China expresses 'deep concern' over killing of two Chinese men
China expresses 'deep concern' over killing of two Chinese men
MANILA (AFP): China expressed deep concern Monday over the killing of two Chinese men by Filipino kidnappers and demanded an explanation from Manila for the tragedy, diplomatic sources and reports said.
The two Chinese were killed in the southern Philippines Sunday while one of their compatriots held by the kidnappers escaped when the military mounted a rescue attempt.
Seven of the kidnappers, believed to be renegade members of the top separatist group Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), were also shot dead in two firefights in the village of Bunawan near the town of Columbio, 950 kilometers south of Manila, officials said.
Ambassador Wang Chun-gui "contacted (Philippine) Vice President (Teofisto) Guingona to assure him of our deep regret and concern," said embassy spokeswoman Ingrid Wong. She said the embassy has made "several" requests for explanation of the incident.
Another Chinese official, Wang Luo, said the embassy also asked the Philippine government "to ensure the absolute safety" of the last Chinese still held by the kidnappers.
Ambassador Wang voiced Beijing's "shock" and "pain" at the tragedy, China's official Xinhua news agency said in a dispatch from Manila.
The Chinese government "has demanded that the Philippine government immediately provide an explanation of this affair" and "take the necessary measures to safeguard the lives of the hostages still alive as well as those of all Chinese working or living in the Philippines."
The office of Guingona, who is also the foreign secretary, could not be immediately contacted for comment.
The bodies of the Chinese victims Zhang Zhongyi and Xue Xin were to be airlifted Monday to Manila.
The rescued hostage, Wang Shengli, is undergoing debriefing with the Philippine military.
The three Chinese along with local businessman Edwin Lim, who acted as a guide, were snatched on Aug. 12 while delivering a five million peso (US$94,339) ransom for Zhang Zhongyi's brother.
The brother, Zhang Zhongqiang, was abducted in June. He is an engineer with China Electric Power Technology Import and Export Corp., a Chinese firm working on an irrigation project in the area.
Xue Xin and Wang were also employees of the firm, which has about 60 Chinese nationals working on the US$2.7 billion project.
The engineer and Lim are still with the kidnappers.
The Chinese government noted that the two Chinese who were killed had gone to the Philippines "to help the Filipinos develop their economy," Xinhua reported.
Following the kidnapping, the Chinese staying in the project area were barred from leaving the site without military escort.
Elsewhere in the southern region, another rebel group, the Abu Sayyaf, is holding two American and 16 Filipino hostages on Basilan island.
The abductions have embarrassed the government of President Gloria Arroyo who has vowed to crush kidnap gangs across the country.
The Philippine government has refused to negotiate with the Abu Sayyaf, a smaller but more extreme rebel group that is holding about 20 hostages, including Americans, on the southern island of Basilan.