By Pia Lee-Brago (The Philippine Star) Updated December 23, 2010
MANILA, Philippines - To “clear up the picture” with the Philippine government, China said yesterday that Filipino witnesses to be called by a Hong Kong court to testify at its inquiry into the Manila bus hostage incident would not be prosecuted.
Chinese Ambassador Liu Jianchao said the Filipino witnesses would provide assistance to the Coroner’s Court in looking into the direct cause of death of the eight Hong Kong tourists that were taken hostage.
Liu stressed the witnesses would not be used for prosecution by the court.
“It is a legal procedure that is why the Coroner’s Court will conduct inquiry into the hostage-taking incident in which the death of eight people came as a result, so what we are going to do is we are going to find out the real cause of death,” Liu said.
“And we would like to have help and assistance from the Philippine side within the framework of judicial assistance agreement between the Philippines and Hong Kong,” Liu said during a forum yesterday morning at the Chinese embassy.
Liu said the Coroner’s Court needed the cooperation of the Filipino witnesses in defining the cause of death of the hostages.
The Chinese ambassador sought a meeting with Justice Secretary Leila de Lima to clear up the issue.
Hong Kong’s Department of Justice said they wanted to summon 116 Filipino witnesses that would include Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim, the police snipers, the doctors and medical staff that attended to the victims.
Beijing welcomed the “token of solidarity” (solidarity fund) to assist the families of those who perished and those who were critically injured during the hostage-taking incident.
“I am sure that it is a demonstration of the sympathy of Filipino people towards the victims of that incident, so we welcome this initiative from the Philippine side from the private sector and I think that was also well-received by Hong Kong residents,” Liu said.
A sacked police officer seized a busload of Hong Kong tourists in Manila on Aug. 23 in a desperate bid to get his job back and be cleared of extortion charges.
Eight of the tourists and the hostage taker, dismissed policeman Rolando Mendoza, were killed when ill-prepared police commandos launched a rescue attempt riddled with errors in a drama played out live on television.
The incident soured relations between Hong Kong and the Philippines.
Hong Kong had expressed outrage over the watered down report that dismissed the criminal charges against officials involved in the rescue and negotiation.
Although there might be different responses from some of the victims and families, Liu stressed the relations between China and the Philippines will remain strong despite the hostage fiasco.
The Chinese side was not aware that part of the solidarity funds came from the government.
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said on Friday that the funds were raised “in the spirit of private-public partnership.”
“We do not see that. We have learned that solidarity fund really comes from the private sector,” Liu said.
Foreign Affairs spokesman Eduardo Malaya, however, declined to disclose the initial amount for the solidarity funds. He only said “not too little, not too much.”
“I do not think that really matters. It is just the goodwill and sympathy of the Filipino people towards the victims and the people of Hong Kong,” he said.
Meantime, Liu said Hong Kong would consider easing the “black” travel warning against the Philippines, which was a direct and immediate outcome of the hostage-taking incident.
“We would like to see the easing of the travel warning which came as a result of the hostage taking,” Liu said.
Tourism Secretary Albert Lim visited Hong Kong on a mission of goodwill last week but the government said it was not meant to convey the Philippines’ request for a lifting of the black travel alert.
Lim led the Philippine delegation in updating the Hong Kong authorities on the measures taken by the government to ensure the safety of local and foreign tourists.
Hong Kong officials, on the other hand, informed the delegation that they would consult with their business community, particularly the travel industry sector, on adjusting their travel alert on the Philippines.
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