H.K. gov't asks employers to report missing staff after tsunami

Asian Economic News, Jan 10, 2005

HONG KONG, Dec. 31 Kyodo

Employers are being urged to report staff members who fail to show up for work after the holidays over fears they might have been caught up in this week's Asian tsunami, a government official said Friday.

So far, 174 holidaymakers from Hong Kong remain missing in the wake of the tsunami disaster, Deputy Secretary for Security Michael Wong told a daily press briefing. The number was revised downward from 277 on Thursday.

Of the missing, 113 are in Thailand with the rest in Malaysia, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, the Maldives and other parts of the affected region.

The death toll remains at two, Wong said.

Another 843 people have been reported missing by their families or friends but are unable to provide concrete information of their whereabouts for officials to follow up.

''The figure might go up especially after the holidays. Of course, we hope to see the figure go down but I'd like to urge the public to be prepared psychologically and face it with a calm heart,'' Wong said.

Schools are also asked to report to the government if teachers or students do not return after the holidays.

Hong Kong schools will resume on Monday after the Christmas and New Year holidays. It is also a peak season for employees to take leave from work.

A team of around 150 officials, including police officers, medics, immigration officers and clinical psychologists, have been sent to the southern Thai resort island of Phuket, Sri Lanka's capital Colombo and other areas to assist Hong Kong people there. A command center has been set up in Phuket.

Police forensic experts are taking DNA samples from bodies believed to be of Hong Kong people. The samples will be sent back to Hong Kong for verification.

But the team has made little progress, according to Hong Kong television stations reporting from Thailand.

Meanwhile, around 20 groups from different political orientations are working together to raise funds for the quake victims. Donation boxes are being set up across the territory to collect money over the coming week.

They expect to raise between HK$10 million (around $1.29 million) and HK$20 million.

A massive donation event coordinated by the government and major charity groups will be held Saturday at Hong Kong Stadium in Happy Valley, Hong Kong Island, which can accommodate up to 35,000 people.

Pamela Tan of the Civil Affairs Bureau said it is difficult to estimate the amount to be raised but at least HK$10 million has been pledged by residents.

Singers and disc jockeys attending this year's countdown to the new year at Times Square in Causeway Bay, east of Hong Kong Island, will be appealing for donations, said Christine Yeung, spokeswoman for the event.

The Hong Kong Tourism Board has also called off a planned rooftop pyrotechnic display originally scheduled for Friday and Saturday.