Communist Party of China (CPC) members had contributed 8.43 billion yuan (1.2 billion U.S. dollars) in "special Party membership dues" as disaster relief donations as of Tuesday noon.

The money came from 37.86 million CPC members, of whom 2.67 million contributed more than 1,000 yuan each, the Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee said on Wednesday.

The department publicized the decision to accept Party members' large donations as "special membership dues" on May 18, less than a week after the 8.0-magnitude quake struck southwestern Sichuan Province.

The death toll from the May 12 quake was 69,176 as of Wednesday noon, the State Council Information Office said, with 374,008 people injured and 17,415 others still missing.

(Xinhua News Agency June 19, 2008)