The government of China's Hong Kong Special Administrative
Region (HKSAR) on Monday approved a relief fund of 1.5 million HK
dollars (US$192,000) to a charity organization for emergency relief
to earthquake victims in Indonesia.
The new relief efforts from the Disaster Relief Fund has brought
the HKSAR government's total grants for Indonesian earthquake
victims to 10.38 million HK dollars (US$1.33 million) since this
month.
Earlier in June, the HKSAR government has allocated four
disbursements totaling 8.88 million HK dollars for emergency relief
to earthquake victims in Yogyakarta and Central Java Province,
Indonesia.
The new relief fund was granted on the advice of the Disaster
Relief Fund Advisory Committee, according to a press release on the
government's website.
To ensure that the money will be used for the designated
purposes, the committee will ask Mercy Corps Limited, the charity
organization undertaken the relief fund, to submit an evaluation
report and an audited account on the use of the grant after the
relief project has been completed.
The Disaster Relief Fund of Hong Kong was established in
December 1993 for emergency disaster relief in places outside Hong
Kong. The Disaster Relief Fund Advisory Committee is responsible
for advising the Government on the policy and practices regarding
the disbursement of funds for disaster relief, advising on specific
amounts to specific recipients, and monitoring the use of
grants.
(Xinhua News Agency June 20, 2006)