BEIJING, June 24 /PRNewswire-Asia/ -- Xinhua Library Foundation ("the Foundation") today announced the reopening of a school in Ning Qiang County, Shaanxi Province that was severely damaged during the May 12, 2008 Sichuan earthquake. The Foundation contributed RMB 350,000 to the rebuilding of the school, which has been renamed Xinhua Hope School. After 10 months preparation, this new 200 student capacity school formally reopened on June 24, 2009 thanks to the support of the people's government of Ning Qiang and County Commission of Education. Meanwhile, the publishing house of electronics industry directly under the Ministry of Industry and Information of China has donated books worth RMB 100,000 to the new school to build its library.
Deputy Chief of Ning Qiang County Ms. Wang Ling, Deputy Chief of the County Commission of Education Mr. Chen Hong, Secretary of Mao Ba He Town Party Committee Mr. Zhang Xiang and Chief of the Town Mr. Zhou Mingdong attended the opening ceremony of the Xinhua Hope School. Also in attendance were three representatives from Xinhua Sports & Entertainment Limited ("XSEL"; Nasdaq: XSEL), including Managing Director of Business Development & Integration, President of Advertising Group Mr. Joseph Chan and Human Resource Director Ms. Stephanie Chan.
Mr. Joseph Chan spoke at the ceremony, he said: "I am honored today to represent the Xinhua Library Foundation on behalf of our CEO Ms. Fredy Bush and to be able to participate in this meaningful ceremony. After the earthquake last year, our staff actively made donations to offer a helping hand to the victims of this unimaginable disaster. Meanwhile, we also learned about the situation of a collapsed elementary school in Ning Qiang in need of rebuilding. With a deep belief in empowering people through education, Ms. Fredy Bush visited the reconstruction site in person and decided to allocate our library funds this year to rebuilding the school. Our hope was to have the two hundred students move back to the school from their temporary tents, but more importantly we hoped it would rebuild their confidence and ability to realize a bright future".
Mr. Chan added: "Children are our future. The Xinhua Library Foundation is always paying attention to education and we will try our best to help children in remote villages of China to read more books, obtain more knowledge and escape the confines of poverty through education. In addition to encouraging these children to further their education, we also hope to instill in them their responsibility to help others in need. We trust when these students have made something of themselves, they will in turn help others in need, further spreading what we have begun here."
Ms. Wang Ling, Deputy Chief of Ning Qiang County, also spoke at the ceremony, she added: "On behalf of Ning Qiang County and the students, teachers and their families, I would like to express our deepest gratitude to XSEL. Not only has XSEL provided us a beautiful new school, but more importantly provided us love, encouragement and the confidence to face life's challenges with a positive attitude. We would also like to thank the relevant local government departments that have helped in monitoring the construction of the school, ensuring its timely and safe completion. With the completion of this school, we trust these students will soon become a shining beacon of the nation and contribute greatly to our society."
The Xinhua Library Foundation was founded in 2005, with a mission to build libraries in remote villages of China and help villagers escape poverty through knowledge. In the past three years, the Foundation has built and stocked three libraries in Ningxia Province and one in Inner Mongolia, and donated a total of 7,000 books to these libraries.
About Xinhua Library Foundation
The Xinhua Library Foundation was founded in 2005 under the leadership of Ms. Fredy Bush, CEO of Xinhua Sports & Entertainment Limited ("XSEL"; NASDAQ: XSEL), and was registered as a charitable organization in Hong Kong and the USA in October 2006 and December 2007 respectively. The mission of the Foundation is to build libraries in remote villages of China with the hope of helping villagers escape poverty through knowledge. The funding comes solely from the group's employees and associates worldwide.
