ting-Chunn, who first reported the hijacking on his cell phone, was among the dead.

Earlier, some media reported that the death toll had climbed to 10, including the hostage taker.

The Hong Kong SAR government also dispatched a team of psychologists and doctors led by Undersecretary for Security Lai Tung-kwok to Manila.

A 15-year-old girl recovering in hospital, Tracey Wong Cheuk-yiu, said she was hiding under her chair as the incident reached its brutal climax.

Recounting the ordeal, she told reporters, "when the police threw in (tear gas) and started hammering away, everyone was suffering, some were barely able to breath. We were all scared," she said.

Philippine President Benigno Aquino III acknowledged the incident showed the need for more police training and better equipment. "How can I be satisfied when there were people who died?" Aquino told reporters late Monday.

He has declared August 25 as day of national mourning for the victims in solidarity with the people of Hong Kong to "share their sorrow", presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said.

Philippine apology

Aquino on Tuesday presented to China's ambassador Liu Jianchao the preliminary investigation into the hostage saga. Liu said various Philippine officials had apologized to him over what happened.

Philippine Vice-President Jejomar Binay and Foreign Secretary Alberto Romulo will fly to Beijing and Hong Kong to present the final report to Chinese authorities once it is completed, officials said.

In a damning criticism the Philippine National Police (PNP) said the assault team which tried to rescue the 15 Hong Kong tourists from the bus had been inadequately trained, armed and led.

The police said its command group noted "some ... defects" in handling the crisis, including "inadequate training and competence of the assault team leader" and "inadequate capability, skills, equipment and planning of the assault team".

Other issues included poor handling of hostage negotiations, side issues and events that agitated the hostage-taker, improper crowd control and a breakdown of media relations procedures.

Hong Kong's government said a chartered flight would depart for Manila Wednesday to ferry victims' families, injured survivors and the bodies of the dead, while two elderly survivors were expected home Tuesday evening.

Zhang Chunyan reported from Beijing. Zhou Wa in Beijing, AP and Reuters contributed to this story.