It’s looks like we’re making progress with the HK-Manila standoff that resulted from the Manila bus hostage tragedy three years ago.
According to Hong Kong’s Secretary for Security Lai Tung-kwok, “whether Manila was sincere or not about solving the hostage crisis was more important than the amount to be paid to the victims’ families,” reports South China Morning Post. He said he “felt the sincerity of Manila councilor and Manila mayor Joseph Estrada’s representative Bernardito Ang in a meeting last Friday.”
Estrada is raising funds to compensate the families of the eight tourists slain tourists and hopes to go to Hong Kong within the year. “Estrada said the apology is necessary to avoid economic repercussions such as the possibility of Filipinos in Hong Kong losing their jobs,” reports Jose Rodel Clapano in The Philippine Star.
According to the South China Morning Post report, Ang proposed a compensation of US$1 million (HK$7.8 million) to be paid by the city government and ethnic Chinese business people in the Philippines.
In the same report, survivor Yik Siu-ling, is saying that “the families would gather to decide whether to meet any representative from Manila. She said they would not demand an ‘unreasonable’ amount of compensation; the sum would be based on Hong Kong laws.”
