Days after the devastation caused by Super Typhoon Haiyan and about a week since Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying put a deadline on Manila hostage talks or sanctions will take effect, Hong Kong has absolutely no plans to delay the deadline.
Leung Chun-ying offered his sympathies and emphasised that sanctions will not be delayed a couple of days ago (read about it here) and today Chief Secretary Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said the same thing.
Lam said the one-month deadline still stands, and said there are no plans to delay the sanctions. Further adding that the Manila hostage incident and typhoon effort reliefs are completely two different issues.
Benjamin Panganiban, co-director of the Philippine Association of Hong Kong called Lam “cold and heartless” and that the deadline should be extended until after Christmas.
Democratic Party lawmaker James To Kun-sun said there isn’t a need for a deadline as we can’t assume they are incapable to handle both the storm and follow-up with the hostage tragedy survivors and victims’ families. Lawmaker Christopher Cheung Wah-fung, who is of Filipino Chinese descent, thinks the HK Gov should give Manila some time to focus on rescue operations.
Source: SCMP
Photo: AFP
