The government of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) approved on Tuesday to grant 1.29 million HK dollars (about 165,000 U.S. dollars) from the Disaster Relief Fund to the Amity Foundation for relief projects for snowstorm victims in the Chinese mainland.

The new grant by the HKSAR government raised Hong Kong's official grants for snowstorm victims in the Chinese mainland to 238.72 million HK dollars (30.6 million U.S. dollars) with its disbursement of 237.43 million HK dollars made earlier for three local provincial-level governments and six organizations to provide emergency relief to snowstorm victims in eight provinces or municipalities.

Under the advice of the Disaster Relief Fund Advisory Committee, the new grant will be earmarked on for relief efforts in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and Yunnan Province in southwest China.

Announcing the grant on Tuesday, a spokesman for HKSAR government said the committee hoped the grant to the Amity Foundation would help provide relief to snowstorm victims in Guangxi and Yunnan, two of the hardest-hit areas in the winter.

"To ensure that the money will be used for the designated purposes, the relief agencies have been asked to submit evaluation report and audited account on the use of the grant after the relief project has been completed," the spokesman said.

The Disaster Relief Fund Advisory Committee is responsible for advising the HKSAR government on the policy and practices regarding the disbursement of funding for disaster relief from the Disaster Relief Fund, which was established in December 1993, for emergency disaster relief in places outside Hong Kong, as well as advising on specific amounts to specific recipients, and monitoring the use of grants.

(Xinhua News Agency April 2, 2008)