APEC incidents

There were two notable incidents at the APEC CEO Summit presently being held in Bali, Indonesia. When asked by a Taiwanese businessman, who expressed amazement at the economic turnaround of the country, if he would seek a second term if only to ensure the continued progress of the Philippines, President Aquino said that he would step down and not hold on to power at the end of his term in 2016. Ultimately, it is the people who will decide who the best person is to continue the reforms that his administration has begun. He was given a rousing applause for his answer. I guess it is because so many in this part of the region have become accustomed to having leaders, and their families who are in power for decades.

This is what critics of this administration do not want to trumpet. The country's economy and investment grade rating are now noticed by the whole world. Something past administrations cannot boast of. When corruption is at least checked or best eliminated, there is no reason for an economy not to grow. This is what the country is telling the whole world. That it is great to invest in the Philippines. We are no longer “the sick man of Asia”, something I never really wanted to hear.

The second incident also involved the president. Reporters from a Hong Kong media outlet “ambushed” the president as he was entering the venue, and practically shouted their questions at him. The questions pertained to the death of eight Hong Kong citizens in a hostage standoff at Manila in 2010. The reporters were not only loud, they were bordering on heckling, prompting the Indonesian security detail to remove the said reporters from the venue. Afterwards, organizers of the summit revoked their identification passes and were barred from entering the venue for the duration of the summit.

It is one thing to ask questions, even sensitive ones; it is another to be disrespectful, rude and even arrogant. The Hong Kong reporters displayed all of those, which is why they were removed from the summit. It is funny that people from Hong Kong have an utter disdain for their mainland China brothers because of their loudness, rude attitudes, disgusting habits and apparent lack of common sense. But when it is their turn to display all of the above, it is freedom that must not be stifled. I believe the Indonesians and the organizers of the summit acted accordingly, and commendably. You just do not treat a visitor, a VIP, a head of state even, in that manner. The hostage crisis in Manila is a closed issue. Those who deserved to be punished or reprimanded, were. While it is regretful, it should not give reporters the license to display bad manners. A similar incident occurred in 2005, when a Filipino father and his daughter were stabbed to death by a Chinese man as they were in Tiananmen Square. Was there any official apology for the incident? Do our journalists scream questions at a Chinese head of state when he happens to pass by? 

And I thought the British taught them well.