Charity show raises US$319 mln for quake-hit area
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The Chinese people continued to donate for the quake-hit zone in northwestern province of Qinghai on Tuesday, while getting ready for a nationwide mourning for those killed in the April 14 earthquake on Wednesday.
A TV charity show on Tuesday evening raised 2.175 billion yuan (about 319 million U.S. dollars) in donations for the Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Yushu, where the 7.1-magnitude quake has left at least 2,064 people dead, 175 missing, and 12,135 injured by Tuesday.
The donations mainly came from the country's performing artists, dignitaries, news organizations as well as private and state-owned enterprises.
It will be channelled to the quake zone through the Ministry of Civil Affairs and the Red Cross Society of China.
Of the donations, 330 million yuan was contributed by 65 large state-owned enterprises administrated by the central government, and people in Hong Kong contributed 42.43 million Hong Kong dollars in donations.
Li Changchun, a Standing Committee member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, was present at the show.
In the small hours of Wednesday, most websites and news portals in China have already turned black and white as part of the national mourning, which will be formally kicked off on Wednesday morning.
