The Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the Macau Special Administrative Region (MSAR) said in a statement yesterday that the total amount of donations from the Macau government and all walks of life already exceeds 100 million patacas to support the relief efforts by the quake-hit provinces of Gansu and Qinghai.
The office expressed its gratitude to all sectors of civil society for their generous donations to support the earthquake relief efforts in the Gansu and Qinghai quake-hit areas.
According to the statement, the office has opened a special account to collect donations, and as of 5 p.m. yesterday, the account had received 92.87 million patacas and HK$1.32 million, of which 69.66 million patacas and HK$990,000 have been transferred to Gansu province, while 23.21 million patacas and HK$330,000 have been transferred to Qinghai province.
The statement said that donations from all walks of life in Macau fully reflect the fine tradition of residents’ generosity and mutual help, and their deep love for the country in general and the mainland in particular.
On December 18, a 6.2-magnitude earthquake struck Jishishan in Gansu’s Linxia Hui Autonomous Prefecture, resulting in significant casualties and damage to infrastructure in Gansu and Qinghai.
According to state media reports, as of last Wednesday, authorities reported 131 deaths and 782 injuries in Gansu, while neighbouring Qinghai recorded 31 deaths and almost 200 people injured.
