Special report: Strong Earthquake Jolts SW China

    BEIJING, May 16 (Xinhua) -- Chinese communities in Uruguay, Venezuela and the Philippines have offered generous donations for the earthquake relief efforts in China.

    Officials of the Chinese embassy in Uruguay said the overseas Chinese in Uruguay have been rushing to donate money for the disaster-hit Sichuan province in southwest China.

    In a letter of condolences presented to the embassy previously, the overseas Chinese in Uruguay expressed their belief that the survivors in the quake-affected areas, under the strong leadership of the Chinese government, will soon overcome difficulties and rebuild their homes.

    Uruguayan TV channels have reported the relief work in Wenchuan area, epicenter of Monday's 7.8-magnitude quake, and its footage said the pictures touched everyone as they showed the Chinese paramilitary and army were making unremitting efforts to search for lives in the rubbles.

    In Venezuela, the economic and commercial counselor’s office of Chinese embassy and the chamber of industry and commerce of Chinese enterprises in the country contributed a total of 45,926 U.S. dollars on Thursday to the disaster-hit region. Some foreign employees of PetroChina International Co. Ltd in Venezuela also made donations for the victims in China.

    Previously, Chinese enterprises and individuals in Venezuela have donated 65,716 dollars and 8,200 yuan for the quake victims.

    The Filipino-Chinese community has so far collected over 13 million yuan (1.85 million dollars) of donations for quake relief efforts in China, said the Chinese embassy in Manila on Friday.

    Filipino-Chinese groups such as the Federation of Filipino-Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry, the Association of All Filipino-Chinese Societies, and Federation of All Filipino-Chinese Alumnis and others have been mobilizing all their members and associates to donate money for disaster relief work in China.

    In addition, the chairman of the Philippine Airlines, Lucio Tan, has offered to use his planes to send water to the disaster stricken areas.

    More than 50,000 people are feared dead in Sichuan province alone after Monday's 7.8-magnitude earthquake, the rescue headquarters of the State Council said Thursday.

    The confirmed death toll in Sichuan was 19,509 by 4 p.m. (0800 GMT) Thursday, up by 5,046 from Wednesday's 14,463, according to Li Chengyun, vice provincial governor of Sichuan.