The Red Cross Society of China said Saturday that as of noon Saturday it had received more than 100 million yuan (US$12 million) of donation from ordinary Chinese people who are greatly concerned over the tsunami victims in some South and Southeast Asian nations.

A couple who refused to give their names made the largest contribution of 5 million yuan (US$600,000) Friday, said Wang Xiaohua, spokesman of the Red Cross.

The first US$2 million of donation collected had been given to Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Maldives. Additional relief materials including medicine, pure water and clothes would be airlifted to the disaster-hit countries soon, the spokesman said.

Three Chinese medical teams are now working in some of these countries and more are ready to go there at any time, Wang said.

The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, China's biggest bank, has donated 1 million yuan (US$120,000) to the tsunami-hit Asian countries via the Red Cross, a bank spokesman said Saturday.

The bank, in which the Red Cross opened a special account for donators, has promised to go all out to offer donators sound financial service.

The State Development Bank has so far donated US$1.8 million to the tsunami-hit countries, the current largest sum among social institutions who have donated to help tsunami victims.

(Xinhua News Agency January 10, 2005)