Chinese envoy optimistic about ties with RP

MANILA -- A Chinese envoy believed the crack in the relationship of China and the Philippines will be healed once credible results of a probe on a bloody hostage incident come out.

Thousands of Chinese tourists canceled flights to and hotel bookings in the Philippines, which according to tourism officials translated to millions of dollars in losses.

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Speaking to reporters after a mass at the Quirino Grandstand Tuesday, Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Liu Jianchao said the parallel probe of the Philippine police and their Hong Kong counterpart show there remains good cooperation between the two nations.

“I am sure that the relations between China and the Philippines will remain strong because that is the goal of both countries,” Jianchao said. “We have the Chinese people and the Filipino people. They have one heart; they share the pain and sorrow.”

As of the moment, Liu said what is important is for the investigations being conducted by the Department of Justice and the Department of Interior and Local Government to render accurate and credible results.

“We hope that the result of the investigation will square with the facts,” said the envoy.

He, however, refused to give a direct answer to questions pertaining to a Hong Kong advisory against travel to the Philippines.

“Well, I think everything will be in place after the investigation is conducted and the conclusion is strong,” said Jianchao.

President Benigno Aquino III has asked for China's forgiveness while vowing "someone will pay" for the police's embarrassing handling of the 12-hour hostage-taking last August 23 that unfolded live on television.

Eight tourists were killed before police snipers took down the gunman, a dismissed policeman demanding his job back. Survivors said he became enraged after watching police handcuff his brother for interfering in the negotiations.

On Tuesday, Aquino promised an investigation that would be "unassailable" in under two weeks.

Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo said a high-level delegation will present the result of the probe to Chinese and Hong Kong officials.

China is the country's third largest trading partner after the US and Japan -- two-way trade reached $6.7 billion last year -- and its fury is taking its toll. Flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) and budget airline Cebu Pacific reported more than 1,000 cancellations from the Chinese territory of Hong Kong alone.

"It created a domino effect," said PAL spokeswoman Cielo Villaluna. "We are hoping that the situation will be temporary."

In the prime beach resort of Boracay, hundreds of Chinese tourists scrapped their bookings, said Western Visayas tourism director Edwin Trompeta. Losses could top half a million dollars, he said.

Emotions ran high in Hong Kong on Sunday when 80,000 people marched to show "the anger and unity of the Hong Kong people," lawmaker Cheung Man-kwong said. Hong Kong residents blasted Manila police for what they called an amateurish rescue attempt.

In another setback, two of three Chinese recipients of the Ramon Magsaysay Awards, named after a popular Philippine president and considered an Asian Nobel Prize, failed to show up in the Philippines for a gala ceremony scheduled for Tuesday here.

"We respect the sensitivities of the Chinese. We understand we are now in a situation wherein they are demanding some measure of justice," presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said.

But Filipino political analyst Ramon Casiple said both sides should be careful not to further escalate tensions.

"It's not in China's long-term interest to fight the Philippines and vice versa, but the danger of an escalation is still there," Casiple told The Associated Press.

"The Philippines should avoid provocative actions and ensure a transparent investigation that will satisfy this call for justice." (AMN/MSN/AP/Sunnex)