With charity work in China on the rise in recent years, how charity organizations spend the funds that benevolent people contribute has been at the center of public attention. How should China administer its burgeoning public welfare sector and develop it? A Chinese philanthropist and sociology expert elaborate on their views.
Zhou Sen, curator of the China Three Gorges Calligraphy Studio, is reputed for his inverse calligraphy written with his left hand. But what's won him even more fame is his sense of generosity which drives him to donate a large part of his earnings from the sales of his well-recognized calligraphy to people in need, including orphans, students and childless seniors.
Zhou says he has long adhered to a "3-3-3-1 principle" in charity work to raise funds for those in need.
"I usually donate 30 percent of all that I've earn from one piece of my calligraphy. Another 30 percent is used as a development fund for my studio. The last 30 percent goes for business operations, and the remaining 10 percent is used to award calligraphers who are superb in charity work", said Zhou.
Meanwhile, Zhou Sen has another identity. He is an NPC deputy. As a lawmaker, he introduced a bill on China's charity work, long before last year's controversy when a 20-year-old calling herself "Guo Meimei Baby" claimed to be a Red Cross worker and showed off her wealth on her microblog. Her action prompted a number of netizens to question whether she financed her lifestyle using funds donated to the Red Cross.
Regarding this, Zhou Sen speaks on his view, "First, a comprehensive organization should be well in place for charity work. Charity work also requires careful auditing. Any charity worker who mishandles donations should be given a penalty in line with the Criminal Law. We should try to raise the cost of committing criminal acts made by charity organizations or individuals. Only when all these have been achieved will more and more members of society understand and be willing to get involved in charity work."
Ding Yuanzhu, a sociology professor at the Chinese Academy of Governance, echoes Zhou's opinion. He also believes the government should demand an increasing level of transparency in the operation of charities and their expenditures.
"The government should enhance its governance by making relevant laws and regulations. It should demand the operation of donated funds be transparent and that information about their use be made open to the public in an efficient way", Daing said.
Government figures indicate there are only about 2,000 charity foundations in China, which employ more than 10,000 workers.
Wang Zhenyao, director of the Center for Philanthropy Research at Beijing Normal University, believes that the notion of charity in China lags far behind that of many other nations.
"During the year of the Wenchuan earthquake, China received donations exceeding 100 billion yuan. On occasions other than this, donated funds have never exceeded this amount, usually staying around the 50-billion to 70-billion-yuan mark. These figures lag behind those of developed nations such as the U.S. which likely sees 300 billion U.S. dollars' worth of donations on a yearly basis", Wang said.
Without the implementation of relevant laws and policies designed to ensure the interests of groups that receive donations and reestablish trust among donors, the question of whether China's charitable sector can develop in a healthy manner will continue to weigh heavily upon the minds of both donors and the public.