HK rallies around family torn by Manila hijacking

HONG KONG — Hong Kong on Friday rallied behind a family that lost three of its members in the bloody bus hijacking in the Philippines, as the sole surviving son underwent surgery for a serious head injury. The Leung family, who are dual Hong Kong-Canadian citizens, have become the emotional focal point of this southern Chinese territory following a 12-hour hostage-taking that played out at a Manila park and left eight Hong Kong tourists dead. Just after the standoff ended late Monday with police shooting the hostage-taker, devastated mother Amy described to TV cameras at the scene how her husband had tried to subdue the hijacker, but was killed in gunfire. Amy, who was unhurt, wondered about the fate of her three children who were also on the tour bus— only to find out later that daughters Doris, 21, and Jessie, 14, were also fatally shot. That left 18-year-old son Jason, who suffered a head wound that left him in a coma. The teenager, a graduate of Bronte College secondary school in the Canadian city of Mississauga, Ontario, was flown back to Hong Kong late Thursday, where a doctor performed surgery on him Friday. Dr. Dawson Fong told Commercial Radio he had removed part of Jason's skull to relieve intracranial pressure and inserted a monitor. "If there are no complications, if everything goes smoothly, the swelling in the brain should stabilize within a week or 10 days," Fong said. It's still unclear what caused the head injury, Acting Secretary for Food and Health Gabriel Leung told reporters late Thursday. A Filipino doctor who treated Jason said earlier he may have been struck by the butt of a gun. Meanwhile, Hong Kongers have poured with affection toward the teenager and his mother. Newspapers ran messages of encouragement in front-page headlines on Friday. "Hang in there! Song-xue," Ta Kung Pao wrote, using the 18-year-old's Chinese name. "Jason, Keep at it!" Apple Daily said. Facebook users have set up support groups called "You have to live" and "Jason Leung: Get up soon. Your mother is waiting for you to go home." "I hope every Hong Kong citizen shows special concern for Mrs. Leung and Jason. We need to back them up and support them. We hope Jason recovers soon," Hong Kong leader Donald Tsang said in a video message posted on Facebook late Thursday. Tsang and his wife Selina also attended a mass for Jason's father, Ken Leung, late Thursday. The gathering at the secondary school that the 58-year-old businessman attended drew a turnout of 1,200 people, Ming Pao Daily News reported on Friday. — AP