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SINGAPORE: China's Xinhua news agency on Thursday said the death toll from this week's earthquake could go up to more than 50,000. Many Singapore companies, especially those with branches in China, are raising money to help the victims.
The Singapore-Sichuan Trade and Investment Committee, which was set up under the International Enterprise (IE) Singapore, has pledged more than S$900,000 for relief efforts.
For some executives from Singapore, including MediaCorp chairman Ho Kwon Ping, the earthquake was a close shave.
Mr Ho, who was just about to leave Chengdu for Hong Kong when the earthquake happened, said: "We could have been (on) the airplane that was affected and you could have heard news accounts of the airplane that crashed because there was an earthquake as it was about to take off.
"So we were just 30 seconds away from a disaster, so ten hours in an aircraft is nothing compared to the realisation that it could have been different."
With many Singapore companies investing in Sichuan province, helping the quake victims is about giving back to the community.
Koo Tsai Kee, co-chairman of the Singapore-Sichuan Trade and Investment Committee, said: "Singapore companies have invested quite a lot in Sichuan, in Chengdu, Mianzhu and some of the other cities affected by the massive earthquake. So collectively, they have come together and try to help.
"We will keep in touch with the IE Singapore Chengdu office. We have an office there and they will liaise with the local officials to see how to bring these items to the people affected."
Crestar Education Group also hopes to raise some S$20,000 through donations from staff and parents. The school has 25 pre-schools in China, including one in Chengdu.
Robert Leong, CEO of Crestar Education Group, said: "All the schools are closed in Chengdu as announced by the Ministry of Education, and our students are at home with their parents. This is for an indefinite period because the buildings need to be checked professionally for safety, and after that it depends on the Ministry of Education... the aftershocks and the tremors."
Other companies that are collecting donations include BreadTalk and insurance giant Great Eastern Life. SingTel also said it is contributing S$200,000 to help China's relief and reconstruction efforts.
In addition, Singapore Post is waiving postage for cheque donations to the Singapore Red Cross and Mercy Relief.
The Chinese military has ramped up its rescue efforts with more troops and aircraft.
Mr Ho said: "If you define good governance as a government that can take care of its people in an emergency, I think China has certainly demonstrated it this time."
"I think they have demonstrated not only in terms their ability to mobilise resources, but I think they have also taken advantage of this to have the top leadership bond with the people," he added.
The 7.8-magnitude quake that struck on Monday is the deadliest since a 1976 quake hit the city of Tangshan. - CNA/ac
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