Hong Kong's 167,000 civil servants have been asked by their boss to donate funds for victims of the devastating tsunami that battered Asia.
``We are all shocked and saddened by the tsunami which struck vast areas in South Asia,'' Secretary for the Civil Service Joseph Wong said in a letter on Wednesday asking employees to voluntarily donate to relief efforts.
``Let us pray for the safety of our lost fellow residents and lend a helping hand to the tsunami victims and their families.''
Other efforts were under way throughout the city on Wednesday as
Hong Kong residents responded to calls for help from neighbouring countries.
Action star Jackie Chan donated HK$500,000 to the United Nations Children's Fund, or Unicef. The star said he hopes more people will give money.
``A token HK$500,000 is nothing for the disaster areas, but I want to have a spearheading effect,'' he said at a cheque presentation ceremony.
Another of Hong Kong's international stars, Chow Yun-fat, gave HK$200,000 to a disaster relief fund set up by a Chinese-language newspaper, and tycoon Li Ka-shing pitched in HK$24 million on Tuesday.
The Po Lin Monastery also announced that it will donate HK$3 million to the
Hong Kong Red Cross.
Hong Kong residents have donated more than HK$26 million to the Red Cross alone - up HK$6 million in one day - but more is needed, the agency said in an appeal for funds.
``There are at least 13 international Red Cross emergency response teams currently working in Sri Lanka and Indonesia to assist with water and sanitation, basic health, aid distribution, telecommunications and logistics,''
Hong Kong secretary-general Chan Kai-ming said.
Donations can be made by direct transfer to the
Hong Kong Red Cross South Asia Relief Fund bank accounts: HSBC: 500-334149-010. Hang Seng Bank: 267-175123-009. Bank of China: 806-0-003403-3. Bank of East Asia: 514-40-66899-0.
A group of Indian businessmen based in
Hong Kong said they will visit southern India to assess tsunami damage.
The Indian Chamber of Commerce said ``devastation and suffering of such magnitude'' cannot be reduced by donations and distribution of essential goods alone, but is a lengthy process requiring continued help by community members.
The chamber will send a three-person delegation to the area as a first step. The delegation will visit Madras and other affected areas, chamber executive director V Santha Ram said on Wednesday.
Cheques mailed to the Indian Chamber of Commerce - 2/F Hoseinee House, 69 Wyndham St, Central - will go into a special trust fund, which will be given to the Indian government for its tsunami relief efforts.
Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa declined to comment on whether he himself had made a donation to the victims.
``This is a private matter. Mr Tung would not comment on whether he himself has committed to giving a donation or not,'' Tung's spokesman Mak Kwok-wah said on Wednesday.
Chief Secretary for Administration Donald Tsang, who is in charge of a government relief task force, also remained tight-lipped about whether he had offered donations.
``This is a very personal matter. Mr Tsang does not want to reveal this to the public,'' his spokesman said.
However, the spokesman said the government had already invited four non-governmental organisations, including Red Cross, World Vision, Oxfam and Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), to apply for the government disaster relief fund for a maximum of HK$8 million per application. He said if there was demand for more financial assistance, Tsang would exercise discretion by approving a larger amount of funding after taking each individual application into account.
``All the four organisations say they will apply for the fund but so far we have received one application for HK$3.6 million. We will speed up processing the applications with a view to help the victims as early as possible,'' he said.
A Civil Service Bureau spokeswoman said civil service chief Wong would surely be on the list of donors but that he declined to reveal the amount of his donation.
However, she added that a fundraising campaign had already been under way within the bureau with about 300 staff and they hoped to extend the campaign to other bureaus and departments.
