Individual and corporate donors from home and abroad continued Wednesday to donate funds for rehabilitation work, in the wake of serious flooding wrought by Typhoon Morakot in southern Taiwan over the weekend. Eighteen corporate board members of China's Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS) donated a total of about NT$530 million (US$16.06 million) to help with post-disaster relief work. ARATS Vice President Zheng Lizhong said at a donation ceremony in Beijing that the funds convey the Chinese people's goodwill and concern for Taiwanese flood victims. Zheng said the money will be handed over to Taiwanese authorities through the ARATAS' counterpart in Taiwan, the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF). ARATS and SEF are intermediary bodies established by their respective governments to handle cross-strait exchanges and negotiations in the absence of official ties. SEF Deputy Secretary-General Ma Shao-chang, on behalf of the Taiwan people and flood victims in particular, expressed gratitude to the ARATS board members for their generous donations. 'We believe this humanitarian aid from China during our time of hardship will contribute to the future development of cross-strait ties,' Ma added. The SEF has also received cash donations from major China-based Taiwanese trade associations and individual businessmen operating there. As mainstream Chinese news media have given prominent coverage to Morakot- triggered flooding and mudslides in mountainous regions in central and southern Taiwan, many Chinese Internet users have also launched online appeals for aid for typhoon victims in Taiwan. Meanwhile, major expatriate groups in the Greater New York area have raised more than US$110,000 in relief funds for flood victims in Taiwan. On Wednesday, Evergreen Group Chairman Chang Jung-fa and member companies in the group donated a total of NT$520 million for post-disaster rehabilitation. The group said it will also encourage its local and overseas employees to donate to the relief efforts. Typhoon victims in need of relief supplies are also welcome to contact the Chang Jung-fa Foundation, an Evergreen Group spokesman said. Another blue-chip company, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., also announced its decision to donate NT$150 million for rehabilitation. In addition, the world's largest computer chip foundry will allocate NT$50 million in relief funds for its employees affected by the Morakot-triggered flooding and mudslides. Many other local companies and individuals have also opened their heart and wallets to help typhoon victims, as the bank accounts opened by the Ministry of the Interior have received donations worth over NT$700 million in the past two days, according to an official. With the aim of helping typhoon victims return to normal life as soon as possible, the Central Personnel Administration said it has directed all government agencies to encourage their staff members to donate one day's pay to the post-disaster rehabilitation drive. As of 6 p.m. Wednesday, the typhoon death toll had risen to 71, while 61 people remained missing and 45 were reported injured. 