China's Hong Kong government has approved a grant of 3.5 million Hong Kong dollars (US$449,000) for World Vision Hong Kong to provide emergency relief to tsunami victims in Indonesia.
Hong Kong's Disaster Relief Fund Advisory Committee has so far approved six applications from three charity organizations, totaling grants of 21 million Hong Kong dollars.
China's Hong Kong government has also accepted the committee's call for the Hong Kong Red Cross to change the relief receiving country of an earlier approved grant of 3.5 million Hong Kong dollars from Sri Lanka to Indonesia.
Two applications from Oxfam Hong Kong and another two from World Vision Hong Kong for funds to cover relief activities in Indonesia, India and Sri Lanka were approved earlier and the two organizations were each granted 7 million Hong Kong dollars.
To ensure the money is used for the designated purposes, the committee will ask the organizations to submit evaluation reports and audited accounts on the use of the grant after the relief projects have been completed.
(Xinhua News Agency January 15, 2005)