HONG KONG : Anger is rising in Hong Kong against Philippine authorities over how they handled Monday night's hostage crisis, which ended with eight Hong Kong tourists killed.
Tour agencies have cancelled all tours to the Philippines until further notice, and they said Hong Kong tourists are likely to stay away for now, in light of the tragedy.
It was a dark day for the Special Administrative Region (SAR). Flags were flown at half-mast on Tuesday to mourn the Hong Kong tourists that were killed in the hostage crisis in Manila on Monday night.
Protests in Hong Kong over Manila bloodbath
HONG KONG - Hong Kong protesters Tuesday slammed the Philippines and newspapers accused Manila police of incompetence as the territory plunged into mourning for eight tourists slain in a hostage drama.
One Hong Kong survivor of Monday's day-long bus siege in the Philippine capital said her husband and two daughters -- aged 21 and 14 -- were killed as the crisis reached a bloody climax live on television.
Her 18-year-old son was in intensive care in hospital and her husband died a hero trying to shield his family, said the survivor, identifying herself only as Mrs Leung.
"The Philippine government... I can't accept this. Why did they do this to us?"
Honour guards, roses at site
MANILA - HONOUR guards stood erect as weeping relatives of eight Hong Kong tourists killed in a hostage crisis in the Philippines on Tuesday visited the site of the bloodbath.
A Hong Kong couple representing the relatives lit incense sticks and joined six monks in an emotional Buddhist ceremony to remember the dead. Food and flower offerings were laid out on a makeshift altar covered with a golden mantle while six monks in robes chanted emotional hymns to purify the crime scene and to placate the spirits of the victims.
Manila bus siege 'mishandled'
Eight members of a Hong Kong tour group were killed after former police inspector Rolando Mendoza seized a bus carrying 25 people at around 10 am on Monday to protest his dismissal on extortion charges.
After initial success in negotiations to secure the release of hostages, with nine let go, Mendoza opened fire with an M-16 assault rifle around 7.20 pm and police stormed the bus about 20 minutes later.
'It was the mishandling of the situation that caused this to happen,' Tourism Minister Alberto Lim said in a Bloomberg Television interview. 'It is really tragic for the country as a whole.'
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