Miscellaneous News

[no_name]

Chinese diplomats shot dead in Philippines restaurant attack

Two Chinese diplomats have been killed and a third wounded in a shooting at a restaurant in Cebu in the Philippines.

The deputy consul and the finance officer for the Chinese consulate in the city were killed and the consul general wounded, police said.

The consul general, Song Ronghua, who was celebrating his birthday at the restaurant, is in a stable condition after being shot through the neck.

Police have arrested a woman who works at the consulate and her husband.

Reports vary as to who fired the shot.

"We're still trying to determine the motive for the shooting," said Chief Superintendent Prudencio Banas.

The consul general's male deputy, Sun Shen, was shot in the neck and finance officer Li Hui, a woman, was shot in the head, police said.

A handgun has been recovered from the scene, police spokesman Wilben Mayor told AFP news agency.

The attack occurred at 13:30 (05:30 GMT) at Lighthouse, a popular restaurant.

Restaurant manager Stephen John Patero said the shooting occurred in a private room, which is a favourite among local politicians.

He said waiters who served the diners heard the guests shouting at each other before the shots were fired.

"They are all friends who apparently figured in an argument," he said.

Both the Chinese embassy in Manila and the Philippine foreign ministry have declined to comment on the incident.

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[Jeff Head]

Chinese diplomats shot dead in Philippines restaurant attack

Two Chinese diplomats have been killed and a third wounded in a shooting at a restaurant in Cebu in the Philippines.

The deputy consul and the finance officer for the Chinese consulate in the city were killed and the consul general wounded, police said.

The consul general, Song Ronghua, who was celebrating his birthday at the restaurant, is in a stable condition after being shot through the neck.

Prayers up for the victims and their families.

Was this a terror attack?

Was it a crime of passion?

Was it personal?

I am sure the Chinese government will use every bot of influence they can to find out...as well they should.

As I say, prayers for the victims of this attack.

 

[no_name]

My personal opinion is that it is a dispute of personal interests that fails to be satisfactorily resolved. Going to wait for the official finding.

 

[Blackstone]

Prayers up for the victims and their families.

Was this a terror attack?

Was it a crime of passion?

Was it personal?

I am sure the Chinese government will use every bot of influence they can to find out...as well they should.

As I say, prayers for the victims of this attack.

Suspect was a Chinese citizen and an invited guest who invoked diplomatic immunity upon arrest. Had the shooter been Filipino or Uyghur, things might get real ugly.

 

[Jeff Head]

Suspect was a Chinese citizen and an invited guest who invoked diplomatic immunity upon arrest. Had the shooter been Filipino or Uyghur, things might get real ugly.

Thanks for that info. I did not have time to follow up and do my own searching...but knew someone here would.

You have a PM.

 

[siegecrossbow]

Suspect was a Chinese citizen and an invited guest who invoked diplomatic immunity upon arrest. Had the shooter been Filipino or Uyghur, things might get real ugly.

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MANILA, Philippines — Beijing has claimed diplomatic immunity for a Chinese couple suspected in the shooting deaths of two Chinese diplomats and the wounding of the country’s consul-general in the central Philippines, and will take custody of them, an official said Thursday.

A Chinese man has been accused of killing diplomats Sun Shan and Hui Li and injuring Consul-General Song Ronghua on Wednesday in a restaurant in Cebu City, where they worked at Beijing’s consulate. Police say the alleged attacker is the husband of another Chinese diplomat who has also been taken into custody.

The Department of Foreign Affairs in Manila said Beijing has invoked the Chinese couple’s diplomatic immunity under the 1961 Vienna Convention and a 2009 bilateral accord and has asked to take custody of them so they can be investigated and possibly tried in China.

“The Chinese government would like to take custody of them and they will have to undergo the Chinese legal process,” department spokesman Charles Jose said at a news conference.

In Beijing, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said an investigation is underway to determine the motive for the attack and gather details. “We felt deeply distressed over this incident,” she said at a regular news briefing.

The 1961 Vienna Convention spells out protections afforded to diplomats and embassy staff, including immunity from local laws and criminal prosecution. China and the Philippines agreed in a 2009 accord that their consular diplomats enjoy those immunities.

Jose said Chinese and Philippine officials are discussing the transfer of custody, which is to occur after a security team arrives from Beijing. The suspects are currently still in the custody of Philippine police in Cebu, about 570 kilometers (350 miles) south of Manila, at Beijing’s request, he said.

China has previously insisted on trying its citizens who have been accused of crimes in other countries. A Beijing court sentenced a Chinese man to life in prison in 2012 for murdering his girlfriend in Canada. In 2011, a Shanghai court handed a 15-year prison term to a Chinese man who admitted he killed a taxi driver in Auckland.

In Wednesday’s shooting, initial reports differed on whether the man or the woman was the suspected attacker but Jose backed police findings, based on witnesses accounts and security camera video at the Cebu restaurant where the shootings happened, that the husband allegedly fired the shots.

“The shooting was an extreme act of a relative of a staff of the consulate,” Jose said.

Police Chief Superintendent Prudencio Tom Banas said the couple has not issued any statement that could explain the motive for the shooting, partly because they could not speak English.

The victims and the suspects were attending a birthday lunch in a private room at the Lighthouse restaurant when the shooting occurred, Banas said.


Citing witnesses and video from a restaurant security camera, Banas said the gunman first fired at the consul-general and his deputy, Sun Shan, in the room. Hui Li, a finance officer, ran outside the room but the attacker followed and shot her, he said.

Investigators found that the Colt .45 pistol used in the attack may have been illegally obtained. A similar gun with the same serial number and an expired license has been seized from a Filipino owner in metropolitan Manila, police said.

Attacks on diplomats are unusual in Asia. In September a South Korean court sentenced a man described as an anti-U.S. activist to 12 years in prison for slashing and seriously injuring the U.S. ambassador last March.

 

[B.I.B.]

New Zealand has a agreement with some countries where diplomatic immunity is waived for certain types of offending. eg speeding, driving under the influence of drugs/alcohol.
There was the case where a Malaysian Militarty Attache had his diplomatic immunity withdrawn by the Malaysian government and he was then tried for attempted rape in a NZ court.

 

[Jeff Head]

Potentially catastrophic storm, Hurricane Patricia, about to hit Mexican Coast:



Two potentially helpful things with the landing is that, 1), the storm is fairly tightly wound, meaning the high winds do not extend as far out from the eye as they otherwise might, and 2), the eye looks to becoming ashore in a relatively unpopulated area between Puerto Vallarta and Acapulco.

But though the storm will weaken quickly in terms of winds, the heavy moisture is going to be extreme in Texas, and then later in the Ohio Valley.

You guys in Houston, San Antonio, Austin, and up towards Dallas...watch this storm and be careful.

 

[PanAsian]

Was it a crime of passion?

Was it personal?

I am sure the Chinese government will use every bot of influence they can to find out...as well they should.

Was it a direct or indirect effect of the ongoing crackdown on corruption?

They better have a solid investigation and public communication of the findings.

 

[siegecrossbow]

Potentially catastrophic storm, Hurricane Patricia, about to hit Mexican Coast:

View attachment 20487

Two potentially helpful things with the landing is that, 1), the storm is fairly tightly wound, meaning the high winds do not extend as far out from the eye as they otherwise might, and 2), the eye looks to becoming ashore in a relatively unpopulated area between Puerto Vallarta and Acapulco.

But though the storm will weaken quickly in terms of winds, the heavy moisture is going to be extreme in Texas, and then later in the Ohio Valley.

You guys in Houston, San Antonio, Austin, and up towards Dallas...watch this storm and be careful.

The worst we are expecting here in Austin are torrential rain and maybe higher than usual winds. We should be fine as long as we stay clear of low-water crossings. As a matter of fact, several tragedies happened during the May floods since the drivers underestimated the power of raging currents.