Like other major newspapers today in China, the Jinan Times goes with the Manila hostage story, depicting scene from yesterday evening inside a bloody bullet hole design. The number of deaths is now reported to be ten.
The story as reported by the Guardian‘s Jonathan Watts:
An embittered policeman was shot dead by police marksmen in Manila yesterday after killing at least eight tourists he had taken hostage in a fatally ill-conceived plot to get his job back.
Furious about being sacked for misconduct two years ago, Rolando Mendoza, 55, began his mission yesterday morning at the historic walled city of Intramuros. Armed with an M16 automatic rifle, he hitched a lift on a bus carrying visitors from Hong Kong who were on the final day of their tour of the country. When the vehicle reached José Rizal park, near Manila Bay, he announced that he was taking the 24 passengers hostage until he was guaranteed the return to his job.
The horrific scenes was equally described in local newspapers today, including The Beijing News, which has a detailed account.
The other headline on front pages is about how in an attempt at reforming the death penalty, 13 economic crimes will be excluded. Crimes include one that says capital punishment will not be applied to people above 75 at the time the crime is committed. The China Daily also reported that:
Most of the 13 crimes dropped in the proposal have rarely seen the death penalty applied in recent years. These include smuggling of relics and the faking of specialized value-added-tax receipts.
- Jinan Times (Chinese): Bloody Manila
- Xinhua: China urges Philippines to ensure safety of Chinese tourists
- ESWN: Manila Hostage Crisis Live On TV
- chinaSMACK: Philippines Hostage Crisis Ends With Many Dead, Reactions
- Guardian: At least eight dead in Philippines as siege ends with police storming bus