Special report: Strong Earthquake Jolts SW China     

Rescuers tend an injured one-year-old baby in the quake-stricken Deyang City, southwest China's Sichuan Province, May 14, 2008.   (Xinhua Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    BEIJING, May 16 -- Liu Ming has a photograph, which shows her standing among a group of children attending a new school.

    The picture was taken in happier times; today it evokes nothing but sadness.

    Liu, 32, is an employee of CapitaLand, a Singapore developer, that built a Project Hope school last year in Beichuan county.

    The school was reduced to rubble, burying many students.

    "In June last year, I lived with some of the students for two weeks. I am willing to adopt some of those who have survived but have lost their parents," she said.

    Liu is not alone in thinking about students buried in collapsed school buildings. A man surnamed Cai has set up a special website giving information on how to adopt orphans of the quake, and it is attracting a lot of attention.

    More then 50 people had responded just five hours after the website was set up, Cai said.

    "All expressed hopes of adopting some of the orphaned children," he said.

    The civil affairs division of Sichuan's provincial government has opened two telephone lines to answer questions about adoption procedures.

    The numbers are: 028 84423064 and 028 84423065.

    As of Wednesday, the division had received 28 queries from companies and individuals across the country.

    The Qianan Orphanage in Tangshan, a city hit by a 7.8-magnitude earthquake 32 years ago, said it could accommodate 150 to 200 orphans.

    Ye Lu, the director of the welfare department of the Sichuan civil affairs bureau, said that given the circumstances, the number of orphans is difficult to assess.

    "In Mianyang, fewer than 10 children were sent to the local orphanage," Ye was quoted by the Oriental Morning Post as saying.

    "As rescue work continues, we believe the number will not be too large."

    Yang Huiyan, the daughter of an estate tycoon, donated 10 million yuan (1.04 million U.S. dollars) to the Guangdong Youth Development Foundation toward the support of orphans.

    "With no home, no parents, and no school, how can these poor children live and study?

    "This is an area we can all make a contribution," Yang was quoted by the property website Focus.cn as saying.

    The country's largest insurance firm, China Insurance, said on Wednesday it will support all children orphaned by the disaster until they reach 18.

    It is still discussing the details of the scheme and welcomes offers of help from other organizations and individuals, a press officer said.

    Another insurer, Huaxia Life Insurance, said it will donate at least 1,000 yuan a year to every orphaned student in Wenchuan until they finish their college education.

    TV host Yang Lan, supported by the All-China Women's Federation, has also set up a fund for orphans.

    (Source: China Daily)