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The Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau today (April 7) announced the granting of funds for four non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to establish and operate four support service centres for ethnic minorities in Hong Kong.
A spokesman for the Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau said, "We received a total of 22 applications from 16 NGOs upon the close of applications for the funds. After careful examination, we have selected four suitable NGOs to run the centres. They are: (1) Hong Kong Christian Service; (2) International Social Service Hong Kong Branch; (3) Christian Action; and (4) Yuen Long Town Hall Management Committee Limited."
The four centres are located in Kwun Tong, Wan Chai, Tuen Mun and Yuen Long respectively.
All four centres will organise language training classes to enhance ethnic minorities' proficiency in both Chinese and English and will also provide other support services in order to facilitate their integration into the community. The centre in Kwun Tong, to be operated by the Hong Kong Christian Service, will also provide centralised telephone interpretation service to assist ethnic minorities in their use of public services. These centres are expected to commence their services from mid-2009.
"The Government is committed to promoting racial harmony and equality. The establishment of these support service centres is an important part of our efforts to enhance support services to assist the integration of ethnic minorities into the community, while retaining their culture and characteristics and facilitating the continued contribution to the diversity of our society", the spokesman said.
The funding grant for the four centres involves a total of $16 million annually as the operating expenses for the four centres for two years and a total of $8 million as one-off start-up costs. The Government will review the scheme in two years.
Ends/Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Issued at HKT 19:27
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