XN000022-1995-10-31 — Page 3

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Payment to Kwun Lung Lau landslip victims

The Government, the Housing Society and the Mott Connell Group acting as consultants to the Housing Society, have agreed to contribute in equal shares to a substantial payment to be made to all of the victims of the landslip at Kwun Lung Lau which occurred on July 23 last year.

A government spokesman said: "In agreeing to make this payment, they have taken account of the fact that the victims and their families will be spared the trauma and cost of pursuing complex and uncertain claims for compensation for their injuries and loss.

"The payment is made with the agreement of the victims and their representatives that neither the Government, the Housing Society nor the Mott Connell Group accept liability for the occurrence of the Kwun Lung Lau landslip on July 23, 1994."

End Tuesday, October 31, 1995

Hong Kong contributes to CITES enforcement project

The Secretary for Economic Services, Mr Gordon Siu, today (Tuesday) handed a contribution of US$150,000 (about HK$1.17 million) to the CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) Secretariat's Enforcement Project.

The contribution was presented at the opening of the International Symposium on Traditional Chinese Medicine and Wildlife Conservation and was received by the Secretariat's Deputy Secretary General, Mr Jaques Berney.

The amount would help strengthen enforcement of the Convention and the organisation of a regional enforcement training seminar in Hong Kong.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Mr Siu said he hoped the Symposium marked the beginning of a joint venture that would ensure the survival of endangered wildlife and the practice of traditional Chinese medicine.

He said the practice and consumption of traditional Chinese medicine was part of the cultural heritage of Chinese communities everywhere. Wildlife has been used in traditional medicine for centuries without endangering the survival of the numerous species concerned.