Chungnam raised 62.6 million Won (USD55,000) in a public donation campaign to help the Chinese province of Sichuan which was hit by the great earthquake in April.

In a press conference on the plan for his trip to Japan and China (June 3 to 8), Governor An, Hee-jung of Chungnam announced the outcome of the campaign and expressed his appreciation to donors.

Governor An said, "The sympathy and compassion that you showed in such a short period of time will help the Sichuan people recover from the damage."

The governor had announced the plan for the public campaign in May 9 press conference, to help Sichuan a friendly exchange partner of Chungnam.
The campaign which last until May 29 raised total 6.26 million Won.

▲fund-raising.

The campaign was organized by Chungnam Province, in partnership with Chungnam Community Chest and Daejeon/Sejong/Chungnam branch of Korean Red Cross. As the lead agency, the Chungnam provincial government organized joint press briefings, meetings with chinese journalists in Korea and other stakeholders, while supporting Chungnam Community Chest in publicizing the campaign through print and broadcast media.

Chungnam Community Chest opened bank accounts for donation, while getting blessings from relevant institutions. The Red Cross branch will receive the fund from Chungnam Community Chest and pass it on to the Red Cross Society of China.

As part of the campaign, the Chungnam provincial government hosted a fundraising event on May 22nd, on the ground floor of the main building in the government complex. With the theme of 'Make them smile with 1,000 Won', the event was attended by government officials, local businesses, organizations and institutions, as well as visitors to the government complex. Governor An himself donated as well, who had sent a letter of consolation to Sichuan immediately after the earthquake.

Sichuan Province, which signed a friendly exchange agreement with Chungnam in September 2008, is located around the upper Yangtze in southwest China, with an area of 560,000 square kilometers, 5.7 times that of Korea.

Its population is 80.76 million, and per capita GRDP 52.35 million dollars. Up until the end of last year, Chungnam and Sichuan had total 23 times of people-to-people exchanges involving 194 people including top officials (8 times), business leaders and government employees.

The Sichuan earthquake of 7.0 magnitude occurred on April 20th. 196 were killed, 21 were missing and 11,470 were injured, with the loss of some 400,000 houses.