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Tycoon Donates HK$200 Million to Aid Handicapped
Lee Ka-hsing, a leading businessman from the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR), has donated HK$200 million to projects assisting handicapped people in China's inland areas.
This was announced by the China Disabled Persons' Federation at a news conference here Monday.
In addition to HK$100 million donated for the purpose during the period 1991-95, Lee donated another HK$100 million last year for a number of new projects.
Until recently, Lee had been reluctant to publicize these donations, but he has now agreed with low-profile media coverage, according to federation officials.
Between 1991 and 1995, Lee's donations helped 1.07 million cataract patients regain their sight; purchased sight-assistors for 40,000 poor-sighted patients; enabled deaf children to speak; enabled 360,000 polio patients to lead normal lives; successfully trained 100,000 low-IQ children; distributed iodine pills to more than 67 million pregnant women and infants; and set up integrated facilities for 30 provincial-level disabled persons' federations.
Since 1995, there have been no reports of new poliomyelitis victims in the country, thanks to the planned immunity project funded by Lee.
According to the new program, which will be implemented from 2000 to 2005, the HK$200 million will be used to set up rural networks to provide artificial limbs for 60,000 people; found a Beijing-based hearing restoration technology institute; help poverty-stricken blind children to go to school and enable 80 percent of blind children in the country to study in schools, compared with the current 40 percent; set up aid-the-handicapped centers in 664 poor counties to serve 15 million handicapped people in those counties; and train 35,000 blind masseurs.
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