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Fate of Hostages Remains Unclear
A Chinese national and a Filipino-Chinese man remained in the custody of a ransom-for-hostage gang Tuesday in the Philippines as conflicting reports indicated the crisis may be getting worse.
Gang leaders Tuesday threatened to kill the hostages held in the southern province of Sultan Kudarat if the army would not back off and pay the ransom.
Two Chinese nationals were killed Sunday and one wounded in a shoot-out in a marshland between the gang and the Filipino army.The bodies of Zhang Zhongqiang and Xue Xing were flown to the Filipino capital of Manila Tuesday along with the injured man, Wang Shengli, Chinese Embassy diplomat He Wei said. It was unclear when Wang would return to China. Wang is said to be in stable conditions.
Zhang, Xue and Wang were a group of four Chinese nationals and Filipino-Chinese businessman Edwin Lim who were held by the group.
Filipino citizen Lim and Zhang's brother, Zhang Zhongyi, are believed to remain in the gang's custody.
A Xinhua report Tuesday quoted bandit leader Abu Hamsa as saying his men would kill the remaining two hostages if the government does not stop its military activities and produce the ransom money.
But Filipino presidential spokesman Rigoberto Tiglao and army spokesman Brigadier General Edilberto Adan vowed to rescue the remaining two men without compromise.
Zhang Zhongqiang was kidnapped on June 20, while Zhang Zhongyi, Xue, Wang and Lim were seized on August 12.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry officials in Manila have urged the government to rescue the hostages and guarantee the safety of Chinese nationals in the archipelago nation.
Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo expressed regret Monday over the deaths.
The four Chinese nationals are employees of the China Electric Power Technology Import and Export Corp. They were sent to the Philippines to work on an irrigation project in the North Cotabato province.
Company spokesman Ren Yimin Tuesday complained in a telephone interview that the Filipino side failed to ensure the safety of Chinese workers on the job as promised in the contract.
He said that the company plans to demand compensation.
The project is expected to be completed the coming September, but Ren suggested the company may withdraw from the project if the situation worsens.
"The kidnapping will surely have a negative impact on our future business plan in the Philippines,'' Ren said. "(When we contract a project,) it is not about the project itself only, we also take into consideration factors such as the social environment and safety.''
Statistics from the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Co-operation indicate that China now has around 20 projects in the Philippines, most of which are in infrastructure.
Source: China Daily
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