Mr Xu Mingqiang, editor-in-chief of China's Foreign Languages Press, co-publisher of the book with Federal Publications and Lianhe Zaobao, said 100,000 yuan (S$19,000) would be donated to education.

The total amount comprised Mr Lee's royalties of 70,000 yuan and 30,000 yuan contributed by the co-publishers.

During the launch, a cheque for 50,000 yuan was handed to Ms Gu Xiaojin, deputy secretary-general of the China Youth Fund which implements Project Hope, the national education programme for poor children.

China Youth Fund will use the donation specifically to set up tents to serve as classrooms in areas ravaged by major floods which destroyed school buildings.

The other 50,000 yuan will be donated to the school-building fund of Nanyang Girls' School in Singapore.

More than 130 people attended the event, including 70 members of the Singaporean community. Seven Singaporean undergraduates of Beijing University also turned up to lend support.

Several media organisations such as China Central Television, Beijing Television, the People's Daily and Xinhua news agency sent journalists to cover the launch.

Several newspapers here have already given publicity to the memoirs. For instance, the Beijing Youth Daily devoted a full page to extracts of the book last Sunday. -- Mary Kwang