wfn.org | Hong Kong Concert to Benefit N. Korea's Children

[CAROL_FOUKE.parti@ecunet.org (CAROL FOUKE)]

National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A.
Internet: news@ncccusa.org

NCC9/15/98

THREE TENORS' JOSE CARRERAS TO GIVE OCT. 17 FOOD AID CONCERT
TO BENEFIT HUNGRY NORTH KOREAN CHILDREN
Venue is Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre

Organizers, U.S. Religious Agency Official to Give News 
Conference
3:30 p.m. Sept. 16, 3/F Christian Ecumenical Center, Kowloon

OCT. 17 CONCERT DETAILS:
The Oct. 17 Food Aid Concert is to raise money for food for North 
Korea's children, among the hardest hit by their nation's long-
running food crisis.  The concert, to be held in the Grand Hall, 
Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, will feature tenor Jose 
Carreras and many other stars.  All concert proceeds minus costs 
will be donated to the Hong Kong Christian Council to purchase food 
for starving children in North Korea, through Action by Churches 
Together (ACT)*, an international aid agency consortium.  Besides 
Mr. Carreras, other featured artists will include Gail Dobish, a 
leading soprano with the New York Metropolitan and City Operas; Andy 
Lau Tak-wah, one of Hong Kong's most acclaimed actors and pop 
singers; Choi Sungsoo from South Korea, and Akina Nakamori from 
Japan.  Mr. Carreras, one of the "Three Tenors," accompanied by the 
Korean Broadcast Symphony Orchestra conducted by Enrique Ricci, will 
perform during the entire second half of the concert.

SEPT. 16 NEWS CONFERENCE DETAILS:
The news conference Sept. 16 at 3:30 p.m. will be held in the 3/F 
Christian Ecumenical Center, Third Floor, 33 Granville Road, 
Tsimshatsui, Kowloon.  It will feature Mrs. Christine Chu, among 
organizers of the Oct. 17 Food Aid Concert, and Victor Hsu, Director 
of East Asia and the Pacific, Church World Service*, the 
humanitarian assistance ministry of the National Council of the 
Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. (with headquarters in New York).  A 
frequent visitor to North Korea, he will have spent Sept. 11-13 in 
Pyongyang and Sept. 14 out in the provinces monitoring distribution 
of CWS shipments of edible oil and pulses consigned to the Korean 
Christians Federation and the World Food Programme.  CWS, which has 
a long history of contact with North Korea, especially with the 
Korean Christians Federation, has provided more than $2.8 million in 
humanitarian assistance to North Korea since 1996, including food, 
medicine, clothing, blankets, diesel generators and greenhouses.

-end-

Contacts: Rev. Judy Chan, Hong Kong Christian Council, Hong Kong 
Phone 2368-7123; NCC Communication Department, New York City, Phone 
212-870-2252/Fax 212-870-2030, e-mail carolf@ncccusa.org; Victor 
Hsu, e-mail 3942475@email.msn.com

*The Hong Kong Christian Council and Church World Service both are 
active participants in ACT.
 -0-