‘Kung hei patay!’

The Hong Kong government certainly started the Chinese New Year with a big bang — Filipino diplomats and officials will no longer have visa-free privileges when they visit Hong Kong. This is only the first salvo. The Chinese Special Administrative Region had been raring to impose sanctions against the Philippines for quite some time. While the restriction will only affect holders of red and blue passports, many are pretty sure that HK Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying will look for other ways to “punish” the Philippines and Filipinos.

Reactions in social media however have been mixed, with some saying they will also boycott Hong Kong while overseas Filipino workers are worried that this could eventually affect their employment status and therefore the welfare of their families. Hong Kong is home to over 160,000 OFWs with many employed as domestic helpers. According to records, an average of 800 red and blue passport holders visit the Chinese territory every year.

We all know this latest development all started with the Quirino Grandstand hostage crisis in August 2010 when dismissed police official Rolando Mendoza hijacked a tourist bus with 22 Hong Kong Chinese. The botched hostage rescue — broadcast live on TV for the whole world to see — resulted in the death of eight people including the Chinese tour guide with the rest sustaining injuries, a number of them serious.

The government of Hong Kong as well as the survivors and relatives of the fatalities wanted compensation not only for the deaths but also the trauma inflicted by the 12-hour siege. Hong Kong was also demanding the head of several local officials – including former Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim who has been named in a lawsuit by the families of victims and survivors — being blamed for the disastrous rescue attempt. Many were saying that Lim – having been a former Manila Police chief and NBI director —  could have handled the rescue attempt better considering that there were a lot of opportunities to take down, if not incapacitate, the hostage taker. Lim reportedly ordered the arrest of Mendoza’s brother which bogged down the negotiations and triggered the shooting rampage. President Aquino however has maintained that Lim was not to blame, saying Police General Rodolfo Magtibay could have countermanded Lim’s orders anytime.

Hong Kong had been pressing for a formal apology from the government — something the Aquino administration had steadfastly refused because as far as they are concerned, the hostage-taking issue was closed three years ago. Despite the government’s rejection of the apology demand, sources tell us intense back channeling had been made to repair the breach with our neighbor. As Manila Mayor, Joseph Estrada has taken the lead in raising additional funds and offered an apology from the City government. But according to sources, aside from the HK$ 1 million given for the reconstructive facial surgery of a female survivor, an undisclosed amount — reportedly hundreds of thousands of dollars — was provided as compensation and medical expenses of survivors to show our “sincere sympathy.”

But Hong Kong’s black travel alert against the Philippines continues to this day, and experts believe the revocation of the visa-free privileges was sanctioned by Beijing as additional pressure in the current territorial dispute between China and the Philippines. As it stands there isn’t any likelihood that the tension will ease anytime soon. The Chinese just keep upping the ante.

An expert in Sino relations told us that the probability of this issue being resolved could only happen once the Aquino administration exits in 2016. The Chinese according to this expert have already made up their mind on this issue. Until such time, we just probably have to accept that in the next couple of years, our diplomatic relations with China and Hong Kong is practically “dead in the water.”

In the words of a Filipino-Chinese businessman — “kung hei patay!”

*   *   *

The scandal involving Cedric Lee and Deniece Cornejo offers several lessons, foremost of which is that anyone can become the victim of a ‘frame-up” which is what most people believe happened to comedian Ferdinand “Vhong” Navarro. Judging from the closed circuit television-camera footages taken from the entrance and the elevator of the condominium unit in Taguig, there’s every probability that the comedian/variety show host was marked for a shakedown.

A retired police investigator offered some theories. If Navarro really intended to rape the woman, certainly there should have been scratch marks on his face or back and she would have appeared a bit disheveled as well. But from what people saw, all that the comedian had to show was his swollen, black and blue face while the woman seemed strangely composed and “well put together.” Secondly, the retired police officer said, a rapist will most likely not remove his clothes first before forcing himself on a woman — saying a video reportedly showed Navarro already in his birthday suit while inside the condo unit.  

Lee vehemently denied allegations that he and his group were trying to extort money from Navarro, saying that he was a rich businessman and did not need the P1 million. But the ever eagle eyes of BIR Commissioner Kim Henares were caught with “curiosity” and now intends to look into Lee’s tax records, especially since he appears to be a partner of businessman Tyrone Ong who was charged for tax evasion in 2012. 

But as expected, the biggest warning comes from Filipina wives to husbands — men should stop presuming to be “God’s gift to women” or “Mr. Suave” because nowadays with modern technology like iPhones with cameras — getting caught in a frame-up and eventually becoming a victim of extortion is very much a possibility.

*   *   *

Email: [email protected]