Ngapoi Ngawang Jigme, a native of Lhasa in Tibet, has been elected as chairman of the third executive council of the Aid Tibet Development Foundation, a non-profit organization, at the foundation's third executive council which concluded on Wednesday.

 

Born in 1910, Ngapoi is also the vice chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), China's top advisory body.

 

The foundation has drawn more than 200 million yuan (US$25 million) of donations since it was launched in April 1987 by the 10th Panchen Lama and Ngapoi Ngawang Jigme.

 

More than 600 supporting projects, covering the fields of health, education and ecological protection, have been carried out to help improve local Tibetans' living conditions.

 

(Xinhua News Agency March 16, 2006)