President, the motion proposed today urges the Government to impose economic sanctions on the Philippines and to restore dignity to the people of Hong Kong. It has been more than three years since the Manila hostage incident. Over the past three years, the bereaved families have been seeking to negotiate with the Philippine Government, asking for an inquiry into the incident and demanding the persons responsible to be penalized. Unfortunately, the Philippine Government has behaved arrogantly and has been refusing for long to negotiate on the questions of apology and compensation.
In addition, while attending the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation Economic Leaders’ meeting, the Chief Executive specially arranged to meet with the President of the Philippines on the hostage incident. During the meeting, the Philippine side had made inappropriate seating arrangement that made Hong Kong look inferior; had unilaterally videotaped the meeting and released part of the clips. The Philippine side had totally ignored diplomatic protocol and paid no respect to the HKSAR Government. The rudeness of the Philippine authorities had raised the attention of the Central Government and Premier LI Keqiang therefore asked the President of the Philippines to resolve the issue properly as soon as possible.
Upon the intervention of the Premier, the Philippine authorities finally took certain actions. Earlier, the City Council of Manila passed a resolution to offer an apology to the SAR Government and the bereaved families and the Mayor of Manila would take the lead in conducting the conciliation work. The Mayor will visit Hong Kong in due course and Mr Bernardito ANG, a City Councillor of Manila, had visited Hong Kong earlier. Mr ANG had met with representatives of the Security Bureau and the families separately to discuss issues such as compensation and apology. However, it has been reported that the divergences are still great.
I agree that the Government and the families should, at this stage, first negotiate actively with the Philippine side, with a view to striving for an official apology from the Philippines and concluding a settlement agreement expeditiously, so that the four aspirations of apology, compensation, accountability and improvement can be met, the confidence of Hong Kong in the Philippines can be regained and the relationship between the two places restored. However, if the Philippine authorities do not show sincerity in resolving the problem, we should, in the next stage, impose sanctions which will exert pressure on the Philippines but not affect the lives of the people of Hong Kong.
It is true that the incident has caused trauma to the bereaved families and the survivors of the hostage incident. Any delay in resolving the issue is not good for anyone and a timely settlement of the matter is preferred. However, since the incident involves international and foreign affairs, it should be handled carefully. In fact, the Government has already taken a tougher approach and the Chief Executive has said clearly that sanctions would be imposed on the Philippines unless substantial progress was made within one month.
Regarding the actions to be taken, I think the proposals put forward by Mrs Regina IP to suspend the visa-free arrangement for Philippine visitors and to tighten the arrangements for issuing business and employment visas to Philippine passport holders are worthy of consideration. These measures will have the slightest impact on Hong Kong while exerting substantial pressure on the Philippines. However, we should continue to seek for a fruitful outcome through negotiation at this stage. If a consensus cannot be reached eventually, it will not be too late for the Government to consider this proposal then. Since it would only require giving the other party a seven-day notice to implement the sanction measures, it is a very simple and feasible approach.
Furthermore, a Member has suggested the Government to suspend the procurement of Philippine products, call on the commercial sector to suspend their commercial exchanges with the Philippines and even boycott Philippine goods. If we look at the figures provided by the Trade and Industry Department, our imports from the Philippines in 2012 amounted to a total of HK$41 billion and the imported goods mainly included various kinds of electrical machinery and telecommunications equipment. Boycotting Philippine goods without proper consideration will certainly impact on the trade and industry of Hong Kong. In addition, as Hong Kong is a member of the World Trade Organization and a world-famous free trade port, suspension of foreign trade dealings has almost been unheard of. If we rashly boycott Philippine goods, Hong Kong’s reputation as a free trade port will be tarnished, and this is a very unwise move.
Besides, there are views in the community that the Government should impose stricter sanctions on the Philippines, such as suspending the issuance of employment visas to Philippine domestic helpers. I think such a measure would directly affect the lives of the people of Hong Kong. As a small move may lead to a chain of reactions, the consequences can be disastrous. According to the figures provided by the Immigration Department, there are over 310 000 foreign domestic helpers in Hong Kong and about half of them are from the Philippines. Many young children, elderly people and people suffering from mobility problems in many families are taken care of by Philippine domestic helpers. If the employment visas of these helpers are to be cancelled, the daily lives of many families in Hong Kong will be seriously affected.
I so submit.