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Spending breakdown will come out soon

By Wang Hongyi (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-05-13 11:04

SHANGHAI: Local residents will soon get a detailed breakdown of how the more-than 2.5 billion yuan ($366 million) they donated to Sichuan earthquake disaster relief charities is being used on the ground.

A Shanghai Civil Affairs Bureau spokesperson said the information will be fed into the regular administrative transparency program in the near future and made available online.

The move is in response to a request from Shanghai legislator Hou Gang for more transparency in how the donated money is being spent.

"After the earthquake, people from all walks of life gave generously to the disaster relief. One year later, however, donors have not received any feedback about the use of donated funds and goods through either the public information channel or the government websites," Hou said.

Yao Kai, Shanghai Civil Affairs Bureau's deputy director agreed that locals had donated "a large amount".

Special coverage: Sichuan, One Year On... Related readings:  Sichuan receives 15.75b yuan in quake donation  Sichuan receives US$2.3 b in quake donation  Quake triggers donation deluge  Transparency for donation use  China tightens management on quake donation

"All the donated money and goods were used for supporting disaster relief, in accordance with the wishes of the donor," said Yao. "Detailed information of the use of donations will be reported to the public through the government website www.shmzj.gov.cn in the coming days." Yao said the information will be included in the government's information openness project, which will be publicized regularly.

"The money was mainly used in relief projects such as rest homes and restoring buildings in the countryside," said Yao, who added that the bureau will develop new projects according to the quake-hit areas' needs, such as increasing psychological assistance, supporting social work and sending experts to train local workers.

In addition, Shanghai Urban Construction and Transportation Committee said it will look at Shanghai's school and medical buildings in response to local legislator Zhang Shiqing, who said "some buildings have hidden trouble with earthquake-resistance."