No Chinese hurt, but China help on the way
30/3/2005 9:22
No Chinese citizens had been reported injured or dead in Monday's earthquake,
Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said in Beijing yesterday. Liu told a
regular press conference the Chinese government would keep in touch with
Indonesia and closely track developments in the disaster-hit areas. China
will give US$500,000 in cash for relief work. President Hu Jintao sent a
condolence message to Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. Foreign
Minister Li Zhaoxing also sent a condolence message to Indonesian Foreign
Minister Hassan Wirajuda, Liu said. "We are deeply sympathetic to the
Indonesian people ravaged by the disaster and would like to express our sincere
condolences to the victims," Liu said. He said the Chinese government and the
Red Cross Society of China are considering providing emergency relief materials
to the victims. China's monitoring station in its southernmost city, Sanya,
detected waves 4 to 5 centimeters high early yesterday, proving the quake caused
a very small tsunami. "The tsunami had very little impact," said Ye Lin, a
chief forecaster with the State Oceanic Administration. After the December 26
tragedy, China established an automatic early-warning tsunami system which
started operation on February 8 and has received more than 20 alerts from the
Pacific tsunami warning center. "The system can tell us what kind of
influence a tsunami has on China's sea areas," Ye said. China has formed a
wave-monitoring network with more than 50 coastal stations which collect data of
storm tides once an hour and which would rise in frequency to once a minute if a
tsunami was to take place.
Xinhua
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