The Chinese government has condemned an attack on a bus of Hong Kong tourists in Manila in which passengers were held hostage and eight were killed. From Reuters:
Eight hostages and their disgruntled ex-policemen kidnapper were killed at the end of a day-long siege in the capital after signs earlier that the crisis would be resolved peacefully.
Hong Kong advised residents against travel to the Philippines, a blow to the poor Southeast Asian nation’s hopes to double tourist numbers to six million a year to help lift economic growth.
In China, the widely-read tabloid the Global Times, run by Communist Party mouthpiece the People’s Daily, said the botched rescue reflected a deeper malaise in the country.
And from the Philippine Daily Inquirer:
Chinese ambassador to the Philippines Liu Jianchao arrived on a chartered flight at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport at 10:45 a.m. on Tuesday, to assist the survivors of the Manila hostage crisis and help their families recover the bodies of the dead.
Liu, who was accompanied by several Hong Kong and Mainland government officials, was met by Vice President Jejomar Binay and Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo.
Liu, in a brief statement to the media condemned the hostage-taking and said the embassy would be helping the team coordinate efforts to help the survivors, especially the injured, and to repatriate the remains of those killed.
From Al Jazeera:
chinaSMACK has translated netizens’ reactions to the incident.
Update: The Wall Street Journal blog has also translated tweets and other netizen responses to the violence.
