The British Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong has launched a campaign to throw its support behind Hong Kong's fight in the economic recovery from SARS, according to news reaching HK Thursday.

The chamber has launched the campaign geared at correcting some of the "alarmist" reporting of the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in the United Kingdom media. In a business brief sent to leading UK business organizations, the message is "Continue backing Hong Kong!"

Brigadier Christopher Hammerbeck, the chamber's Executive Director, said they must persuade business in the UK that "Hong Kong is still a very safe, very desirable place to do business in."

The chamber's brief outlined the medical facts about SARS, including that SARS has affected only 0.04 percent of the Hong Kong population and that almost all those who have died from the disease were in old age or had serious illnesses that compromised their immunity.

The brief said that Hong Kong has an excellent public healthcare system and the risk of infection is very small at the moment.

British companies employ 400,000 people in Hong Kong and represent one of the largest foreign investments here, currently running at about 5 billion pounds sterling (US$63 billion).

(Xinhua News Agency May 8, 2003)