Chinese living abroad subscribe liberally to tsunami victims
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2005-01-08 19:45

Chinese living abroad across the world subscribed liberally to the victims of the December 26 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunamis which killed about at least 155,000 and rendered millions of people homeless.

Staff members of the Chinese Embassy and Chinese enterprises in Thailand on Friday donated 29,000 US dollars to the Thai government for disaster relief in the tsunami-hit southwestern coast of the kingdom.

The donation, exchanged into checks of 1.15 million baht, was handed by Chinese Ambassador Zhang Jiuhuan to Chalermpon Ake-uru, deputy permanent secretary of the Thai Foreign Affairs Ministry.

Zhang extended condolences to Chalermpon and wished the donation can help relieve local people's suffering from the disaster and rebuild their home soon.

The Chinese government had previously donated cash and aid worth 1.2 million US dollars to Thailand and sent two medical teams to the affected provinces in the kingdom.

Besides, a five-member Chinese forensic team is also working in southern Thailand to help identify victims of the disaster.

In Myanmar, Chinese diplomatic personnel and some Chinese business companies based on Friday donated over 6 million Kyats (about 7,000 US dollars) for victims in tsunami-hit areas of the country.

The donations from the Chinese Embassy, the Chinese Consulate-General in Mandalay and Chinese companies in Yangon were handed over to the Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement (MSWRR).

Chinese ambassador Li Jinjun and Myanmar Social Welfare, Reliefand Resettlement Minister Major-General Sein Htwa attended the donation ceremony.

Previously, the Chinese government and the Chinese Red Cross Society had respectively donated 200,000 US dollars and 20,000 US dollars in cash to Myanmar for the victims.

In Britain, an influential association of Chinese restaurant owners issued a statement Thursday calling on Chinese takeaway restaurants across Britain to conduct charity sales for the disaster relief campaign in the tsunami-hit countries.

Chen Deliang, president of the association, said that after thedisaster, he received many calls inquiring about ways to make donations, and many expressed their desire to make concrete contribution to the tsunami victims.

The association appealed to Chinese restaurants all over Britain to conduct charity sales and set up contribution box outside their restaurants to encourage customer donation.

It is estimated that there are over 10,000 Chinese takeaway restaurants and 5,000 Chinese restaurants in Britain. The first batch of donations has already been sent to the British office of the United Nations Children's Fund.

In Germany, the Chinese community issued a statement Friday calling on Chinese compatriots living in Germany to make their contribution and donate five euros each for the Tsunami-hit South and Southeast Asian countries.