The first donation totaling two million yuan (US$240,000) will be sent to the blizzard-hit Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, sources said from China's biggest charity organization Tuesday.
China Charity Federation (CCF) announced that this donation aims at aiding the local people to combat the storm and pass through the hard time. CCF has also set up three 24-hour hot-lines for the convenience of receiving donations.
Since last October, some northern and eastern parts of Xinjiang have been suffering from continuous blizzards, with low temperatures below minus 38 degrees Centigrade and snow accumulations of 70 centimeters thick, the federation said.
The local government officials introduced, the long-term stormy weather caused a great loss to local people's life and property. Statistics shows that up to the end of January, 924,000 people and 10 million heads of livestock were endangered by the cold weather. As many as 100,000 heads of livestock died and 1.67 million residences were ruined or damaged.
At present, people losing homes or residing in poor conditions are in urgent need for food, clothes and heating facilities, and the herdsmen need funds to save their livestock.
The northern part of China has witnessed a drastic fall of temperature and a series of blizzards since the start last winter, within which Xinjiang and its neighboring Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region are the most affected.
CCF will join hands with State Ethnic Affairs Commission, All China Federation of Industry and Commerce and the local governments of Xinjiang and Inner Mongolia to hold charity performance to help people rebuild their home.
(Xinhua 02/13/2001)
