The first shipment of Heilongjiang rice donated by the Li Ka-shing Foundation to aid relief efforts in Anhui and Yunnan has arrived in Fuyang. Priority was given to disabled persons and the poor for distribution.
This shipment of rice was packed in Heilongjiang and weighs 340 tonnes. Representatives of the Foundation personally supervised the delivery of the rice to Fuyang. Other shipments are on their way to other affected areas in Anhui and Yunnan.
The donation of 2,100 tonnes of rice is worth HK$12 million and represents the entire rice production of HLJ Hutchison Whampoa Agricultural Development Company Limited for the year.
A spokesman for the Foundation said that rice ahs always been a staple food for Chinese people. By donating rice, the Foundation hopes that it will be the fastest and most direct way to help the victims.
“This donation demonstrates Mr. Li’s deep concern for mainland compatriots,” the spokesman said.
The “Pik Heung To” brand of rice is managed under H.L.J. Hutchison Whampoa Agricultural Development Company Limited, and is cultivated in the black rich soil of Qiqihier of Heilongjiang. With the protection of natural resources at the habitat, Pik Heung To can guarantee its quality as a healthy green food.
Over the years, Mr. Li Ka-shing has donated over HK$160 million to aid disaster relief efforts in China, including the East China flood in 1991, the South China flood in 1994, and Yunnan earthquake in 1996, and Yangtze river flood in 1998, the snow storm in Inner Mongolia in 2001, and the flood in western China last year.
15 Aug 2003