Hong Kong Voices Out

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Now, i didn’t hear anything about this incident that happened in the Philippines.  It was about the same time that the Miss Universe was going on.  WHY do people do these things? WHY can’t we just all get along no matter what your beliefs are? DON”T we all bleed the same color when we are hurt? WHAT was the purpose of hijacking a bus full of people visiting our country? FOR WHAT? Just to kill all those innocent people and to gain WHAT?  I am so tired of hearing all these crap that my question to everyone is..WHY? WHAT PURPOSE does it serve?  Why can’t we ALL live together peacefully? Why is that hard to do? We all have our own opinions, that’s what makes us all unique in our own way.  I found this article from The New York Times ~ ASIA PACIFIC ~ By KEITH BRADSHER – which tells the side of the victims…comments is greatly appreciated and your thoughts.

HONG KONG — Drawn by a mixture of anger and grief, tens of thousands of Hong Kong residents poured into the streets on Sunday to protest how the Philippine government handled a bus siege last week that ended in the shooting deaths of eight Hong Kong residents and the dismissed police officer who had taken them hostage.

Organizers estimated the crowd at 80,000 people, but the police put it at 30,000. Either figure would make it the largest protest march in memory against overseas events, although there have been much larger protests in Hong Kong involving local politics or events in mainland China, notably the Tiananmen Square killings in 1989.

Wearing black and white, with yellow ribbons tied around their upper arms in remembrance of the dead, the solemn crowd gathered in sweltering heat in Victoria Park and then marched peacefully more than two kilometers, or about a mile, to the Central business district, before dispersing quietly. A police spokeswoman said Sunday evening that no arrests had been made.

Many of the marchers seemed to be fairly apolitical, soft-spoken members of the middle class who said they had never attended a demonstration before but were offended that the Philippine government had failed to protect the Hong Kong residents aboard the bus. The dismissed police officer armed with an M-16 assault rifle had repeatedly been visible during a Manila standoff after taking 20 Hong Kong tourists hostage, even waving to onlookers from the bus door, but police snipers had not tried to shoot him through most of the ordeal.

“Their performance is not acceptable,” said Michael Kong, a 33-year-old logistics manager who came with his wife, Anna Ho, a telecommunications manager of the same age; both said they had never previously marched for any cause.

President Benigno S. Aquino III of the Philippines drew particular criticism from the marchers for failing to show adequate contrition and remorse.

“We don’t think that he has apologized to us,” said Rachel Lam, a 23-year-old student who also said that she had never participated in a demonstration before. “It is very impolite.”

Flags hung at half-staff in Hong Kong for three days after the killings, the nightly light show on the city’s skyscrapers was cancelled for three days of mourning and local politicians have cancelled trips to attend memorial events.

The bus killings have prompted some concern that Hong Kong residents might show antagonism toward Filipinos; Hong Kong’s population of 7 million includes more than 100,000 live-in Filipino domestic helpers, who come to the city on a special class of work visa.

Hong Kong’s Equal Opportunity Commission, a government agency, issued a statement on Wednesday in which it urged, “all members of the community to stay calm and, in line with our good tradition of tolerance and understanding, refrain from shifting our anger towards an innocent group, particularly the Filipinos who are living or travelling in Hong Kong.”

But there was no sign of malice toward Filipinos at the demonstration on Sunday.

“I won’t be mad at the local Filipinos,” said Lin Hengchoi, a 49-year-old electrical contractor who brought his five-year-old son, Ken, with him to the demonstration.

Domestic helpers work six-day weeks for $460 a month plus room and board, with no eligibility for overtime pay. Their presence in homes has long made them vulnerable targets for abuse, because they frequently borrow heavily to reach Hong Kong but can be sent home at any time by their employers.

Typically working a six-day week, Filipino maids usually flock to the downtown area on Sundays. But there were noticeably fewer on Sunday afternoon, except at a small downtown rally by Filipinos who also wanted to express regret at the Manila killings.

The Hong Kong government has strongly warned its people against travel to the Philippines in the near future, and large numbers of Chinese tourists have also reportedly headed home from vacations there. But the Philippines has had an unsettled history for decades, and there was little sign among demonstrators on Sunday that the bus killings would fundamentally change their view of the country’s attractiveness as a tourist destination for years to come.

Mr. Lin predicted that he and other Hong Kong residents would continue to take vacations in the Philippines.

“I think we will still go,” he said.