37 HK compatriots back to home from Solomons
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2006-04-26 09:39 Thirty-seven Hong Kong
residents and their relatives who were evacuated from riot-torn Solomon Islands
arrived in Hong Kong from Guangzhou Tuesday afternoon.
They were warmly received by officials from the Hong Kong Immigration
Department, Social Welfare Department and Home Affairs Department.
Altogether 310 overseas Chinese, including 39 Hong Kong residents and their
relatives, evacuated from Solomon Islands arrived in Guangzhou City in South
China's Guangdong Province at 00:29 Tuesday morning.
Assistant Director of Hong Kong Immigration Department, Chiu Wai-kai, told
reporters at the Lok Ma Chau control point Tuesday that there are two Hong Kong
residents who plan to come back to Hong Kong by themselves.
Of the rest 37 evacuees, 17 are Hong Kong permanent identity card holders. 18
of the 20 relatives hold Solomon Islands passports.
The Hong Kong Immigration Department will keep close touch with the Office of
the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of
China in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, and arrange for the
returning journey if any of the 37 evacuees plan to go back to Solomon Islands,
Chiu said.
He said the Hong Kong Home Affairs Department will provide an emergency
assistance of 8000 Hong Kong dollars (about 1032 U.S. dollars) at most to each
family.
During the recent unrest in the Solomon Islands' capital Honiara, dozens of
residences and shops in the city's Chinatown were looted and set on fire.
Hundreds of local Chinese residents were forced to flee their homes.
Informed about the unrest, Chinese leaders were greatly concerned over the
safety and property security of the overseas Chinese there.
The central government chartered foreign commercial airplanes to evacuate
them to Port Moresby, capital of Papua New Guinea first, and then sent a
chartered plane of China Southern Airlines there to carry them back to
Guangzhou.
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