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HK residents due home after Solomons horror Hong Kong residents who were evacuated from the Solomon Islands will arrive back in the SAR today, after Beijing sent a chartered plane to Papua New Guinea to fetch more than 300 Chinese Monday evening. Andrea Chiu Tuesday, April 25, 2006 Hong Kong residents who were evacuated from the Solomon Islands will arrive back in the SAR today, after Beijing sent a chartered plane to Papua New Guinea to fetch more than 300 Chinese Monday evening. Secretary for Security Ambrose Lee Siu-kwong said 22 Hong Kong residents would be among those on board the China Southern Airlines flight which left Papua New Guinea. The Chinese were taken there after they were airlifted from the Solomons' capital, Honiara, over the weekend. The Hong Kong residents were accompanied by another 19 relatives who also fled the Solomon Islands. A spokeswoman for the Security Bureau said the group was expected to arrive in Guangzhou early this morning. All the Hong Kong residents are reported to be in good condition. Most of them were living in the Solomon Islands and were not tourists, she said. The election of Snyder Rini as prime minister last week sparked protests by islanders who accused him of corruption. They claimed Chinese businessmen in Honiara, and the Taiwanese government influenced the election results. The protests turned violent when the rioters looted and set fire to Chinese businesses and property. The Solomon Islands has no diplomatic relations with Beijing and officially recognizes Taiwan instead. Troops from Australia, New Zealand and Fiji were sent to enforce a curfew and control the rioters.
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