China's Ambassador Liu Jianchao met with Justice Secretary Leila de Lima on Thursday and discussed the Philippine government's investigation into the August 23 hostage tragedy that left eight Hong Kong tourists dead.

Liu said he and De Lima talked about the "mutual respect" between the two nations amid the global backlash against Philippine law enforcement authorities for their bungled hostage rescue operations.


De Lima chairs the Incident Investigation and Review Committee (IIRC), which is set to hold on Friday its clarificatory questioning for persons that had key roles in handling the hostage drama last week.

The committee's other members are: Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo as vice chair; Teresita Ang-See, chairperson of the Citizens Action Against Crime, representing the Filipino-Chinese community; Herman Basbaño, president of the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas, representing the media; and Roan Libarios, governor of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines Eastern Mindanao, representing legal luminaries.

The proceedings will also be held on Saturday and Monday next week.

On the other hand, The Philippine Embassy in Beijing has advised Filipinos there to keep a "low profile" as tension still exists between the Philippines and China over the August 23 hostage tragedy in Manila where eight Hong Kong tourists were killed.

Jackie Chan, a native of Hong Kong, starred in several Hollywood films, including blockbuster “The Karate Kid”, tweeted about the Philippine Hostage Taking earlier today. In his Twitter account, Chan said he heard about “the terrible news” upon returning to Hong Kong from Korea.

“I come back to hk & I hear terrible news about what happened in filippines [sic]. A lot of things don’t happen to your own country you don’t pay attention,”

Chan noted the hostage taking could have happened elsewhere but it was heartbreaking that it had to happen to Hong Kong citizens.

Philippine police have admitted they did not have the skills, equipment or training to handle Monday's bus siege, in which eight Hong Kong tourists were killed after being taken hostage. The force said talks with the gunman had been handled poorly, and relations with the media had broken down. Security experts, survivors and Chinese officials have all criticised the Philippine authorities.

They even had an article on their website that the Philippines didn’t need the deadliest attack on foreign tourists to expose the flaws in its security forces.

The killing of eight Hong Kong tourists taken hostage on a Manila bus has generated a huge outpouring of grief, frustration and anger in the Chinese territory.


Police storm a bus where a former policeman was holding a group of Hong Kong tourists, killing him but unable to save all of the hostages.

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We think its important for all of us to understand what happened during the Maguindanao massacre so that it will strengthen our desire to not let this pass.

We are hoping that if we understand what happened, we will understand better why we must persist and demand justice for the victims from the Philippine Government.