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Amnesty sacking of local director to be reviewed

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AMNESTY International's Hongkong section has delayed the firing of its director, pending a detailed review of the human rights group's local financial situation.

The section's four-person executive committee decided in November to dismiss Miss Shim Yan-shan and an office assistant, effective at the end of December, as part of a cost-cutting exercise to stem monthly losses of $20,000.

But that decision will be reconsidered after a strong protest from Miss Shim, who is on maternity leave in Singapore.

In a letter dated December 26, Miss Shim claimed she was let go because she was pregnant. She also criticised the section for being dominated by expatriates rather than Chinese.

But a spokeswoman for Amnesty's international secretariat in London, Ms Anna Stuttard, said the Hongkong section's problems were caused by static membership and income levels.

The section received a grant from the international body for a membership drive in an effort to increase its income, she said.

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