Project to insure rural kids

A new charity project promises to ensure more children in poor rural areas can have commercial health insurance free of charge.

The project, introduced in Beijing on Wednesday, will offer a maximum payment of 200,000 yuan ($31,400) to children in selected places who have severe diseases.

"We worked hard last year to prevent hunger (among rural children)," said Deng Fei, an initiator of the project. "This year, we thought we should do something to help sick children."