On this Day in Chinese History; 19 August

This day, 19 August, in 2001, Philippine government forces engaged in a fierce gunfight with kidnappers to rescue Chinese hostages. During the operation, Zhang Zhongqiang and Xue Xing, technicians working on the construction of the Malmar irrigation project, were killed, while another was rescued. A fourth, Zhang Zhongyi, remained hostage but was safely rescued and returned to his motherland on 23 October of that year.