Postcard from Hong Kong

With this blog post, I wish to offer my sympathy to the Hong Kong and Chinese people whose loved ones -- perhaps a friend, a brother, a mother, or a daughter -- perished in the hostage-taking that took place at the heart of my beloved Manila.The images below have been taken last year from various tourist spots in Hong Kong, during a 3-day trip which thankfully, did not require that I fear for my safety or of being discriminated against.

Clockwise from the top-right image: Tian Tan or the Big Buddha at Ngong Ping, Lantau Island || Bruce Lee Statue at the Avenue of Stars, Tsim Tsa Tsui || a Buddhist woman offering prayers at the Po Lin Monastery also in Ngong Ping || a bicycle parked at a sidewalk around noon time in Mongkok || souvenir T-shirts for sale at the Ladies’ Market also in  Mongkok district

I pray that the people directly involved or have in any way influenced the result of the tragic incident will do everything in their capacity to cooperate, to speak out in truth and be willing to pave the way for justice, even if that will cause them their positions of power. I pray that the government and the police force will be able to identify clearly what their faults have been and be able to learn from these shortcomings so that ultimately they can work together and prevent anything similar from ever happening again.


As I pray for justice and truth to surface, I also pray for the family members and relatives to be able to find a path of forgiveness and acceptance rather than a path of blame, bitterness or hate. Only with forgiveness can there be genuine peace.