Four hundreds officers and soldiers of the Chinese People Liberation Army (PLA) Garrison Troops in Hong Kong voluntarily donated 450 mm blood each for Hong Kong residents today.

This is the eighth time that the garrison troops donate blood for Hong Kong citizens.

The Hon Sir T L Yang, Chairman of the Blood Transfusion Service of Hong Kong Red Cross, thanked the PLA men on behalf of Hong Kong residents, saying the PLA Garrison Troops have won sincere love and esteem from Hong Kong citizens with their excellent deeds in Hong Kong.

Wang Jitang, commander of the PLA Garrison Troops in Hong Kong, and Zhang Rucheng, political commissar of the PLA Garrison Troops went to the military hospital to visit the PLA men who donated their blood there. They said the annual blood donation activity demonstrates the PLA Garrison Troops' love for Hong Kong society, showing the PLA's basic principle of "serving the people heart and soul."

They added that the activity also helps strengthen the links between the garrison troops and Hong Kong residents and helps HK people better understand the garrison troops.

Since Hong Kong returned to the motherland in 1997, over 3,100 officers and soldiers of the PLA Garrison Troops have donated a total of 1.4 million mm of blood in Hong Kong.

(Xinhua News Agency September 9, 2005)