Life of Guangzhou - Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan Volunteers to Serve Asiad

Organisers of the Guangzhou Asian Games will team up with Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office and Taiwan Affairs Office to recruit volunteers for the event, an official with the Guangzhou Asian Games Organising Committee (GAGOC) said yesterday.

"We have started initial talks with the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office and Taiwan Affairs Office to recruit more volunteers, who will be an important part of services to better promote the Games' image," Lin Yanfen, Deputy Director of GAGOC's Volunteers Department, said.

Up till now, some 185 people from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan have submitted their applications, according to Lin. And the first foreign volunteer, Alberto de Valle, a Cuban Latin dance instructor working in Guangzhou, signed up in May.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong will send its strongest ever delegation to the Games and encourage citizens to serve as volunteers, Timothy Fok, President of the Sports Federation and Olympic Committee of Hong Kong, said earlier.

The number of overseas applicants and applications from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan represents only a small ratio of the total, Lin said.

As of June 29, organisers have received as many as 131,512 applications, among which 60 percentare are college students, via its official website and 67 application centres across downtown Guangzhou, Lin said.

GAGOC launched a large-scale volunteer recruitment drive for the Games in April this year. The department is seeking 60,000 volunteers to work across events at the Asiad, Lin said.

Many household names such as Hong Kong pop star Andy Lau and Chen Xiexia, the first gold medal winner at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, have been appointed volunteers for the forthcoming Asiad.

"We will set up more application centres in downtown streets, in a bid to attract more applicants," Lin said.

Lin added the volunteers would be organised to take part in more social and business events such as the Canton Fair to gain experience prior tothe Games on November 12, 2010.

[More Hong Kong & Macau News]