China Aid to Japan continues

BEIJING, March 16 (Xinhua) -- China on Wednesday boosted aid to Japan by announcing the offer of 20,000 tonnes of fuel and additional government donation while the support from the public continued to mount.


The fuel -- 10,000 tonnes of gasoline and 10,000 tonnes of diesel -- will be transported to Japan by China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), parent of PetroChina, and China Petrochemical Corporation (Sinopec), the central government said in a terse report.


Details of the offer are not disclosed. Beijing said it would further provide assistance pending on the request of the Japanese government.


Also Wednesday, an eastern Chinese city followed the lead of other local Chinese governments by donating money to earthquake-hit areas in Japan.


The municipal government of Wenzhou, in east China's Zhejiang Province, will donate 2 million yuan (about 307,692 U.S. dollars) to Ishinomaki, its Japanese sister city in hard-hit Miyagi Prefecture, Wenzhou Mayor Zhao Yide said in a letter of condolence.


Zhao said the government of Wenzhou and its people are sad about loss in Ishinomaki and are concerned about rescue and recovery efforts.


Wenzhou is latest Chinese local government to pledge donations to quake-hit areas in Japan.


Previously, the provincial government of Jilin said it will donate 100,000 U.S. dollars to the prefectural government of Miyagi while the municipal government of Changchun, capital of Jilin, pledged 500,000 yuan to the municipal government of Sendai.


China's Red Cross Society on Tuesday said it had donated 6 million yuan in emergency aid to Japan following last Friday's 9.0-magnitude earthquake and ensuing tsunami that have left thousands dead or missing in northeastern Japan.


China sent a 15-member international rescue team to Japan on Sunday, while the Ministry of Commerce said it will provide 30 million yuan worth of emergency humanitarian assistance.


The first relief package -- composed of 2,000 blankets, 900 cotton tents and 200 emergency lights -- has been delivered.


Chinese President Hu Jintao on Monday offered condolences to Japanese Emperor Akihito, saying the Chinese government and people "stand ready to offer necessary help."
Chinese billionaire and philanthropist Chen Guangbiao is currently in Japan to participate in the rescue operation. He said he would donate cash and emergency medicine.


In China, fund-raisers were held in universities and public plazas over the past few days. Banners with words of support were seen in many places including a sports stadium in Tianjin where a Japanese football team was competing in an Asian Football Confederation Champions League match.


Chinese have mixed feelings about Japan due to the atrocities committed by the Japanese aggressors upon Chinese people during the World War II. But the outpour of support from China's government and public triumphed after the earthquake.


According to a survey conducted by Ji'nan University, based in southern Guangdong Province, 90 percent of the 505 interviewees said they support Chinese government's decision to send a rescue team to Japan. Nearly 70 percent said the move would help the two countries develop better ties.
More than 80 percent of the interviewees also said they are willing to provide various forms of humanitarian assistance to the Japanese.


"When China suffered earthquakes, Japan gave a helping hand. Now, it is time for us to help them," said a Chinese surnamed Liu who participated in the survey.


"The spirit of helping and caring for each other in hard times would undoubtedly draw feelings of closeness between Chinese and Japanese," said Columnist Li Kaisheng.


Morishita, a Japanese national who works for an advertising company in Shanghai, said he received many phone calls from his Chinese colleagues and friends after the earthquake.
Morishita said though his hometown is far from the quake zone, he was moved by the care and concern shown by the Chinese around him.


Hashimoto Tomohiko, who works for Isetan shopping mall in northeast Chinese city of Shenyang, said he was glued to China's news channel these days to learn the latest rescue developments.
Japan's earthquake dominated the front-pages of China's major newspapers and magazines while state television channels and radio stations kept airing the news on the rescue and recovery around the clock.
China's Sina Weibo, a Twitter-like microblogging service, is also flooded by news on Japan's earthquake and the rally of support from Chinese Internet users.
"I feel really sad for the Japanese people," said netizen Weixiaoshao. "I hope they could be adamant and optimistic, as depicted in Japanese cartoons."
In universities in Shanghai and Shenyang, the school authorities consoled students from Japan's quake-hit areas and promised assistance
Staff of Shanghai-based Fudan University were ordered to provide psychological counselling to Japanese students in need.
Inoue Nozomi, who studies education management at Shenyang Normal University, said many Chinese students came to her to ask how she was faring and the school's teaching staff have told Japanese students not to hesitate in informing the school of their needs and demands.