Chen's charity criticized

SHANGHAI: The latest donation of 43.16 million yuan ($6.3 million) by a major philanthropist and 512 other entrepreneurs toward the needy has stirred controversy in the charity sector.

Chinese entrepreneur Chen Guangbiao stands behind a wall of banknotes to  announce his new charity trip at the Industrial and Commercial Bank's  Jiangsu provincial branch last Friday. [China Daily/Wang Chengbing]

On Friday, Chinese entrepreneur Chen Guangbiao stood behind a wall of banknotes at the Industrial and Commercial Bank's Jiangsu provincial branch to announce his new charity trip.

Before next month's Spring Festival, Chen, with 126 other philanthropists, will visit the remote rural areas of the west and distribute aid to the poor in the Xinjiang Uygur and Tibet autonomous regions, as well as Yunnan, Guizhou and Sichuan provinces.

Still, many in the Chinese online community have questioned Chen's motives and accused him of generating publicity for his own benefit.

"I have committed myself to philanthropy in the past 10 years, during which many people said I was just concerned with my own reputation," Chen was quoted by China National Radio as saying yesterday.

"But I really hope more people can follow me and also make a show with their own money, of course," he said.

"In this way, more people in need can get help."

Stories of Chen's generosity abound. After growing up in a small, poor village in Jiangsu, Chen now manages a construction company and is one of the entrepreneurs who received the Charity Award by the Ministry of Civil Affairs. He said he has been committed to charity from the day he started his own business.

After the massive earthquake that hit Sichuan province on May 12, 2008, Chen arrived in the quake-hit area with his rescue team and excavation equipment. He and his colleagues pulled more than 200 people out of the rubble. His team also went on to build roads in the quake-hit areas.

Chen has returned to Sichuan many times, helping the area's reconstruction with his time and money.

So far, Chen has reportedly donated 1 billion yuan to charitable causes in the country, including the reconstruction of disaster-hit regions and the building of primary schools in remote mountainous areas.

From 2008, Chen said he took his aid directly to the needy.

"Where is our money going to? That is a question that most donors asked," Chen said.

"An inadequate charity system and lack of openness and transparency on funds are the main reasons that many entrepreneurs choose to donate directly to the poor," he said.

"This has also restrained the development of China's philanthropy."

Tang Jin, a member of the standing committee of the Jiangsu provincial people's congress, echoed Chen's views.

Tang said several problems exist in the country's charity scene.

These include the high management costs of running charity organizations that make people more willing to donate to the needy directly rather than through groups.

Zheng Yuanchang, an official of the social welfare and charity affairs department under the Ministry of Civil Affairs, said regulations and standards were needed to reform the country's charity sector.

China has seen a rapid development in philanthropy in the past few years. Official statistics show that donations toward charitable causes in the country's reached 107 billion yuan in 2008, 3.5 times that of the previous year's figure.