The Commercial News newspaper gave about US$62,000 of donation, which it has collected for quake relief efforts in China, to the Chinese embassy on Tuesday.

Pung Kheav Se, board chairman of the main stream Chinese- language newspaper in Cambodia, handed over US$61,987.67 to Chinese Ambassador Zhang Jinfeng.

The ambassador expressed her gratitude to the newspaper for soliciting contributions, saying that many people have enthusiastically participated in the donation campaign in Cambodia, including those who gave their contributions to the newspaper.

After the 8.0-magnitude earthquake hit Wenchuan county of China's Sichuan Province on May 12, the Commercial News established a working party to collect donations from its readers, most of whom are local Chinese Cambodians.

Until Tuesday, the Chinese embassy has received around US$1.25 million of donation from the Cambodian government, the Cambodian royal family, Chinese and Chinese Cambodian societies, as well as local Chinese, Chinese Cambodian and Khmer individuals.

(Xinhua News Agency May 28, 2008)