HK gov't approves grants for mainland drought, flood victims

The Hong Kong government has approved two grants from the Disaster Relief Fund totaling 5.48 million HK dollars (706,549 U.S. dollars) to two relief agencies to undertake relief projects for victims of drought and flooding on the Chinese mainland, a government spokesman said Friday.

The spokesman said the government hopes that with the grants of 1.39 million HK dollars to Oxfam Hong Kong and 4.09 million HK dollars to the Amity Foundation, Hong Kong would help provide relief to drought victims in Yunnan Province and flood victims in Sichuan Province and the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, respectively.

"To ensure that the money will be used for the designated purposes, the two relief agencies will be asked to submit evaluation reports and audited accounts on the use of the grants after the relief projects have been completed," the spokesman said.