A telethon inspired by basketball star Yao Ming raised over US$340,000 Sunday to support the battle against SARS in China.

Televised on Shanghai Television Great Sports Channel, the telethon featured several famed co-hosts such as Yao, the young center of the NBA's Houston Rockets; Qi Hong, a member of China's national soccer team at last year's World Cup; and German soccer star Jorg Albertz, who is now playing for Shanghai Shenhua.

During the program, Yao showed his confidence that the battle against the deadly disease would eventually be won.

"It's a long war, and it's also a war of spirit. Everybody is working hard in order to win it," he said. "I firmly believe we will do that in the end."

The 23-year-old also released a letter he wrote to friends in the NBA, which received a strong response from many big-name players. Shaquille O'Neal, Tracy McGrady, Tim Duncan, Phil Jackson, Magic Johnson and NBA commissioner David Stern, among others, expressed their concern and support to all medical workers in China via videotaped messages.

"I love you, xie xie, peace," said O'Neal, using the Chinese word for thank you.

Yao answered questions from viewers sent in over the Internet and sat down for an interview in the final hour to discuss his budding career, life in America, and what it felt like to come home to Shanghai.

"Yao Ming supports his country, and we will support Yao Ming. As an important member of the NBA, we are proud of Yao," said Stern.

The Houston Rockets displayed strong support for their rookie center. Teammate Steve Francis, head coach Rudy Tomjanovich, and Rocket's owner Leslie Alexander all expressed their support for the cause in videotaped statements shown during the event. Alexander backed up his statements with a donation of US$22,000 to support the battle.

In addition, many domestic sports stars, including female soccer star Sun Wen, also took part in the telethon.

(Eastday.com May 12, 2003)