Ethnic Chinese close stores to protest killing<\/p>\n
MANILA (Reuters): Manila's economically powerful ethnic
\nChinese community closed stores and schools yesterday to protest
\nthe killing of a Filipino-Chinese businessman by kidnappers.<\/p>\n
A few hours before the funeral procession for Gordon Tan,
\nkilled last week as he fought with gunmen trying to abduct him,
\nanother ethnic Chinese trader was abducted in the Philippine
\ncapital.<\/p>\n
Hundreds of Filipino-Chinese businessmen, office workers and
\nstudents joined the funeral, carrying signs saying, "Kidnappers
\nyour day will come".<\/p>\n
Kidnap-for-ransom has become the scourge of the Chinese
\ncommunity. Though only a small minority in a country of 70
\nmillion, Filipino-Chinese make up the richest group, controlling
\n30 percent of the country's top 1,000 firms.<\/p>\n
Tan was the 17th person killed by kidnappers this year.<\/p>\n
Shortly before Tan's funeral, five gunmen forced another
\nChinese businessman into a car near his residence in the
\nPhilippine capital Manila and sped away, police said.<\/p>\n
He was the 204th victim of kidnap gangs in the country this
\nyear, according to the citizens' anticrime watchdog Movement for
\nthe Restoration of Peace and Order (MRPO).<\/p>\n
The mourners for Tan included several politicians, including
\nManila's Mayor Alfredo Lim, an ethnic Chinese and possible
\npresidential candidate in next May's elections.<\/p>\n
More than a third of stores in Manila's Chinatown shut down
\nfor the day to protest the police failure to curb kidnapping for
\nransom, which has become a major blot on President Fidel Ramos'
\nadministration.<\/p>\n
Dozens of other Chinese-owned stores and a dozen schools also
\nbolted their doors in Manila, the first such show of indignation
\nby the Chinese community in the capital.<\/p>\n
Ramos has repeatedly ordered the police to crack down on
\nkidnap gangs but they continue to operate with virtual impunity,
\nand there have been repeated charges that many involve the
\nmilitary or police.<\/p>\n
The MRPO said kidnapping had become a thriving business, with
\ncriminals collecting at least 289 million pesos (US$8.2 million)
\nin ransom in the first 11 months of this year -- nearly three
\ntimes the amount collected in all of last year.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/ethnic-chinese-close-stores-to-protest-killing-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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