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In response to media enquiries on whether the Chief Executive and the President of the Philippines had agreed to "put behind" the Manila hostage-taking incident during a meeting in Bali, Indonesia, the Chief Executive's Office today (October 11) issued the following statement:
The Chief Executive, Mr C Y Leung, conveyed at the meeting the four requests made by the victims and the bereaved families. He stressed that the relationship between Hong Kong and the Philippines would continue to be affected if the Manila hostage-taking incident was not properly resolved. The two sides should therefore hold discussions and take appropriate actions so that Hong Kong and the Philippines could put behind the incident and once again work on developing the bilateral relationship. The relevant news reports by media in the Philippines have distorted the remarks made by the Chief Executive at the meeting and taken them out of context.
On the basis of the request made by the Chief Executive at the meeting in Bali and the agreement of the President of the Philippines on the spot, the Chief Executive's Office has accordingly sent an email to the Office of the President of the Philippines today to make arrangements for the senior officials of the two sides to begin discussions on how to resolve the hostage-taking incident. The HKSAR Government will continue to follow up on the matter proactively to meet the demands of the victims and the bereaved families.
Ends/Friday, October 11, 2013
Issued at HKT 20:17
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