August 23 will be remembered as the darkest, most tragic day for Hong Kong. Almost all Hongkongers witnessed live on television the cold-blooded hostage-taking situation in the heart of Manila.
A sacked policeman held a Hong Thai group of tourists hostage for 11 hours and the dramatic siege ended in tragedy because of the incompetence of the Philippine government and its special task force at the scene. Their mishandling of the crisis ultimately led to the deaths of eight Hongkongers, with a further seven injured, two seriously.
Even 12 hours after the ordeal, the Philippine government was still unable to confirm the personal data of the dead and injured.
The Philippines is hopelessly corrupt and the government has been extremely irresponsible in its handling of the whole crisis. At no point did any senior local official come out to direct the rescue operation.
Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen tried to contact the Philippine president several times, but was unable to reach him.
The scene in Manila was chaotic; there were no laws, no leadership and no strategies, which meant the crisis dragged on in unbearable slow motion.