A coal mine owner has made the headlines for the
right reasons after spending 20 million yuan (US$ 2.55 million) on
building 200 homes for all the residents in his home village.
Pei Chunliang, from Peizhai Village in central
China's Henan Province, said the act of generosity was
a way of expressing his gratitude to the village for coming to his
aid several decades earlier after his father had died. Unable to
afford a coffin, Pei relied on the donations from local farmers to
bury his father.
"So far about 110 new residential houses have been
built. Once the interior decoration is completed, villagers can
move in," Pei said.
The remaining villas will be completed next year,
ensuring that all the village's 123 families will have new roofs
over their heads.
Previous donations resulted in Pei being elected
village head - with a salary of around 800 yuan a year - in April
2005 even after he had announced he did not want to run.
Pei had already contributed a total of 63,000 yuan
to the village for the construction of a bridge, a middle school
building and a new road. He also built a cement production line
with an output capacity of 5,000 tons. Local farmers chipped in but
the lion's share of the capital came from the Henan Rural Credit
Cooperative.
"Being the village head, I am more dynamic than
ever," said 36-year-old Pei. "My goal is to lead every one to
prosperity."
(Xinhua News Agency November 30, 2006)