HK presents Taiwan 50 mln HKD for disaster relief

HONG KONG, Aug. 18 (Xinhua) -- The government of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) Tuesday presented a donation of 50 million HK dollars to Taiwan for the relief of disaster caused by Typhoon Morakot.

On behalf of the Hong Kong SAR government, Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Stephen Lam Tuesday presented the donation to Managing Director of the Chung Hwa Travel Service Yang Jia-jiunn for onward transmission to the Taiwanese authorities.

The donation is intended for disaster relief and reconstruction work in Taiwan, in the hope of providing timely assistance to the typhoon victims.

Finance Committee of the Hong Kong Legislative Council approved the donation on Aug. 17.

Latest statistics showed that the disaster has killed more than 120 people while another 400 are still missing. Over 20,000 people have been evacuated from their homes and some 4,000 more are being moved to temporary shelters. (7.8 HK dollars = 1 U.S. dollar.)