Update from ABS-CBN: Hong Kong will hold a public inquest into the Manila bus hijacking crisis which left eight Hong Kong tourists dead in August, a spokeswoman for the coroner’s court said Wednesday.
The inquest is scheduled to last 25 days starting from February 14, she told AFP, less than a month after Hong Kong police concluded their probe into the poorly-handled fiasco which dented relations between Manila and Hong Kong.
East Asian leaders meeting in Hanoi. China's Wen Jiabao was there but no one-on-one meeting with Aquino
Malacañang last Friday said the planned high-level Philippine delegation to Hongkong and Beijing to present and discuss the Aug 23 tragedy will no longer push through.
The announcement, made by Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda confirmed what had been talked about in the diplomatic circle : the Philippines had been told by China unofficially that they would not welcome the delegation as long as they don’t see anybody being made accountable for the tragedy that killed eight of their people.
Lacierda, who was supposed to be part of the delegation together with Vice President Jejomar Binay and Foreign Secretary Alberto Romulo, said, “The Chinese foreign ministry could not schedule us.”
This comes after the Chinese government also declined three requests by the Philippines for a meeting between Aquino and the Chinese leader in the three international events that the former attended.
Last September in his first foreign trip to the United States to attend the opening of the 65th United Nations General Assembly, the Department of Foreign Affairs requested for a meeting with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao. The Chinese foreign ministry told the DFA, Wen’s schedule could not accommodate Aquino.
At this time, the report of the Incident Investigation and Review Committee headed by Justice Secretary Leila de Lima had been submitted to Malacañang and the Chinese Embassy in Manila but Aquino said it would be subjected for review by his legal advisers lead by Executive Secretary Paquito”Jojo” Ochoa.
When Aquino came back from the U.S., he upheld the recommendations of his legal team which watered down the IIRC recommendation. Interior Undersecretary Rico Puno and former chief of the Philippine National Police Jesus Versoza were cleared of any accountability for the tragedy. Manila Mayor Lim’s accountability was also reduced to administrative which up to now has not been implemented.
Another request for a meeting with Wen in Hanoi last October was made where the two leaders would be going for the ASEAN plus three summit would take place. Still, the Chinese government declined.
Early this month, the DFA requested for a meeting of Aquino with Chinese President Hu Jintao on the sidelines of the 18th Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Leaders meeting in Yokohama, Japan. No meeting took place.
Aquino, however, was able to meet with Hong Kong Chief Executive Donald Tsang. Communications Secretary Ricky Carandang told members of media that it was a “productive” meeting and they discussed August 23 hostage taking incident.
Carandang did not elaborate what was “productive” about the meeting but added, “”We believe that this (Aug 23 incident) will be a closed chapter soon.”
Carandang did not say that Tsang told Aquino that they wanted to see “accountability” in the tragic incident.
The Chinese have demonstrated in all their dealings they do not forget easily. Unlike Filipinos, they have a long memory.
Why would the Philippines care about China’s displeasure ?
Whenever Aquino is asked about his foreign policy, he would talk about the overseas Filipino workers and the need to strengthen the economy. It could only mean that his main priority in relations with foreign countries is to protect the OFWs whose $18 billion remittances have become the pillar that holds the country’s economy.
Aquino should be made to understand that international relations is a complex web of inter-related interests. He cannot bungle in one issue involving a foreign country, gloss over it, and expect it to fade away.
In the same way economic relations cannot be be pursued vigorously without consideration of lingering political issues and sensitivity to cultural values.
China is now an economic superpower. The Chinese are masters in the art of being inscrutable. It would be wise for the Philippines, for its own interest, not to take the Chinese snub lightly.
