Shaolin Monks help earthquake victims

Part of the proceeds from the two shows the Shaolin Monks will be giving in Malta later this month will be in aid of the victims of last May's devastating earthquake in the Chinese province of Schichuan.

The initiative was taken by the president of the Malta China Friendship Society, Reno Calleja, a former Labour member of Parliament and Cabinet minister.

When Mr Calleja learned that the Shaolin Monks, who have mesmerised hundreds of thousands of people throughout the world with their Kung Fu feats, were returning to Malta to give two more shows on July 11 and 12 at the Mediterranean Conference Centre, in Valletta, he contacted Edrich Bonello, the Maltese representative of the Austrian-based company Fecther Management Ltd. He suggested to Dr Bonello that a small part of the profit from the two shows should be given to earthquake victims and Dr Bonello agreed immediately.

Mr Calleja said that despite the admirable efforts of the Chinese authorities to deal with the devastation the earthquake caused, there are still five million people homeless. Twenty thousand children - a whole generation - have died, more than 80,000 adults perished and hundreds of thousands of people were injured. To make matters worse, now China has also been hit by deadly floods that have already left hundreds dead.

Mr Calleja urged the Maltese public to enjoy the spectacular show of the Shaolin Monks and in the process help the people of China who, he recalled, had helped Malta so much in the 1970s and 1980s when they themselves had little to give.