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Premier sends condolences to families
Premier Wen Jiabao yesterday offered condolences to families in Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan who lost members in the tsunami disaster in South Asia, pledging that the central government will continue to render assistance. Wen was in the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, to attend a meeting with leaders from the region and other nations to co-ordinate local aid operations and discuss a quake-tsunami warning system for the Indian Ocean. As of 9 am yesterday, a total of 42 Chinese citizens had been reported missing in the Asia tsunami disaster, including seven from the Chinese mainland and one from Macao, according to the official website of China's embassy in Thailand. So far, 12 Chinese citizens have been confirmed killed in the disaster. Speaking on the sidelines of the meeting, Wen told the press that the country's overseas diplomatic missions would work closely with the local authorities to monitor developments. "We wish to give our heart-felt condolences to those in Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan who are disastrously affected and let us grieve for those who have lost their lives in the disaster," Wen said. "The Chinese Government, our overseas embassies and consulates care about them and will help them." As of yesterday, the official count of missing Hong Kong residents was
reduced to 59.
Among the missing, 34 were last reported in Thailand, 10 in Indonesia, one in
Malaysia and 14 in other areas of the region. There is no report of Hong Kong
residents missing in the Maldives or Sri Lanka.
The official death toll of Hong Kong residents in the disaster stood
unchanged at nine while the number of "potentially" missing residents dropped to
148 from more than 320 the previous day, Deputy Secretary for Security Michael
Wong said.
Among the six injured treated at local hospitals the previous day, four were
discharged and two remained in hospital, Wong said.
He said police and immigration officers had found all six students whom
schools were anxious to contact. All were safe.
But three Hong Kong employees -- one German and two Indonesians -- were still
unaccounted for after six of the nine reported missing a day earlier were
located.
The six volunteers, dispatched by Hong Kong Social Welfare Employees
Association, will work with the government search team to provide support to
Hong Kong residents.
"Hong Kong people are suffering immense stress, both physically and mentally,
in their search for missing family members," said Chan Man Luen-ying, a
registered social worker dispatched to Phuket.
He believes the three-member government search medical panel is not able to
meet the demand for psychological counselling services.
"We will visit major hospitals to reach those families and the injured. We
can give more in-depth counselling if necessary," said Chan.
"We hope that we can help the Chinese and Hong Kong residents with our
knowledge and skills," he said.
Chan Yee-fei, one of the organizers of the mission, agreed that there is real
need for psychological counselling among Hong Kong people in Phuket.
"They suffer great anxiety and are emotionally strained, after waiting for
news of their family members for more than one week.
"Aside from survivors, these family members are also prone to post-traumatic
stress disorder. If they lack access to proper counselling and care, they could
develop depression or other mental problems," Chan said.
He also pointed out these people tend to be passive in getting psychological
help, making an initiative to reach out to them necessary.
The six volunteers, who are professional counsellors with experience in
providing services to people of different age groups, are scheduled to return
next week.
Also, the plight of the tsunami survivors appears to have touched every
corner of the planet, right down to the prison cells in Hong Kong.
More than 760 prisoners in the high-security Stanley Prison, where some of
the city's most hardened criminals are locked up, have donated HK$141,788
(US$18,178) after learning of the December 26 catastrophe, according to a wire
report. |
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