HK legislators OK anti-PH resolution

AFP FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—Hong Kong’s legislature passed on Thursday a nonbinding motion calling on its government to impose “strong and forceful” economic sanctions on the Philippines unless substantial progress was made within the month regarding their demand for an apology and compensation for the victims of the Luneta bus hostage-taking incident in August 2010.

The council called on the Special Administrative Region (SAR) government “to consider suspending the visa-free arrangement for Philippine visitors, even tightening the arrangements for issuing business and employment visas to Philippine passport holders (excluding visas for foreign domestic helpers).”

This should be enforced, the councilors said, “until the Philippine authorities have formally responded to the demands of the victims and their families for an apology and compensation regarding the hostage incident, taken truly effective measures, and put forward ways to properly resolve the issue.”

According to the Hong Kong Legislative Council’s website, the resolution proposed by councilor Albert Chan, as amended by his colleagues Alice Mak, Sin Chung-kai and Regina Ip, was passed by a vote of 41 in favor, three against, and seven abstentions during the body’s session on Nov. 7.

Hurt feelings

“[T]his council considers that the incident has seriously hurt the feelings of the victims in the hostage incident, their families and Hong Kong people, and that the Philippine government should be condemned in this regard,” the resolution stated.

The councilors noted that the Incident Investigation and Review Committee created by President Aquino “categorically pointed out the blunders of the relevant authorities in the incident.”

“[Y]et the Philippine government has never faced up to the relevant demands of the victims’ families at all, with its attitude, especially that of its President, being extremely poor in handling the incident,” the Hong Kong lawmakers said.

They recalled that after a Taiwanese fisherman was shot dead by the Philippine Coast Guard in May this year, Manila tendered a formal apology for the incident within three months following Taiwan’s announcement of sanctions against the Philippines.”

Serious mishandling

The council members said the Luneta hostage incident “has yet to be resolved properly, and the progress is hardly acceptable and is grossly unjust to the victims’ families.” They said Philippine authorities committed “serious mishandling of the rescue work” resulting in the deaths of eight Hong Kong tourists and the injury of seven others.

The council said it was for “strong and forceful economic sanction measures” against Manila “to press the Philippine government to make a prompt and formal response to the four demands of the victims’ families, i.e. to apologize to the victims’ families, to offer compensation to the victims’ families, to penalize the relevant officials for dereliction of duty in the Philippine hostage incident, and to implement measures to protect tourists’ personal safety.”

The legislators called on the SAR government to suspend the procurement of Philippine products as well as the new round of negotiations on areas such as air freedom rights and trade.

They also suggested that the SAR government suspend all its dealings with Manila, except for the hostage incident.

Cultural exchange

The council sought the suspension of invitations to Philippine cultural organizations to Hong Kong to participate in the activities organized by the territory’s government.

The body also called on the LegCo to suspend its friendship exchanges with the Philippine Congress.

The councilors also asked the SAR government to call on the Hong Kong community and commercial sector to suspend their commercial and cultural exchanges with the Philippines, and to call on the public to boycott Philippine goods.

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) had no immediate reaction to the resolution.

DFA spokesperson Raul Hernandez merely reiterated an earlier statement on the issue: “We will continue to work quietly to achieve a mutually satisfactory conclusion.”

According to China’s CCTV report, more than 700,000 Philippine visitors came to Hong Kong last year and were able to stay for two-weeks without a visa. During the same period, only 120,000 people have traveled from Hong Kong to the Philippines, which has been placed under a “black tourism alert.”

On Tuesday, Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying said Hong Kong would take necessary action unless substantial progress is made within one month.

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