Special report: Strong Earthquake Jolts SW China

    MACAO, May 13 (Xinhua) -- The government of Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) announced Tuesday it will allocate 110 million yuan (around 16 million U.S. dollars) to help the victims of Monday's earthquake in China's southwestern Sichuan province.

    In a press statement, Chief Executive of the Macao SAR, Ho Hau Wah, expressed his sympathy and solicitude to the earthquake victims, saying the SAR will offer all-out support to the earthquake relief operations in Sichuan.

    The quake, measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale, rocked Sichuan's Wenchuan County at 2:28 p.m. on Monday, leaving at least 10,000 people dead.

    Meanwhile, the Macao Foundation and a board member of the Macao China Friendship Association also donated respectively 10 million yuan (1.43 million U.S. dollars) and 10 million Hong Kong dollars (1.25 million U.S. dollars) to the earthquake victims.

    In addition, the SAR government has set up a round-the-clock helpline for Macao residents that may be involved in the quake, but for the time being, no such case was reported.