英语文摘:Hong Kong brings home bodies of hostage victims, official demands thorough probe by Philippin

Hong Kong will hold a city-wide memorial service Thursday to mourn the eight victims, the government said in a statement. Chief Executive Donald Tsang will lead a mourning ceremony to be held at the city's landmark Golden Bauhinia Square.

The State Council, or China's cabinet, has advised the HKSAR government that the national flags displayed at all the city's government offices and Central People's Government offices in Hong Kong will be flown at half-mast on Thursday.

The mourning ceremony at Golden Bauhinia Square will start at 8 a.m. local time when the national flag and the flag of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region will be hoisted and then lowered and flown at half-mast.

Tsang will lead principal officials of the city's government to observe a 3-minute silence.

The spokesperson called on Hong Kong's 7 million residents across the city to participate in the ceremony or mourn the dead at the same time in other ways.

According to the spokesperson, during the mourning ceremony all governmental services except for the emergency and entry-exit services will be suspended, and public servants will join in the mourning at their working venues.

The 21 Hong Kong tourists along with four Filipinos including a driver and a guide on board a bus were taken hostage by a dismissed Filipino policeman on Monday morning.

The hijacker was killed by police in a rescue operation after he shot dead several hostages.