Forgiveness is fine, but at the right time
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A rifle-wielding Philippine ex-police officer hijacked a bus carrying more than 20 Hong Kong tourists in Manila on August 23. After negotiations with the hijacker failed, eight Hong Kong tourists were killed and seven others were injured, two seriously.
The poor response and ineffective action of local law enforcers, and an inappropriate smile from Philippine President Aquino enraged many people in China. And when Hong Kong movie star Jackie Chan posted "Don't worry, we do not hate!" on his Twitter account he faced a torrent of anger and calls for a boycott of products he endorses.
Jackie Chan wants the Chinese people to forgive. But forgiveness must be justified. And the justification should not come from the Chinese side but from the Philippines. The Philippine authorities have shown some sincerity in dealing with the issue, but have not done enough to win our forgiveness. At a hearing organized by the Philippine Congress, neither the mayor of Manila nor the director of the Philippine National Police could give a reasonable explanation for the botched rescue operation. Even worse, it seemed their main concern was to evade personal responsibility for the debacle.
We can answer Jackie Chan's call "not to hate" only after we have seen a full and clear report from the investigation, and only after those who were at fault accept responsibility.
In today's world, we cannot deal with problems by following the simplistic rule of "an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth." There were a complex set of circumstances behind this crisis. The Philippine police force badly needs institutional reform to overcome deficiencies inherited from the Arroyo administration. But if someone asks for forgiveness, the first step should be a rigorous self-examination.
Forgiveness is the last link in the chain. To talk of forgiveness ahead of an investigation and the assignment of responsibility turns forgiveness into connivance. Such forgiveness is not genuine and will only allow hatred to fester. To forgive at a proper time, on the other hand, allows the forgiven relief from their burden of guilt, and will make them value the pardon. Forgiveness given too lightly is an excuse for neglect of responsibilities.
We need to foster a mature public mentality when faced with overseas security incidents. This means China will have to pay more attention to its citizen's safety in foreign countries and develop better protection systems. This in turn will also make the international community realize that China cares about its citizen, and force them to respect us and our choices.
(This post was first published at the Beijing News and translated by Li Shen.)
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