四川地震 人間有情 伸出援手 Donation - Earthquake in Sichuan

Hong Kong pledges 38 million dollars for quake-hit China
13 May 2008
Agence France Presse

Hong Kong said Tuesday it will donate 300 million dollars (38 million US dollars) to Beijing to help with rescue efforts after an earthquake hit China's southwest, killing more than 11,000 people.

Hong Kong's chief executive Donald Tsang told a press briefing the money would go to Beijing's coordinating centre responsible for the rescue work.

A team of health and fire services experts from Hong Kong will also be sent to the disaster zone in Sichuan province, which was struck by a 7.9-magnitude quake on Monday, he said.

Tsang dismissed concerns that the catastrophe would affect the Beijing Olympics, noting the quake epicentre was far from the host city.

"Also, the Olympics have been under preparation for many years and have the full support of the Olympic community as well as the whole nation. I do not think the arrangement will be affected by the disaster," he said.

A Hong Kong government spokesman said a Hong Kong woman who suffered a serious head injury following the quake was in stable condition after undergoing an operation in Sichuan on Tuesday.

The spokesman also noted that they had received 50 requests for assistance and 194 enquiries following the quake, with most cases concerning Hong Kong people who could not reach relatives in Sichuan.

Meanwhile, Macau's Chief Executive Edmund Ho said his government would donate 13 million US dollars to Beijing's rescue efforts.

HK jumps into action as Tsang calls on public to help
Hong Kong Standard
Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Hong Kong people have rallied around the call to help victims, with donations running into the tens of millions of dollars within hours.
Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen earlier announced a three- part assistance to the victims, including a cash donation of HK$300 million.

The Legislative Council's Finance Committee will hold an emergency meeting today to consider the proposal.

Several major political parties have already indicated their support.

Besides the cash donation, a team of rescue specialists will soon be leaving for the mainland while SAR liaison officers in Beijing and Chengdu are helping hundreds of Hong Kong people stranded in those areas.

"At the same time I am hoping that the Hong Kong community will, as usual, participate in charitable work and make voluntary donations to help the victims in this area," Tsang said.

Political parties, business enterprises and nongovernment organizations rolled into action after Tsang spoke.

Cheung Kong (Holdings) chairman Li Ka-shing chipped in HK$30 million through his Li Ka Shing Foundation. Cheung Kong (Holdings) and Hutchison Whampoa, of which Li is the chairman, donated a further HK$5 million.

Joseph Lau Luen-hung, chairman of Chinese Estates Holdings, gave HK$10 million. His son Lau Ming-wai, a Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference member, donated HK$5 million. Movie star Jackie Chan Kong- sang and Emperor Entertainment Group chairman Albert Yeung Sau-shing contributed HK$10 million while the People's Liberation Army Hong Kong Garrison gave HK$1.67 million.

Li Gang, deputy director of the Central Government Liaison Office in Hong Kong, said the office had received several proposals for fund-raising.

"The mainland and Hong Kong are as flesh and blood. When one side is in trouble, the other side will provide help," Li said.

Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong chairman Tam Yiu-chung said the party had started fund-raising at street level.

"We have indicated to the government the HK$300 million is inadequate considering the scale of the disaster. Yet we will support the proposal in the Finance Committee meeting and see what else we can do," he said.

The Hong Kong Professional Teachers' Union has been granted approval by the Education Bureau to conduct an emergency appeal for donations in all schools. It said half of the money raised will go to China's Red Cross and the other half will be donated to relief efforts in Burma.

The Hong Kong branches of the Red Cross, Oxfam, World Vision and the Salvation Army have already sent contributions to the affected area.

The Hong Kong University Students' Union has appealed to students to support relief operations.

Macau SAR Chief Executive Edmund Ho Hau-wah said his government had decided to donate 100 million yuan (HK$111.5 million).

Television Broadcasts will host a fund-raising show on TVB Jade on Saturday.

Wen thanks territory as donations pour in
Hong Kong Standard
Thursday, May 15, 2008

Premier Wen Jiabao expressed gratitude to Hong Kong for its aid to earthquake victims and called on citizens to have faith in the central government.

"The mountains can tumble, but people's determination to fight the quake and rescue the wounded will not tumble; waters can be stopped, but the friendship between the people in Hong Kong and China cannot be torn apart," Wen said yesterday.

He said he welcomes any aid Hong Kong can offer.

His remarks came as the Legislative Council approved emergency funding of HK$350 million for the Disaster Relief Fund. HK$300 million will be sent to the central government's relief command unit and HK$50 million to Hong Kong relief organizations. Legislators said they will support calls for more funds should these be required.

Yesterday's special meeting began with a minute's silence to mourn those who perished in the 7.9-magnitude earthquake. The silence was observed again later in the council's full session.

League of Social Democrats lawmaker "Long Hair" Leung Kwok-hung was later ejected from the chamber for speaking out against Legco president Rita Fan Hsu Lai-tai.

He was unhappy that Fan had not acknowledged his request for a silent tribute and for Legco flags to be flown at half-mast.

Separately, donation boxes were set up at the 20 public inquiry service centers in district offices.

However those donating at post offices had to queue at counters because there were no boxes available.

Democratic Party chairman Albert Ho Chun-yan said the government had acted in haste and post offices were not ready.

A spokeswoman for Hongkong Post said donations via PayThruPost was a temporary measure because it was difficult to find sufficient boxes.

Donations collected by post offices will be deposited into the bank account of the Home Affairs Department at the end of each day. All donations will be passed to five relief organizations for emergency relief operations related to the earthquake.

So far community donations have almost reached HK$200 million. Tsang Hin-chi, chairman of Goldlion Holdings and a former National People's Congress Standing Committee member, donated HK$10 million yesterday. A number of religious groups donated more than HK$2.8 million.

Run Run leads way as hearts and wallets open to disaster victims
Hong Kong Standard
Friday, May 16, 2008

Entertainment tycoon Sir Run Run Shaw yesterday became the most generous individual Hong Kong donor to relief efforts in earthquake-devastated Sichuan when he pledged HK$100 million for rebuilding schools in the province.

"Mr Shaw deeply cares about the education of young people," TVB general manager (broadcasting) Stephen Chan Chi-wan said.

The donation from the Shaw Foundation will be presented to Central Government Liaison Office representatives tomorrow during a TVB relief special.

Shaw's Television Broadcasts is mobilizing its 5,000 local and overseas staff to raise funds while the station's artistes will conduct fund-raising drives at 14 locations today and tomorrow.

Hong Kong artistes will also team up with those in Taiwan and the mainland to ensure orphaned earthquake survivors can continue with the schooling.

Hong Kong Performing Artistes Guild president Alan Tam Wing-lun said a relief committee would be set up to look after the livelihood and schooling of children orphaned by the quake.

Tam will be on the Hong Kong region committee along with comedian Eric Tsang Chi-wai, actor Jackie Chan Kong-sang and singer Eason Chan Yik- Shun.

More than 40 singers and actors recorded a song last night to draw attention to the plight of survivors.

Andy Lau Tak-wah penned the new Putonghua lyrics for rock group Beyond's classic Deep as the Sea, Wide as the Sky within hours of the guild finalizing the plan on Wednesday.

"We want the world to know of the suffering being experienced by our countrymen," committee member Astrid Chan Tsz-ching said. The song will be distributed to all TV stations in Hong Kong, Taiwan and the mainland.

About HK$150 million in donations was collected or pledged yesterday.

Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference vice chairman Tung Chee-hwa delivered HK$5 million to the liaison office yesterday on behalf of the Tung Foundation. His family-owned Orient Overseas added HK$1 million.

Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing and Chiang Chen Industrial Charity Foundation sent HK$5 million and HK$10 million to the liaison office. HSBC donated HK$10 million.

The Democratic Party donated HK$500,000 to the Hong Kong Red Cross. Liberal Party lawmakers pledged to donate a month of their collective salaries amounting to HK$560,000.

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HK Flying Service joins relief effort
18 May 2008
South China Morning Post

A five-member Government Flying Service team left yesterday for Sichuan to join the Hong Kong government's search and rescue team on its dangerous mission.

The flying team, which will be providing technical assistance, consists of two pilots, two aircrew members and an aircraft engineer.

A service spokesman said the team arrived in Chengdu yesterday afternoon, and would stay in Sichuan for at least a week.

They are based at an aviation base in the town of Guanghan, just outside Chengdu, where a fleet of helicopters is stationed. The team will work with the Ministry of Communications and are on standby to fly key missions, such as evacuations and airdrops.

On Thursday, a 41-member rescue squad flew to Sichuan. It has been working in Mianzhu county , after being assigned by the mainland rescue command, searching a collapsed administrative building at the Dongfang Electric factory.

Acting director of Fire Services Chan Chor-kam said members of the team were experiencing serious aftershocks, nearly a week after Monday's earthquake.

Mr Chan said more rescuers would be deployed as necessary. The squad would stay in the disaster area for at least seven days.

Hong Kong Red Cross deputy secretary Wilson Wong Mok-fai said the biggest difficulty for rescuers was that the transport network had been destroyed.

"Roads heading to the most affected areas are not yet cleared."

HK breaks record with nearly $1b in quake relief
Hong Kong Standard
Monday, May 19, 2008

Hong Kong people have opened their hearts and purse strings by raising nearly HK$1 billion for Sichuan earthquake victims.

The more than HK$900 million is set to break all fund-raising records in the city.

Fund-raising organizers and charities attributed the surge in sentiment to the increased transparency of the central government and the immense media coverage of the disaster.

The Ministry of Civil Affairs received more than 8.9 billion yuan (HK$9.2 billion) a world record in monetary and material donations from domestic and overseas philanthropists and relief organizations as of yesterday.

The Central Government Liaison Office has so far received more than HK$300 million from Hong Kong in donations for the central relief and rescue command unit, along with another HK$300 million from the Hong Kong government.

The three major political parties the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong, Democratic Party and Civic Party have already collected more than HK$7.5 million.

Other donations came from the Hong Kong Red Cross (HK$150 million) and Oxfam and the Salvation Army (HK$12 million and HK$5 million).

The amount is rising: the Home Affairs Department has yet to announce the money deposited into its bank account and donations made at its 20 public inquiry service centers, and post offices.

Television Broadcasts raised HK$120 million from viewers in addition to HK$100 million from its executive chairman Sir Run Run Shaw. Its fund
-raising street drives on Friday and Saturday drew another HK$200,000.

TVB external affairs deputy director Tsang Sing-ming said the donations broke the records of past fund-raisers.

The momentum continued with many street-level activities attracting enthusiastic responses. Some restaurants and a Yau Ma Tei market with more than 80 stalls donated all of their sales proceeds yesterday to relief funds.

Oxfam Hong Kong director Ho Wai-chi said it raised more than HK$12 million in two days, compared to the HK$14 million raised in two weeks for victims of snowstorms that hit the mainland this year.

Social Workers' Association board member Chua Hoi-wai said the death toll cannot be compared to the 1991 flood in eastern China and the snowstorms.

Hong Kong people could barely understand the magnitude of the devastations back then, Chua said.

City University political commentator Ivan Choy Chi-keung said: "At the time of the Tangshan earthquake in 1976 China and Hong Kong were still two separate units. After the handover interaction has been more frequent and a kin relationship has developed."

Donations already exceed the HK$600 million raised for victims of the 1991 floods and HK$300 million after the snowstorms.

Sichuan province delivered a letter of gratitude to the public of Hong Kong through the Central Government Liaison Office last night, thanking the community for its selfless donations.

Mainland tycoons have also taken immediate action to make voluntary contributions, with Alibaba.com, the world's largest business-to-business e-commerce company with a market capitalization of HK$78.91 million, donating 2 million yuan.

Chairman Jack Ma urged his employees to establish a common channel to get more donations from customers and subsidiaries.

Gome Appliances chairman Wong Kwong-yu, sitting on a net worth of HK$18 billion, has personally donated HK$50 million and added another HK$5 million through his company, not to mention the 2,000 coats, 3,000 tents, and 31,700 bottles of mineral water contributed by its Chongqing subsidiary.

Yang Huiyan, the richest woman in China, handed out 3 million yuan through Country Garden.

Hush falls as HK joins in sorrow
Hong Kong Standard
Tuesday, May 20, 2008





Hong Kong came to a standstill at 2.28pm yesterday and for three minutes its seven million people remained silent, their silence broken only by the sound of car horns and the moaning of fog horns from ferries and ocean vessels in the harbor.

The silence was Hong Kong's response to Beijing's call for a three-day mourning period for the victims of the Sichuan earthquake. A similar silence was observed in Macau.

Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen and his Cabinet, all dressed in black, faced the flags at half staff at SAR government headquarters.

Tsang, a Catholic, made the sign of the cross at the end of the tribute.

Flags on all government buildings and schools and many commercial buildings were at half staff yesterday and will remain so until tomorrow.

Customs and Immigration services such as automatic e-channels at all control points stopped for three minutes.

The only activity was tourists walking to join the queues at the airport immigration counters.

The big TV screen at Times Square attracted more than 800 white-collar workers and tourists despite the rain, with all standing silent and somber. All were touched by what they saw on the screen.

"Life is precious. It is a blessing to be alive," said an elderly man in tears.

A British tourist surnamed Baker praised Beijing's efforts.

Many vehicles responded to the calls to sound their horns. All MTR trains sounded horns for 10 seconds and announcements were made at all stations reminding passengers
to observe the silence.

The fog horns and whistles from ferries and ships echoed on both sides of the harbor.

"My heart aches as if my family members are dying," one passer-by at Tsim Sha Tsui Ferry pier said.

Many schools held assemblies for students.

Many entertainment venues are observing the three-day mourning period - Silver Theater in Kwun Tong has stopped screening until tomorrow; the singing stopped at karaoke chain California Red for three minutes; the Jockey Club canceled the race at Happy Valley tomorrow night.

At Disneyland and Ocean Park, all rides were suspended. Disneyland visitors were invited to join cast members in observing the silence, and the evening fireworks were canceled.

Ngong Ping 360 stopped for three minutes. The Symphony of Lights was also canceled.

All Television Broadcast artists and staff attended a mourning ceremony in Studio One.

Many large corporations in Hong Kong also held their mourning sessions.

Li Ka-shing's flagship companies, Cheung Kong Holdings and Hutchison Whampoa, flew their flags at half staff while some departments gathered employees to mourn in silence.

Chairman Ronald Arculli and chief executive Paul Chow Man-yiu officiated on the trading floor of the stock exchange in the afternoon, with some traders taking off their red-vest uniforms to show their grief.

Hang Seng Bank, Bank of East Asia and Bank of China (Hong Kong) suggested employees mourn at their desks, but counter services were not affected. The Chinese Gold and Silver Exchange Society also observed a minute of silence.

Before the Legislative Council's constitutional affairs panel meeting began in the afternoon, Secretary for Constitutional Affairs Stephen Lam Sui- lung, president Rita Fan Hsu Lai-tai, lawmakers, staff and visiting students marked the occasion in the car park.

Central Government Liaison Office director Gao Siren led his deputies in bowing in memory of the dead.

The Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has arranged one hall for visitors and diplomats to offer their condolences in a book. Diplomats from Australia, Mexico, Canada and Kuwait have signed in already.

The United States consulate-general along with the embassy in Beijing and all other consulates-general in the mainland flew their flags at half staff.

In Macau the national and regional flags at all government agencies were also flown at half staff, with Chief Executive Edmund Ho Hau-wah and his ministers leading.

In some casinos, including the Galaxy and The Venetian, gambling stopped for three minutes.

Over 10,000 people at Tiananmen Square in Beijing sang the national anthem, shouted encouragement to those in Sichuan and waved national flags.

The Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong is hosting a memorial service tomorrow night at Chater Garden, Central.