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Following is a question by Dr the Hon David Li and a written reply by the Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Henry Tang, in the Legislative Council today (June 25):
Question:
Hong Kong has raised over $2 billion to date for relief work following the Sichuan earthquake. According to news reports, reconstruction work will be a multi-year effort and require over 540 billion yuan, indicating that Hong Kong will need to put in place a sustainable infrastructure to support the relief and reconstruction work. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) whether it has provided assistance to the relief work relating to the Sichuan earthquake that is being undertaken by the non-governmental organisations ("NGOs") in Hong Kong that are active on the Mainland; if it has, of the details; and
(b) given the expectation of the Hong Kong community, whether it has plans to facilitate the long-term involvement of the above NGOs in the above reconstruction work on the Mainland, such as helping them to establish contacts with the relevant local communities on the Mainland and mainland government departments; if it has, of the details?
Reply:
Madam President,
(a) The Government is very concerned about the catastrophic earthquake which occurred in Sichuan province on May 12, 2008, and has since been in close contact with the Central People's Government to render all possible assistance to help with the disaster relief work for the victims. Apart from the assistance provided direct to various Mainland authorities, we have, as at June 19, 2008, made six grants from the Disaster Relief Fund totalling HK$27.25 million to NGOs in Hong Kong to support their emergency relief work in the Mainland provinces affected by the earthquake. Details are as follows:
Amount of
Relief Date of Beneficiary grant approved
Organisation approval province(s) (HK$ million)
------------ -------- ----------- -------------
The Amity May 15, Sichuan 3.5
Foundation 2008
Cedar Fund June 10, Gansu 0.74
2008
Hong Kong May 15, Sichuan 7.5
Red Cross 2008
Oxfam June 10, Sichuan 3.51
Hong Kong 2008 and Shaanxi
World May 20, Sichuan 5
Vision 2008
Hong Kong
World May 27, Sichuan, 7
Vision 2008 Shaanxi and
Hong Kong Gansu
(b) The Government has been in close contact with voluntary agencies and organisations in Hong Kong on matters relating to the disaster relief work for Sichuan earthquake victims. We have conveyed to the Central Government the earnest desire of the Hong Kong community to actively participate in the reconstruction work in Sichuan province. The Chief Executive will lead a government delegation to visit the Sichuan disaster areas from June 27 to 29 and discuss with the Sichuan authorities the mechanism and arrangements for Hong Kong to participate in the reconstruction work.
Ends/Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Issued at HKT 15:30
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