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Sowing seeds of charity

(China Daily)
Updated: 2009-01-22 07:45

The recent multiple charity events in Shanghai, in which 20,000 student volunteers raised money on the streets in chilly weather, have not only warmed the hearts of millions of people in the city, they are also expected to inspire in many more elsewhere the ideal of giving back to society.

In fact, the country has never seen a public zest for charity equal to the one last year when people from all walks of life - individuals and companies, rich and poor - rushed to offer their time and money to help the victims of the winter storms and devastating Sichuan earthquake.

Charity is a worthy cause because it encourages the public to aid the poor, sick and helpless through generous acts or donations. It conforms both to traditional Chinese values and today's motto of achieving common prosperity and building a harmonious society.

While successful economic reform in the last three decades has helped raise the living standards of most Chinese, it has also resulted in an income gap unprecedented in the nation's history. Many people have been left behind in the modernization drive. Many others have remained underprivileged due to various reasons, ranging from natural disasters to a lack of social security system in the countryside. For these groups of people, help is much needed.

When we hail the great passion for charity the public showed in 2008, we should also acknowledge this is only the very first step in the arduous long march.

In per capita terms, donations of both money and time for charity in China are still a fraction of those in the developed world. Given the differences in income levels, the gap in donating and offering volunteer services is much larger.

Many rich private business owners, who benefited most from the economic reform and opening up, seem to have been unmoved by people like Warren Buffet and Bill Gates, both of whom have given billions of dollars to charity in a bid to change the world. That is probably one of the reasons why there is such a resentment towards the rich among the public.

That said, lawmakers and charity foundations have a lot to do to promote a healthy and sustainable development of our commitment to charity. For example, tax breaks should be given to businesses and individuals making donations. Foundations at various levels should have their reports audited by professional firms and make them public.

In his Gospel of Wealth, American industrialist and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie says it is a shame for a person not to give back to society but die with a huge fortune. This should provide some food for thought to those rich businesspeople who believe in passing down their wealth from generation to generation.

Charity does help raise money to help the people in need, but money cannot measure its social significance in shaping social values and in building a harmonious society. That is why we should continue to sow the seeds of charity in the hearts of more of our countrymen, just like the 20,000 students on Shanghai streets did last Sunday.

(China Daily 01/22/2009 page8)