BEIJING, May 11 (Xinhua) -- China received about 76.7
billion yuan (about 11.2 billion U.S. dollars) in cash and relief materials from
domestic and foreign donors after the massive earthquake last May 12, official
sources said Monday.
By April 30, a total of 65.996 billion yuan in cash and relief
materials worth 10.716 billion yuan were donated to areas affected by the quake,
the Ministry of Civil Affairs said.
Most of the donations have been or will be spent on
the construction of new houses, schools, medical institutions, welfare and
cultural facilities for local people.
However, some 20 billion yuan of donations has not
been transferred to the quake areas, largely because some reconstruction
projects have yet been finalized, the ministry said.
For example, money to be used to build a
school or to sponsor orphans will be allocated in accordance with the
development of the project.
The ministry, which oversaw disaster relief work
after the earthquake, said the use of the donated money and materials had been
closely monitored to ensure a transparent and regulated practice.
There have been no reports of malpractice in the past
year, the ministry said, citing latest report of the National Audit Office.
Also on Monday, a government white paper said
concerted efforts of the entire country and the people throughout the world
played a major role in helping quake-affected areas to overcome serious
consequences of the disaster.
The paper, "China's Actions of Disaster Prevention
and Reduction," was published by the State Council Information Office a day
ahead of the anniversary of the earthquake.
The magnitude-8.0 quake, with the epicenter in
Wenchuan of southwest China's Sichuan Province, left more than 87,000 people
dead or missing and more than 374,640 injured.
More than 3 million domestic and foreign volunteers
worked in disaster relief, while 10 million others participated in quake relief
activities around the country, the paper said.
It said Chinese people, enterprises and social
organizations were actively involved in emergency relief work after the quake.
About 1 percent of the population volunteered for
quake relief work across China, making it the first large-scale volunteer rescue
effort in the country.
The paper noted that the government considered it
important to involve the public fully in disaster prevention and relief. It said
the country had a tax system that encouraged donations and had guided
volunteers to participate in disaster work.
At the end of 2008, China had 1,531 charity
foundations and about 100 million people giving time as volunteers, it
said.