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Raissa Robles

Li Jing

Beijing invoked diplomatic immunity for its consulate staff in Cebu City in the Philippines who were involved in Wednesday's fatal shooting, local officials said. At least one of the two suspects is also a Chinese diplomat.
Consul general Song Ronghua, who was shot in the neck, remained in stable condition yesterday. The two diplomats killed in the attack were the consulate's No 2, Sun Shan, and finance officer Li Hui.
An investigator told the South China Morning Post that another, unidentified consular officer was hit by a ricocheting bullet and wounded slightly near the spine. She went to hospital but was released after receiving a tetanus shot.

Guo Jing, a visa section consul, and her husband, Li Qingliang, were taken into custody.
A senior government official in Manila said the Chinese government had invoked diplomatic immunity. The official, who asked not to be named, said full diplomatic immunity meant "they are immune from arrest, prosecution and detention, under the Vienna Convention".
China and the Philippines had also agreed in 2009 to a deal that "broadened the Vienna Convention and granted full immunity even to consular officials of both countries", the source said.

The shooting happened soon after nine people from the consulate in Cebu finished lunch in the main dining room celebrating the birthday of new consul general Song on Wednesday, according to an investigator, who spoke on condition of anonymity as the person wasn't authorised to speak publicly on the matter.
None of the survivors had agreed to be questioned by the police and the two bodies had not been sent for autopsy because no consent had been given by close kin, the source said.
There was no CCTV inside the main dining area, the investigator stressed. Surveillance outside the main dining room recorded a woman running, being shot from behind and falling face down on the floor. Only a portion of a hand holding the gun is visible in the footage.

The investigator said a frame-by-frame analysis showed the triggerman was male. The police believe Li was the gunman. Philippines foreign affairs spokesman Charles Jose said in a statement that "the shooting was an extreme act of a relative of a staff of the consulate general".
We are deeply saddened about the incident … and we are still investigating the reasons and situation behind it
Foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying
At a regular press briefing in Beijing, foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying confirmed that two Chinese diplomats had been killed and another injured in a shooting in Cebu. "We are deeply saddened about the incident … and we are still investigating the reasons and situation behind it," Hua said.
Professor Niu Zhongjun, of the China Foreign Affairs University, said diplomats formally dispatched by the foreign ministry would be entitled to immunity, regardless of their official position."The immunity is a form of respect from the receiving country," Niu said.

In July, 1982, Tang Jiansheng, a translator at the Chinese embassy in Maputo, Mozambique, killed nine staff with a gun within the embassy compound.
He was deported to China and executed.
 


Beijing invokes immunity for consulate staff over fatal Cebu shooting

A police investigator inspects the crime scene where Chinese consul general Song Ronghua was wounded after a shooting incident at a restaurant, in Cebu City, central Philippines. Photo: AFP

Foreign ministry spokesman Charles Jose said a team from China would arrive to take custody of the couple. Photo: AP

Shooting suspect Guo Jing. Photo: AFP

Shooting suspect Li Qingliang, Guo Jing's husband. Photo: AFP

Chinese diplomat and husband detained by Cebu police over double-fatal shooting in Philippines restaurant

An investigator marks the crime scene where the two people were killed inside the Lighthouse Restaurant. Photo: AP

Filipinos pass by a car allegedly belonging to the Chinese consulate parked outside the Lighthouse Restaurant in Cebu. Photo: EPA 

The entrance of the Lighthouse Restaurant where the shooting occured. Photo: SCMP Pictures

Consul general Song Ronghua

A police investigator inspects the crime scene at Lighthouse Restaurant. Photo: AFP 

'I dived under the counter': terrified waitress at Cebu restaurant tells of fatal shoot-out that left China envoy hospitalised, two consulate staff dead

Song Ronghua, 53, in a file photograph. Photo: SCMP pictures

Hui Li is treated and sent to the hospital after a shooting at the Lighthouse Restaurant in Cebu, Philippines. Photo: SCMP Pictures

The entrance to the Lighthouse Restaurant. Photo: Twitter

Two suspects talk to an interpreter (centre) at a police station in Cebu City, central Philippines. Photo: AFP

An investigator marks the crime scene at the Lighthouse Restaurant in Cebu. Photo: AP

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Beijing shields witnesses and suspects involved in fatal Cebu shooting from local authorities
