Hong Kong delegates to the mainland's top advisory body have raised more than $40 million to help three impoverished provinces combat the Sars outbreak. Chan Wing-kee, a member of the Standing Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), said more than 100 delegates from the city had contributed to the campaign, which started two weeks ago. 'The responses were unexpectedly positive and it was the biggest ever fund-raising campaign by the Hong Kong deputies to the CPPCC,' he said, adding that the contributions ranged from $5,000 to $3 million. He said the initial target had been set at $30 million. The campaign came a few weeks after Hong Kong accepted a consignment of medical supplies, including 113,000 protective gowns and 100,000 shoe covers, from the central government. Mr Chan, who is also president of the Chinese Manufacturers' Association of Hong Kong, said the donations would help Hebei, Shanxi and Inner Mongolia fight the outbreak of atypical pneumonia. Five CPPCC Standing Committee members donated a total of $15 million, with tycoons Peter Woo Kwong-ching, Walter Kwok Ping-sheung, Victor Li Tzar-kuoi, Alice Cheung Wing-chun and Ho Tsu-kwok each contributing $3 million. Citic Pacific chairman Larry Yung Chi-kin, Peter Lee Ka-kit, eldest son of Henderson Land Group patriarch Lee Shau-kee, and Tang Cheung-chin, father of Secretary for Commerce, Industry and Technology Henry Tang Ying-yen, each donated $2 million.
