Former premier Zhu's fund to help 800 poor students

A foundation financed by former premier Zhu Rongji's book sale revenue will offer about 870,000 yuan ($140,200) in the autumn semester to finance more than 800 poor students in five schools in Changting county, Fujian province, the provincial Education Department said on Wednesday.

The Practical Education Foundation, created by Zhu in January of last year, is aimed at helping students from poor families, improving teaching facilities in less-developed regions and encouraging children to perform better academically.

In May, the foundation sent a team to conduct field research in Changting, a State-level poverty-stricken county, and decided to donate money to four primary schools and a middle school in the county's rural areas, according to the provincial Education Department.