Hundred China quake zone kids to rehabilitate in Philippines

Source: Xinhua | 01-08-2009 08:31

Invited by Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, a group of 100 children who survived a devastating earthquake in China last May will arrive in the Philippines this weekend for rehabilitation, with visits to the archipelagic state's stunning beaches, museums, schools and the Presidential Palace, officials said Wednesday.

The one hundred middle school students were from Beichuan, Mianzhu, Shifang, the worst-hit towns in southwestern Chinese province of Sichuan, with many losing close relatives in the 8.0-magnitude earthquake on May 12, 2008, according to officials with the Chinese Embassy to the Philippines.

More than 80,000 people, including at least 19,000 school children, were killed in the killer quake, the worst natural disaster China experienced in three decades, the government statistics show.

According to the schedule, the quake zone kids, most of whom have never traveled abroad, will arrive at Manila on board a Philippine Airline charter flight on Jan. 11 and fly to the crystal water and white-sand beach in Bohol island after touring around the national capital. They will also call on President Arroyo in the Presidential Palace Malacanang a day before they return to China on Jan. 17.