China floods: Hong Kong tycoon Richard Li donates 10 million yuan to stricken Henan as government advisers consider using disaster relief fund to help
- The billionaire son of Li Ka-shing becomes latest local heavyweight to join fundraising efforts by business and political groups, celebrities
- City’s disaster fund has a reserve of about HK$100 million and was used to help flood victims in Jiangxi province in September
Hong Kong billionaire Richard Li Tzar-kai has donated 10 million yuan (US$1.54 million) to help Henan after the central province in mainland China was devastated by heavy rains and flooding, becoming the latest local heavyweight to join fundraising drives by the city’s business and political groups.
Li, the younger son of property tycoon Li Ka-shing, on Saturday expressed condolences to the affected residents across the border as Hong Kong government advisers were considering using the city’s official Disaster Relief Fund to support those struggling in the tragedy.
Zhengzhou, Henan’s provincial capital, was battered by several days of heavy rain, causing floods of an intensity not seen in decades. The official death toll from the flooding had risen to at least 56 on Friday, and local authorities said more than 3 million people had been affected.
Ip Kwok-him, who sits on the Disaster Relief Fund’s advisory committee, said the panel discussed the situation in Henan during a regular meeting on Thursday and agreed to contact the Hong Kong government’s liaison unit in the province to keep an eye out for any NGOs requiring assistance.
“I think we should show support. If any group needs help, the committee will deal with their applications accordingly,” Ip said.
Chan Kin-por, chairman of the Legislative Council’s finance committee, said he understood that the fund had a reserve of about HK$100 million (US$12.9 million). Donations could be initiated by either the government or NGOs, and funding requests exceeding HK$8 million would require approval from the Finance Committee, Chan added.
In 2015, the legislature approved HK$50 million in aid, through the fund, after thousands were killed in an earthquake in Nepal.
The fund was also used for mainland disaster relief last September, when the government accepted the committee’s advice and approved a grant of HK$1.7 million for an agency, known as the Amity Foundation, to help flood victims in Jiangxi province.
A Hong Kong government spokesman said the administration extended its deepest sympathy to the victims of the Henan floods.
“We believe that under the efforts of the central, provincial and municipal governments, they will be well taken care of,” he added.
‘Whole town submerged’: other parts of Henan prepare for more flooding
In a joint letter to Henan authorities, all 36 Hong Kong deputies to the nation’s top legislature said they would donate HK$1 million to the families of those killed by the flood.
Irons Sze Wing-wai, a Hong Kong delegate to the mainland’s top political advisory body, said a similar drive among other members from the city had raised HK$6 million so far.
The city’s pro-establishment political parties also extended support to the flood victims.
The Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong launched a fundraising campaign and urged residents to donate to its community service branch’s bank account by July 30.
The Federation of Trade Unions said it had donated HK$300,000 from its own disaster relief and charity fund to Henan authorities. Its president Stanley Ng Chau-pei and chairman Kingsley Wong Kwok had met He Jing, a deputy director of the central government’s liaison office in Hong Kong, on Thursday to hand over a cheque to him.
“The situation in Henan is very serious,” Ng said. “The federation will continue to raise funds; we hope that our members and residents can lend support, and show that Hong Kong and mainland compatriots are helping and looking after each other.”
Hong Kong retail and entertainment conglomerate Emperor Group said on Wednesday that it would donate at least 13.6 million yuan for mainland authorities to tackle the disaster.
That included 10 million yuan from the group’s chairman Albert Yeung Sau-shing and his eldest son, 1 million yuan each from actors Nicholas Tse Ting-fung and William Chan Wai-ting, 500,000 yuan each from singers Joey Yung Cho-yee and Charlene Choi Cheuk-yin, and 300,000 yuan each from artists Gillian Chung Yan-tung and Hacken Lee.
Hong Kong actress Cecilia Cheung Pak-chi also announced on her Weibo account on Wednesday that she and her team had donated a total of 600,000 yuan to the Red Cross Society’s Zhengzhou branch.
