A member of the Uygur ethnic minority group has emerged as the leading individual donor helping victims of the July 5 Xinjiang riot.
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Aimai Yiminti, a Uygur businessman is seen in this picture taken on July 14, 2009, in Urumqi, capital of northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region. [chinadaily.com.cn]
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Aimai Yiminti rushed to the civil affairs bureau of the autonomous region the moment he arrived in its capital of Urumqi, where individual donations for aiding victims of the riot were being collected.
"I asked my wife to take whatever funds were available and to convert Hong Kong dollars into yuan. We put together 100,000 yuan," Yiminti, who is in his 40s and is known by many for running a successful businesses in telecommunications, transportation and petrochemical business, said Tuesday.
The father of four, two of whom are adopted orphans, said he was relieved after donating the money.
"I was so worried when I saw TV footage of the bloodshed from the riots. I love the city and I love the people, so I was determined to do something immediately for those who suffered," said Yiminti, who was born and raised in the southern Xinjiang city of Kuerla.
Yiminti also has primary schools named after him in Xinjiang's Hetian prefecture after he helped them. Similarly, he has donated more than 1 million yuan to help victims of the quake in Sichuan province last May.
The popular Uygur is also in his community for his stunt skills. On June 10, he broke his own record by smashing a pile of 27 cobblestones in one minute with his palms. He is capable of chewing and swallowing nails as well, with video footage of his stunts being circulated online.
