China quake galvanizes expatriates into action

BY PMA RASHEED

The Gulf Today, 15 April 2010

The massive earthquake that devastated the western China's Qinghai province on Wednesday has caused serious worries among the Chinese expatriate community in the UAE.

The Chinese Business Council (CBC) in the UAE, based in Sharjah, has planned a quick action to help the earthquake victims by providing them with food, shelter, medicine and electricity at the earliest, according to Diana Ma, secretary of the organisation.

"Zhang, Secretary General of the CBC, has already sent a proposal to all the members of the organisation in order to raise a huge fund to support the cause. The organisation comprises over 110 big Chinese establishments in the UAE," she said.

"We will dispatch the money raised by the CBC members through the Consular General of China in Dubai, Gao Youzhen. We also have plans to cooperate the Red Crescent Authority in supporting the victim. All the procedures are underway," she added.

Martha Shen, Administration Officer at China Mex, said she was worried about the increasing earthquake disasters in her country.

"Since the highest destructive and most shocking earthquake happened in Wen Chuan area last year, a number of minor and notable earthquakes have been reported in different parts of China. And we, the expatriate community in the UAE, are really scared about the situation," she said.

"But, the disaster response by the leaders of our country was appreciated globally. The expatriate community in the UAE, including the Chinese Treaty Promotion Centre (CTPC), also had notably contributed to the charity for the earthquake victims," she added.

The UAE's Chinese population has been estimated at about 180,000 strong members.