People sign condolences books in Hong Kong Wednesday to pay respects to victims of the hostage tragedy in Manila. The government set up condolence books in 18 districts for public mourning. Jia Siyu / China News Service

Hong Kong Police are considering an independent investigation into Monday's hostage tragedy in Manila that cost the lives of eight Hong Kong tourists and left seven injured, said Secretary for Security Ambrose Lee Wednesday.

Chief Executive Donald Tsang spoke with the Philippines' foreign minister and demanded a full account of the Manila hostage debacle.

Lee said he hopes the investigation conducted by Philippine Police will be "fair and faithful to the facts".

Hong Kong Police will determine whether to conduct an independent investigation after reviewing the coroner's report and the autopsy results, Lee said.

Flags in Hong Kong have flown at half-mast for two days. Official and various unofficial public mourning services were held in many places across the city on Wednesday, as people wrote down their condolences, sent flowers, bowed, and shed tears for the victims.

The government set up condolence books in 18 districts for people to send their condolences and regards.

"When watching the incident on TV, it felt like I was there, it felt very chilling and sad. I hope the families of the dead get well soon", said Grace Ching, a student, at Leighton Hill Community Hall. Dressed in black, tears came to her eyes as she watched.

An official mourning webpage has been set up by the government. Thousands left messages expressing their sorrow and offering blessings. "May you rest in peace, and the survivors regain courage to live on," one wrote.

Many Filipinos offered condolences on the page, and said how sorry they were for what happened. One of them, Thons Edano, wrote, "Us Filipinos are very very saddened with the tragic incident. We mourn with you. We are also mad with the outcome of this."

The protests in front of the Philippines Consulate General in Hong Kong SAR continued.

Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions handed a letter of condemnation to the Consulate General, criticizing the mishandling of the hostage crisis by Filipino police. The letter stated that the police handling the siege failed to make the safety of the hostages their first priority, which led to serious injury and deaths.

Legislative Councilor Yip Wai-ming strongly urged the Philippine authorities to thoroughly investigate the incident to bring some justice for the victims.

Several District Councilors gathered at the Star Ferry in Tsim Sha Tsui to collect signatures from citizens. They are asking that the Philippine administration apologize to the people of Hong Kong and thoroughly investigate the incident, especially to determine whether any Hong Kong tourists died as a result of shots fired by the Philippine Police.

A special session is to be held today to discuss the tragic hostage incident. Secretary for Security Ambrose Lee and the Philippine Consulate General will attend.

Legislative Councilor Lau Kong-wah noted that the meeting will discuss follow-up arrangements, including the extent to which the Hong Kong government will participate.

Lau expressed concern that the incident has aroused much ill will in Hong Kong toward the Philippines. He called it a crisis. He urged the Filipino authorities to do their part to diffuse the hard feelings by ensuring that the investigation into the tragedy is competent and complete.

China Daily

(HK Edition 08/26/2010 page1)