Wang Aizu, secretary of the Wushan County committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), together with over 300 county officials, took part in a donation ceremony Monday.

"We hope to do our best to help the needy pupils out, letting them continue their studies," Wang said.

So far, more than 260,000 yuan (some US$31,440) has been collected by the donation committee.

According to Chen Shaocong, director of the county education commission, every local government official would be responsible for one needy student in the future, paying their tuition fees and taking care of their daily life.

However, there were still over 7,500 students from poor families in Wushan who were apt to drop out, said Chen, and the county would carry on the financial aid activities, so that every kid would have a chance for education.

(Xinhua News Agency February 10, 2004)