Taiwan affairs offices of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the State Council urged their local branches in disaster-hit areas in southwestern Sichuan Province to go all out to save and aid Taiwan compatriots who were trapped or injured in the earthquake.

The two Taiwan affairs offices held a meeting on Monday evening and asked their local branches to report about the conditions of Taiwan compatriots who had been working and living in the quake-hit areas and those who were traveling there, and offer help to them.

A 7.8-magnitude quake jolted Wenchuan County of Sichuan at 2:28 p.m. Monday. It has killed 9,219 people in eight affected provinces and municipality of Sichuan, Gansu, Shaanxi, Yunnan, Shanxi, Guizhou, Hubei and Chongqing, according to latest statistics from the Ministry of Civil Affairs.

(Xinhua News Agency May 13, 2008)