A Hong Kong entrepreneur made a donation Thursday to support the battle against severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) on the Chinese mainland, in Hong Kong and in Taiwan.
Yu Pengnian, who runs a hotel in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen, donated 1.6 million yuan (about 190,000 US dollars) as an expression of his respect and support for the frontline anti-SARS medical workers.
The Shenzhen Red Cross and the Hong Kong Red Cross each received 500,000 yuan (60,240 US dollars) from his charity fund, while the Beijing Red Cross, the Inner Mongolia Red Cross and the Taiwan Red Cross received 200,000 yuan (240,96 US dollars), respectively.
The donation will be used to combat SARS and will promote cooperation between Shenzhen, Hong Kong and Taiwan, said Chen Qiming, secretary general of the Hong Kong Red Cross.
Yu, an enthusiastic philanthropist, has donated tens of millions of yuan in recent years to educational and medical institutions in Shenzhen and in southern China's Hunan Province.
(Xinhua News Agency May 11, 2003)
