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Welcome to the Philippine
Consulate General in Shanghai. The Consulate General was established
on 10 July 2002. It is the fifth Philippine Foreign Service Post in
China after the Philippine Embassy in Beijing and the Consulates in Hong
Kong, Xiamen and Guangzhou. The Consulate General has jurisdiction
over the Municipality of Shanghai and the provinces of Jiangsu, Zhejiang,
Anhui and Hubei.
Letter of Amb.
Francisco Benedicto to our Chinese Friends
Dear Friends,
On behalf of the Philippine Government and the
Filipino people, I would like to offer my deepest condolence to the bereaved
families of the victims whose lives were lost in the hostage-taking incident
in Manila on 23 August. These deaths are a great loss to the peoples
of Hong Kong, Mainland China, and the Philippines.
The Filipino people observed a Day of National
Mourning on 25 August in solidarity with the people of Hong Kong and the
families of the victims. All public institutions in the Philippines
and all Philippine Embassies and Consulates overseas lowered the Philippine
flag to half-mast.
President Benigno S. Aquino III has ordered
concerned Philippine agencies, led by the Department of Justice and the
Department of Interior and Local Government, to conduct a thorough
investigation of this unfortunate incident. The Philippine Government wants
the investigation to be extensive, acceptable, and complete. Finding
will be shared with relevant authorities in the Hong Kong SAR and Mainland
China.
To our Chinese friends who plan to visit the
Philippine in the future, we would like to assure you that the security of
foreign nationals within our country is and has always been of paramount
importance of the Philippine Government. The incident is an isolated
case, and in no way reflects the peace and order situation in the country,
which continues to be a safe destination for all travelers.
As two peoples linked by close family ties and
centuries of people to people exchanges, the Filipino people has deep
feelings of friendship for and will always welcome our Chinese friends to
visit our country. They will always be met by our warm hospitality.
This unfortunate incident will not damage the
solid friendship between our two countries and peoples/;
China is one of our most important partners in
the international community. WE have a growing cooperation and
partnership in our political, trade, social, cultural and people to people
relations.
As close neighbors and partners, the Philippines
and Filipino people are committed to further strengthen their growing ties
with China and the Chinese people.

Statement of President Aquino on
the August 23, 2010 hostage-taking incident at the Quirino Grandstand
[August 23, 2010]
With the rest of the
Filipino people, I wish to offer our deepest
condolences to the families of the victims whose
lives were lost in the hostage situation at the
Quirino Grandstand. The Secretary of Foreign Affairs
has conveyed our deep feelings of sorrow to the
Foreign Minister of the People’s Republic of China
and the people of Hong Kong through Hong Kong Chief
Executive Donald Tsang. I have tasked Secretaries
Soliman and Lim to provide everything necessary for
the recovery and return home of the survivors. I
have directed the fullest cooperation with the Hong
Kong authorities on the part of our officials.
From the onset of this
incident, the hostage-taker seemed to not be
belligerent, as shown by the release of hostages.
These were encouraging signs.
We were going to wait
him out. The idea was to let the ground commanders
who are the experts in this field handle the
operation with minimal interference from people who
are less expert.
But the situation
deteriorated rapidly when, during the course of the
negotiations, he was given the letter of the
Ombudsman in which she promised to personally review
his case. As he was reading the contents of the
letter, while talking to an unknown individual on
the phone, he became increasingly agitated.
The presence of his
brother also added to the tension.
At this point, he
threatened to kill a hostage. The police decided to
remove the brother from the scene. As the
negotiators were departing, the negotiators were
shot at.
Media coverage of his
brother being taken into custody further agitated
the hostage-taker.
Shots were fired. They
seemed to be warning shots, as there was no audible
indication of tumult or chaos to show that the
hostages were in immediate danger.
Nonetheless, the
negotiators tried to reestablish contact the
hostage-taker but they were unsuccessful as the
cellphone of the hostage-taker was continuously
busy. He also refused to answer the throw-phone
provided for him by the authorities.
The escape of the
driver, combined with his reports that the hostages
were being harmed, forced the assault to happen.
When the vehicle began to move, and with reports
that he had hand grenades, a decision was made to
immobilize the vehicle as it would have made the
situation even more dangerous.
As we know, the incident
tragically ended in the deaths of eight innocent
civilians.
We expect more of the
facts to come to light and I have ordered Interior
and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo and
Justice Secretary Leila de Lima to thoroughly lead
this review.

PHILIPPINE PAVILION AT
THE WORLD EXPO ACTIVITIES AT THE TRADE ZONE
Trade Zone Themes
July : Mining
August-September
:
Information Technology (IT), Animation, & Creative Industries
September
: Food/Health and Wellness
October :
Education/Real Estate
BUSINESS MATCHING SESSIONS
September 27-29, 2010
Business matching is a service undertaken by the Philippine
Trade and Investment Center (PTIC)- Shanghai, an overseas arm of the
Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), to help Chinese businesses find
suppliers and investment opportunities in the Philippines. This is
especially helpful to people who are interested to do business in the
Philippines for the first time because the DTI, as a government agency
safeguards the interests local and foreign companies in the Philippines,
provide the right direction and assist in ensuring a smooth and efficient
working relationship between Chinese and Filipino businesses . With the
right information, DTI can provide relevant contacts and information on the
industry and products being explored so that you can start growing
your business with the Philippines.
UPCOMING CONFERENCES AND TRADE
EVENTS IN THE PHILIPPINES

MINING
PHILIPPINES 2010 - CONFERENCE AND EXHIBITION
The conference speakers
will discuss the minerals and metals industry in the Philippines and the
Exhibition will feature the Asian region's top mining companies and
suppliers.
The Manila Hotel, Manila,
Philippines
14-16 September 2010
http://www.chamberofmines.com.ph
Email:
info@worldexco.com

MANILA F.A.M.E. INTERNATIONAL
Design Driven Products & Services–Giftware/ Holiday Décors, Home
Furnishings, Wearables ; Natural, herbal and organic personal care,
Cosmetics, Spa products and Hilot as a spa service
SMX Convention Center and World Trade Center, Pasay City
18-21 October 2010
http://www.manilafame.com
Email:
manilafame@citem.com.ph
ART
MANILA timed with MANILA
F.A.M.E.
Paintings (contemporary, classical, and modern), Commercial Arts,
Sculptures, Antiques
World Trade Center, Pasay City
18-21October 2010
http://www.manilafame.com/artmnl
Email:
creativeindustry@citem.com.ph
; manilafame@citem.com.ph
PHILIPPINE
INTERNATIONAL ECO SHOW (PinES)
Environmental-friendly products and services
SMX Convention Centerand World Trade Center, Pasay City
26-28 August 2010
Email:
industrial@citem.com.ph
http://www.pines.com.ph
Please visit
www.citem.gov.ph
for more information on trade fairs in the Philippines
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