Philippine embassy in Beijing lowers flag to half-mast

By Chu Meng

The Philippine embassy in Beijing lowered its flag to half-mast on Wednesday to show sympathy for the deaths of nine Hong Kong tourists in Monday’s hostage crisis.

According to an announcement issued on the official website of the Philippine Embassy of China, Philippine President Benigno Aquino III issued a proclamation on Tuesday ordering all government agencies, including the country’s embassies and consulates abroad, to lower the Philippine flag to half-mast.

“These deaths are a great loss to the people of Hong Kong and the Philippines, and [we] call for the most solemn commemoration and respect at a time of grief for our two people,” the proclamation said.

China’s National Tourism Administration (NTA) issued a caution on its website to Chinese tourists traveling to the Philippines. For those already in the Philippines, the NTA reminded them to take note of security conditions and strengthen their personal protective measures and suggested Chinese tourists go to the local police or contact the Chinese embassy in case of emergencies.

“Our tourism visa policy for China’s tourists has not changed,” a visa official from the Philippine Embassy in Beijing said on Wednesday afternoon. “We see no need for Chinese tourists to cancel or postpone travel plans to the Philippines during the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day Holiday.”

 “There hasn’t been many cancellations or postponements from our registered tourists. But we’ve had more callers question the tourism environment and security situation in the Philippines,” said Zhen Hongjuan, manager of the outbound tourism department at China International Travel Service.

Zhen said security is a travel agency’s top concern. Since no other potential security hazards in other major Philippine cities were reported, registration to the Philippines tour remained open. 

However, some citizens have had second thoughts about going to the Philippines. Bao Lei, a Beijing citizen who is planning a National Day trip with his family, just crossed out the Philippines from her list.

“I decided I want to travel to Taiwan next month,” she said. “I just don’t want to be in the Philippines during this emotional time.”

The Chinese government demanded a thorough investigation on how the hostage crisis was handled and urged the Philippine government to take concrete measures to ensure the safety and security of Chinese citizens in the Philippines.