The General Armament Department of the Chinese People's
Liberation Army (PLA) has donated 10 million yuan (1.4 million U.S.
dollars) to the southwest Sichuan Province for disaster relief
efforts in snow-hit areas.
The funds will be distributed to Luzhou and Yibin cities and
Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture, via the Provincial Civil
Affairs Department, said Major General Hao Jianchang, deputy
director of the Political Department of the PLA General Armament
Department.
Hao, addressing a donation-giving ceremony in Chengdu, the
provincial capital, said on Wednesday PLA officers and soldiers had
fought the disaster in the affected areas as hard as in the
battlefield. He hoped the funds would be helpful for the local
relief and rebuilding efforts.
According to sources, the Provincial Charity Federation of
Sichuan initiated a program asking local people of different
circles to donate money and goods to the victims. So far, the
donations have reached 14.7 million yuan.
Like a dozen other provinces in the southern and eastern parts
of the country, part of Sichuan also experienced lingering bad
weather since mid-January.
Heavy snow and freezing rain left 107 dead and caused over 100
billion yuan in economic loss in the affected provinces.
In the past month, tens of thousands of soldiers have been sent
to the snow-hit areas to help restore jammed traffic, repair fallen
electrical towers and to maintain order in crowded public places
such as railway stations.
(Xinhua News Agency February 21, 2008)