China is "shocked and distressed " at the killings of two Chinese hostages in the Philippines, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Sun Yuxi said in Beijing Monday.

Sun said this when asked to comment on the reported killings of two Chinese men held hostage by kidnappers in the Philippines.

On August 19, in a gunbattle between the Philippine government troops and the kidnappers, two of the four Chinese men held hostage by the kidnappers were killed, one was rescued and the fourth man is still missing, Sun said.

The four Chinese men were kidnapped in the Philippines on June 20, and the Chinese government has shown serious concern over the issue ever since, Sun said.

China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation and the Chinese Embassy in the Philippines have made a series of efforts and repeated representations with the Philippine government and people concerned, urging the Philippine side to ensure the hostages' safety, and with their safety as precondition, to promote their early release, Sun stressed.

The Philippine side has also promised many times that they would ensure the hostages' safety, and solve the crisis through peaceful negotiations, Sun noted.

After the disaster, China has requested the Philippine government to give a full account of the matter, and strongly demanded the Philippine side to take measures necessary to ensure the absolute safety of the Chinese citizens in that country, and properly deal with the aftermath of the killings.

(Xinhua News Agency 08/20/2001)