Macao people pay silent tribute to Qinghai quake victims

MACAO, April 21 (Xinhua) -- With flags at half mast, people in the Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) Wednesday joined China's nationwide action to mourn the earthquake victims in Qinghai Province.

The SAR's Chief Executive Chui Sai On and the government's major officials stood in silent tribute in front of the SAR Government Headquarter for three minutes on Wednesday morning, and similar activities were also held in local public departments, private institutions and even casinos.

After the mourning, Chui said in a press conference that the SAR government will offer full support to the people in the disaster zone and will discuss the SAR's participation in the post-quake reconstruction with the Macao Red Cross and the Red Cross Society of China.

He also called upon local communities to help the quake victims through donation and other means.

The 7.1-magnitude quake that struck Yushu, northwest China's Qinghai Province, last week had left over 2,000 dead and more than 12,000 injured so far, according to official figures.

Besides lowering flags at half mast in the SAR's public department buildings and local schools, all public entertainment and shows were called off on Wednesday, including the grand opening ceremony of new casino resort.