HK's Disaster Relief Fund Makes Out Grant Totaling 230 Million HK DollarsThe Disaster Relief Fund of Hong Kong, established in December 1993 for emergency disaster relief outside the city, has since made out grant totaling 230 million HK dollars (US$29.5 million), a government press release said Sunday.The Disaster Relief Fund Advisory Committee, chaired by the Secretary for Administration of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR), is responsible to advise the government on the policy and practices regarding the disbursement of funds for disaster relief and on the amount to be granted to specific recipients, and to monitor the use of grants. Andrew Wong, director of administration who oversees the operation of the fund, said: "The Disaster Relief Fund provides a useful mechanism to enable the government to respond swiftly to international appeals for humanitarian aid." Grants of a one-off nature are approved to provide relief for victims of natural disasters that call for assistance at the international level, he added. "In the past eight years, the committee had received 137 applications, of which 109 were approved, 26 declined and two withdrawn. The total sum disbursed amounted to 230 million HK dollars," said Wong. "All grants are made in response to appeals made by other governments or international relief organizations. We need to ensure that the application is based on humanitarian grounds and receives general public support," he said. |
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