IN BRIEF (Page 22)

Child heart patients receive free care

Since April, 103 children who have congenital heart disease, most from impoverished Uygur and Kazak families in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, have undergone surgery in the General Hospital of the Chinese People's Armed Police Forces in Beijing, Xinhua News Agency reported on Aug 6.

The surgeries are a part of a charity program begun in April by the hospital and the China Charity Federation. Over the next three years, those organizations will offer free heart surgery to children from 1,000 poor families from ethnic minorities throughout.