Thanks a million for your concern and blessings! I managed to get in touch with my friends and they're all fine, cracks appeared in their building so they had to move to another place for fear of aftershake, but I'm so relieved that they're safe now. As for me, I'm all okay as I'm not living in China at present (but I so wish I were back home so I could donate blood or even do some volunteering work...the injured people need blood, meds and proper care-taking more than anything else...)

The death toll has risen to about 15,000 by now, it's so painful to see the number changing every time...and more than 10,000 are still buried. The army has managed to go into epicenter regions but I don't know if they'll be in time to help the victims. I'm afraid of looking at news photos because they make me cry...many of the victims are young children....we can only pray that there'll be more survivors...

I'm so moved by all your heart-warming words...thanks again to all you kind people. We'll manage to pull through no matter what.

Also, if you would like to make a donation thru PayPal, the Jet Li One Foundation is also a good choice: [link] The funds collected is sent directly to China Red Cross.

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About one day ago, a strong earthquake measuring 7.9 on the Richter scale hit southwestern China. The quake even affected places as far as Beijing and Shanghai, more than 1,500 km away from quake center. The death toll is about 10,000 already and it's expected to be much higher, while tens of thousands more people are homeless. Currently the rescue troops are doing their best to get to the victims, but as roads are rendered impassable and the weather is very bad, many of them have to go on foot, risking their lives just to get into the neighboring regions...

I have friends who live within 100km from the center...I'm worried sick about them but I'm still unable to get in touch as phone services are disrupted ...I just hope they're safe...

I never knew that the Year of Rat would bring us so much sadness, but we are confident and ready to overcome the disasters. Still, we need all the help we can get to help the victims.

We would appreciate greatly if you could donate to the China Red Cross, or MercyCorps if you prefer a western organization. If you're unable to donate, please do help us to pray for the victims, and we'll thank you so deeply for that!

Thanks a lot for reading...

Some related news (google for more):

BBC: [link]
NBC: [link]
TimesOnline: [link]


I'll get back to your notes and comments later~