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HK approves 100M HKD relief fund to help quake victims

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-04-23 22:43

HONG KONG - The Hong Kong SAR government Friday allocated 100 million HK dollars (12.89 million U.S. dollars) from the Disaster Relief Fund to China's northwestern Qinghai Province to provide emergency relief to earthquake victims there.

The decision has been made after the Finance Committee of the Legislative Council approved a supplementary provision of 130 million HK dollars to replenish the Disaster Relief Fund earlier Friday.

A spokesman for the Hong Kong SAR government said that the committee had also set up a fast-track mechanism to respond quickly to direct appeals for aid in kind from relief agencies.

Under this fast-track mechanism, the Hong Kong SAR government approved a grant of 7.24 million HK dollars to the Salvation Army, a charity organization in Hong Kong, to undertake a relief project for earthquake victims in Qinghai.

These grants are additional disbursement after a total of 4.5 million HK dollars was provided earlier by the Hong Kong SAR government.

It made the total value of grants for earthquake victims in Qinghai to reach 111.74 million HK dollars. ?(1 US dollar equals 7.76 Hong Kong dollars)