Internet taps the city's spirit of giving
While it's still more than a week to the December 1 launch of the Operation Santa Claus Christmas Tree, which tracks fund-raising progress, the campaign's website has already attracted more than HK$560,000 in donations.
The annual charity drive, coorganised by the South China Morning Post and Radio Television Hong Kong and now in its 21st year, was launched at a ceremony at Ocean Park two weeks ago.
Selina Tsang Pou Siu-mei, the campaign's honorary patron for the second year, told a cheerful crowd: 'We are blessed to have a rich tradition of giving to charity from enterprises in Hong Kong. It feels good to do good and Operation Santa Claus has a history of doing good.
'The money raised will help them to provide much needed services,' she said, referring to the 13 charities that will benefit from this year's campaign.
Mrs Tsang, the wife of Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen, said she enjoyed 'this special way of showing this shared commitment to a very meaningful cause'.