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The government of south China's Guangdong Province has offered to help reunite Chinese evacuees from the riot-torn Solomon Islands with their relatives and provide basic support services.
Guangdong would welcome the evacuees, many of whom had lost their identity cards and worried about their children's education, said Lu Weixiong, head of the provincial office of overseas Chinese affairs.
Most of the evacuees were Guangdong emigrants or descended from Guangdong people, so the priority of the provincial government was to help them contact family members or relatives, said Lu.
He said the government would provide support services if they could find no family.
"We will try our best to help them resolve these problems and difficulties," said Lu.
Violent protests erupted in Honiara, capital of the Solomon Islands, on Tuesday night. Reports said dozens of Chinese-owned shops in the Chinatown were looted over two days. Injuries were reported, but no fatalities.
The Chinese government on Monday morning sent a chartered aircraft to Papua New Guinea and it was scheduled to fly more than 300 Chinese nationals and people of Chinese origin back to Guangzhou on Monday night, said Lu.
The government was acting at the request of the Chinese in the islands.
Lu said they could return to the Solomon Islands at any time after the situation became stable.
Thirteen Cantonese flew to Guangzhou and another two Chinese to Shanghai on Sunday night with assistance from the Chinese Embassy in Sydney.
The Chinese government has been closely following developments in the Solomon Islands.
The Foreign Ministry and embassies have put in place an emergency mechanism and taken measures to help the Chinese in the islands.
Editor: Yan
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