China Philanthropy News
January 2010
Issue 021
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China Philanthropy News is produced by Grantmakers Without Borders (Gw/oB) for grantmaking organizations, donors and individuals interested in philanthropic engagement with China. It provides current news on giving, links to useful research, books reviews and other resources to provide a better understanding of the landscape of philanthropy in the country. For more information about Grantmakers Without Borders, visit www.gwob.net.
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CONTENTS
Current NEWS
Philanthropy and Civil Society
1) Charitable giving meets skepticism in China
2) Jet Li's Commitment to Philanthropy
3) Taiwan president urges China to let NGOs have place on world stage
4) Guangzhou's push for government transparency
5) China's first education equity fund launched in Chongqing
Health
6) Chinese vice premier calls for deepened medical reform
7) AIDS and the elderly
8) China endeavors to bring affordable medical services to farmers
9) China records 659 swine flu deaths in 2009
10) Free flu shots for children in China
Human Rights
11) Chinese activist Liu gets 11 years
12) China executes British national despite pleas
13) White list? China's internet censorship
14) Gay websites closed due to pressure
15) First government-backed gay bar opens in China
Population
16) China's population to peak at 1.4 billion around 2026
17) 24 million Chinese men face singledom
The Environment
18) China's fledgling green movement
19) China's role at Copenhagen climate summit
20) Jack Ma's new passion: the environment
21) China: the world's largest polluter?
22) After oil spill, China's polluted rivers in spotlight
23) Experts split on significance of China's new green energy law
Useful RESOURCES
24) Report: The Chinese Corporate Philanthropy Index
25) Study: Charter 08, the Troubled History and Future of Chinese Liberalism
26) Report: Where Darkness Knows No Limits: Incarceration, Ill-Treatment and Forced Labor as Drug Rehabilitation in China.
VOICES of China
27) Liu Meng, Leader of National Union of Psychological Help
Current NEWS
Philanthropy and Civil Society
1) Charitable giving meets with skepticism in China
Chen Fashu, chairman of the New Huadu Industrial Group based in south China's Fujian Province, found himself in the middle of a controversy after declaring that he was going to set up the country's largest private philanthropic fund. Charitable donations in the form of equity have no precedence in China. Many critics question the motives of the fund, arguing that it could be intended as a means of tax evasion. As reported by Xinhua net at: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-12/08/content_12612811.htm
2) Jet Li's Commitment to Philanthropy
Actor Jet Li is one of the world's most famous martial arts experts. Five years ago, he and his family nearly fell victim to the tsunami. Thereafter, he decided to take a break from his film career and devote his energy and his passion to philanthropy. So, the Jet Li One Foundation was born. An interview featured in Alliance Magazine at: http://www.alliancemagazine.org/en/content/interview-jet-li.
3) Taiwan president urges China to let NGOs have place on world stage
Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou has urged China to allow more of the island's non-governmental organizations (NGOs) take part in international events. China still block's Taiwan's participation in many international fora. As reported by a&c News at: http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/asiapacific/news/article_1519984.php/Taiwan-president-urges-China-to-let-NGOs-have-place-on-world-stage
4) Guangzhou's push for government transparency
Popular discontent with China's education system is running high. So it was not surprising that Guangzhou's deputy mayor in charge of education, Xu Zhibiao, drew a tide of ridicule online when the city government's Web site carried his self-assessment of his job performance. The score Xu awarded himself: 98 out of 100. As reported on China Realtime Report at: http://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2009/12/03/yiyi-lu-guangzhous-push-for-government-transparency/
5) China's first education equity fund launched in Chongqing
Huiou (Chongqing) Education Equity Investment Fund, which is the first of its kind in China, was officially launched in Chongqing on December 27th, 2009. At present, the Fund is closely working with the responsible government departments, as well as interested banks, brokerages and other financial institutions in Chongqing, in a move to develop strategic cooperations. As reported by PR Newswire at: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/chinas-first-education-equity-fund-launched-in-chongqing-80571002.html
Health
6) Chinese vice premier calls for deepened medical reform
Chinese Vice Premier Li Keqiang called for stepped-up efforts to deepen medical reform in order to make the country's medical service more accessible and affordable. Noting that the essential drug system had met wide public support since its launch, Li urged authorities to take measures to reduce the prices of overpriced medicines and to help grassroots health institutions retain sustainable development. Li also called on government departments to strengthen leadership and provide financial support for the medical reform. As reported by Xinhua net at: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-12/22/content_12690251.htm
7) AIDS and the elderly
Health officials are refocusing safe sex awareness strategies to curb a worrying rise in HIV among aging Chinese men. Cai Weiping, director of the infectious disease department at No 8 People's Hospital, warned that the deadly virus is spreading fast among the country's elderly population. As reported by China Daily at: http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/life/2010-01/11/content_9297255.htm
8) China endeavors to bring affordable medical services to farmers
Last April China unveiled its three-year plan for health care reform, involving an investment of at least 850 billion yuan (124 billion U.S. dollars). It aims to lay a solid foundation for equitable and universal access to essential health care for everyone in the country by 2020. As reported by Shanghai Daily at: http://www.shanghaidaily.com/sp/article/2010/201001/20100106/article_424837.htm
9) China records 659 swine flu deaths in 2009
China said it had recorded 659 swine flu deaths in 2009, nearly all of them in the last two months of the year, and warned that the danger of mass outbreaks still existed in certain areas. Besides, the health ministry said the total number of A(H1N1) infections recorded since the virus was first detected last year stood at 120,940. As reported by AFP at: http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jd0PPqeohQe5Pz5zqSpy6HECvCKA
10) Free flu shots for children in China
Children from 35 months to six years old in China will get H1N1 flu vaccine shots free of charge, according to a notice released by the Ministry of Health. The notice said children under three were one of the groups most susceptible to the virus and proposed free inoculation be provided for them. The inoculation will be carried out on transparent and voluntary basis. As reported by Shanghai Daily at: http://www.shanghaidaily.com/sp/article/2010/201001/20100108/article_425091.htm#ixzz0cI5UQ2HQ
Human Rights
11) Chinese activist Liu gets 11 years
Liu Xiaobo, China's most prominent dissident, was sentenced to 11 years in prison for criticizing the government, which is an unusually long sentence that rights activists say suggests other activists will also face harsh punishment. The Beijing No. 1 Intermediate People's Court announced its ruling that Mr. Liu was guilty of "inciting subversion of state power." As reported by Wall Street Journal at: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB126170663042804985.html?mod=rss_com_mostcommentart
12) China executes British national despite pleas
A British man with reported mental health problems has been executed in China for drug smuggling despite last-minute pleas for clemency. China issued its first official confirmation of the death sentence delivered by its Supreme Court, defending its use of capital punishment as a deterrent and saying evidence of Shaikh's mental illness was "insufficient". As reported by AFP at: http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5goQcRXiXcwm34WClPfcXanTpvnCw
13) White list? China's internet censorship
China's Internet regulators are once again sowing confusion, this time with a lengthy outline by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of plans to quash Internet porn. Under the new system, there will be a "whitelist": only registered sites will be accessible inside the country. The country's traditionally noisy netizens are already complaining. As reported by Forbes at: http://www.forbes.com/2009/12/24/china-internet-blacklist-beijing-opinions-columnists-gordon-g-chang.html
14) Gay websites closed due to pressure
More than 10 gay websites in China have been recently forced to close or had their accounts deleted by their server hosting companies. As reported by Asiaone News at: http://news.asiaone.com/News/Latest%2BNews/Tech/Story/A1Story20091225-188015.html
15) First government-backed gay bar opens in China
China's first government-backed gay bar has opened after a three-week delay sparked by intense media attention. The bar opened Saturday in a low-key fashion in the tourist town of Dali in the southwestern province of Yunnan. Homosexuality in China, where it was officially considered a mental illness until 2001, is still an extremely sensitive issue. As reported by AFP at: http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5izgmT2SGbnhOQ15nLB2WTAWiBKpg
Population
16) China's population to peak at 1.4 billion around 2026
China's population is projected to peak at slightly less than 1.4 billion in 2026, both earlier and at a lower level than previously projected. Meanwhile, India's population is projected to surpass China's population in 2025, according to new data being released by the U.S. Census Bureau. As reported by PR Newswire at: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/chinas-population-to-peak-at-14-billion-around-2026-79298527.html
17) 24 million Chinese men face singledom
More than 24 million Chinese men of marrying age could find themselves without a spouse in 2020, state media reported, citing sex-specific abortions as a major contributing factor. The study, by the government-backed Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, named the gender imbalance among newborns as the most serious demographic problem for the country's population of 1.3 billion. As reported by AFP at: http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gNneCSh9b-joKfYo1L8qGckOzoKQ
The Environment
18) China's fledgling green movement
Over the past decade, what was once known as "red" China has in many ways turned different shades of "green", with the emergence of thousands of grassroots groups that have been campaigning against global warming for years. According to the All China Environment Federation, by October 2008 there were 3,539 environmental organizations across China, up from 2,768 groups at the end of 2005 when it first started counting. The numbers sound impressive but skeptics wonder whether China's green movement has any teeth when it comes to saving the environment. As reported by Al Jazeera English at: http://english.aljazeera.net/focus/2009/12/200912434716406830.html
19) China's role at Copenhagen climate summit
China is blamed of foiling climate consensus agreement regarding climate change in the Copenhagen conference. It is said that Beijing has consistently rejected long-term goals for reducing emissions, which it sees as a threat to its economic growth. China itself defended its "crucial role" in saving the Copenhagen conference from failure, John Prescott, the former deputy prime minister who helped negotiate the Kyoto protocol in 1997 and was in Copenhagen acting as an informal bridge between the Chinese delegation and others, has defended China's role in the climate change summit, saying the blame for its flawed outcome must lie with the United States and Barack Obama. As reported by Guardian at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/dec/28/john-prescott-defends-china-copenhagen
20) Jack Ma's new passion: the environment
Jack Ma, one of China's most influential business leaders and one of the 100 people who "most affect our world," according to Time magazine, has a new passion: the environment. Ma is the founder, chairman and CEO of the Alibaba Group, a holding company that includes the world's largest business-to-business e-commerce platform (Alibaba.com) and the premier consumer-to-consumer auction website in China (Taobao.com). He is a staunch advocate for corporate social responsibility and personal action to improve China's environment, from boycotting food products made of shark fins to fighting water pollution. Ma is also a trustee for The Nature Conservancy's China program. As reported by Alibaba.com at: http://news.alibaba.com/article/detail/alibaba/100212419-1-an-interview-jack-ma.html
21) China: the world's largest polluter?
As became apparent at the failed Copenhagen climate summit, China is not only an economic powerhouse, it's now the world's largest polluter, emitting more carbon than the United States, from whom it assumed the mantle in 2007. The country is forced to live with the consequences of rapid industrialization, most of it driven by burning fossil fuels, but it is also working hard to clean up the devastating pollution of its rivers, lakes and skies. As reported by The Irish Times at: http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/innovation/2010/0108/1224261768846.html
22) After oil spill, China's polluted rivers in spotlight
A pipeline accident just before New Year's Eve that dumped a massive amount of diesel fuel into two tributaries of China's Yellow River has exposed how far the country has to go before it can ensure the health of its imperiled waterways. Hundreds of workers have set up a series of temporary barriers in an effort to prevent the fuel from reaching the Yellow river, China's second longest waterway and a source of drinking water for millions. As reported by Time at: http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1951412,00.html?xid=rss-topstories
23) Experts split on significance of China's new green energy law
Renewable energy specialists in China have questioned the significance of a recent amendment to the country's 2006 Renewable Energy Law, saying it will have little, if any, effect on renewable energy companies on the ground. However, others contend that the amendment provides an important framework to help address several issues plaguing the fast-growing sector, and sets the stage for a long-awaited stimulus policy and funding package. As reported by environmental finance at: http://www.environmental-finance.com/onlinews/0701exp.html
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Useful RESOURCES
24) Report: The Chinese Corporate Philanthropy Index
The China Social Entrepreneur Foundation and Horizon Research Consultancy Group jointly issued the Corporate Philanthropy Index. The Index is the result of interviews with 203 large and medium-sized enterprises, and a survey of 1,285 citizens from six major cities. A brief summary can be found at CSR Asia: http://csr-asia.com/weekly_detail.php?id=11904. The original report in Chinese can be accessed at: http://www.youcheng.org/news/2009/12/11/2009121111355.html.
25) Study: Charter 08, the Troubled History and Future of Chinese Liberalism
The publication of Charter 08 in China at the end of 2008 was a major event generating headlines all over the world. It was widely recognized as the Chinese human rights manifesto and a landmark document in China's quest for democracy. However, if Charter 08 was a clarion call for the new march to democracy in China, its political impact has been disappointing. This article offers a preliminary assessment of Charter 08, with special attention to its connection with liberal forces in China. At: http://japanfocus.org/-Feng-Chongyi/3285
26) Report: Where Darkness Knows No Limits: Incarceration, Ill-Treatment and Forced Labor as Drug Rehabilitation in China.
This report, based on research in Yunnan and Guangxi provinces, documents how China's June 2008 Anti-Drug Law compounds the health risks of suspected illicit drug users by allowing government officials and security forces to incarcerate them for up to seven years. The incarceration is without trial or judicial oversight. The law fails to clearly define mechanisms for legal appeals or the reporting of abusive conduct, and does not ensure evidence-based drug dependency treatment. At Human Rights Watch: http://www.hrw.org/en/reports/2010/01/07/where-darkness-knows-no-limits-0
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VOICES of China
27) Interview with Liu Meng, Leader of National Union of Psychological Help
This month, China Philanthropy News interviews Mr. Liu Meng, who is the leader of National Union of Psychological Help. He and his team have been working in the resettlement area in the city of Dujiangyan since Sichuan Earthquake in 2008.
Q: Please tell us about your work.
A: I have been working in the city of Dujiangyan since May 17th, 2008, a few days after Sichuan Earthquake. I was a lecturer at a university in Hebei Province before I started this NGO called National Union of Psychological Help. We worked in one of the resettlement areas in Dujiangyan from October, 2008 to August, 2009, providing various services to residents of all ages, including psychological consultation, summer schools for children, kindergarten, physical therapy, mother's home, and a small library.
Q: How is your relationship with governments at different level?
A: We are supported by most of the government officers. At first, we met the vice-mayor in the contemporary resettlement area after the earthquake, and he really appreciated our work. At that time, many volunteers were needed since government cannot control the situation by itself. Later we moved into the broadhouse resettlement area and the management committee was glad with our work since we comforted the residents a lot. We were also supported by government of Sichuan Province and Ministry of Civil Affairs in state government. However, we didn't pay much attention to setting up a good relationship with the county government. In the end this mistake became serious and we were even driven out of our working station in the resettlement area.
Q: What do you think are the major reasons that the organization was not accepted by the local government?
A: There might be two major reasons. First of all, the county government has to share the risk. Since we organized a group called "Mom's Home" composed of mothers who had lost their children in the earthquake, local government may worry that those mothers would get together and make their complaints or even appeal to the upper authorities. This is a huge risk that they have to think through. Secondly, some of the county leaders asked us to appropriate donated goods for them and we refused those unreasonable requests, thus they are taking revenge in this way.
Q. How important is it for an NGO to establish relations with various levels of government?
A. It is almost the most fundamental thing you should do. Without a good relation with the government, you can do nothing. When you make friends with local leaders, problems are not problems any more. Personal relations are more useful than rules in China. Some leaders in the state government are supporting us a lot. Some are working in the area of charity and civil affairs. Due to the nature of their job, they understand us more. However, since we have not registered with the city government officially, they have to use their personal relation to help us. In my eyes they are also volunteers.
Q: What do you think of the relation between NGOs and the media?
A: For my organization, we almost refused all interview requests before October, 2008. Later we found that we need to publicize our achievements to gain support, so we began to accept interviews. Soon we were noticed by CCTV, and they made seven or eight documentary programs for us. From those programs, officers in Ministry of Civil Affairs and China Youth Communist League Center Committee got to know about our work, and then they contacted us and helped a lot. When facing the media, I have a baseline which is not talking about negative side of government and the party. Mostly it is useful to gain attention from the media for an NGO to survive, but sometimes you need to bribe the media to get a positive report. We never did that kind of thing. We just answer all of the questions and let them do the judgment.
Q: The media tend to focus on the nobility of your character and regard you as a hero. What do you think about it?
A: I am not a hero, and I hope they stop treating me like one. Ordinary people cannot do what heroes can do; but it is ordinary people who can really accelerate the development of civil society in China. Therefore, what ordinary people cannot do makes no sense to me, and I don't want those privileges attached to a hero. To be honest, I can get my organizations registered with the help of the upper authority, but I've given up this advantage and followed the regular procedure instead. I would like to experience and show what Chinese NGOs are actually going through. However, now I have to consider using the privileges again. If I want to keep on working for the residents, I have to make every effort, or our organization will never get the opportunity to carry on.
Q: What do you think is the greatest obstacle in the development of Chinese civil society?
A: The current Regulations on the Registration and Management of Social Organizations which requires all of the NGOs to find a supervisory state unit before getting registered. This arrangement makes it very difficult for NGOs to fulfill the prerequisites of registration, and failing to find a supervisory unit has become the most common obstacle for Chinese NGOs to get a legal status. Without registration, NGOs cannot accept donations, and any gathering of more than five persons can be illegal. To be honest, we have already broken the law during our working and we can be put into prison any time.
Q: What do you think the NGOs should do to push the development of Chinese civil society?
A: We'd better focus on our own work and not make any trouble. Any intended action may cause negative reaction. I'm quite optimistic of the future, and in my opinion within the following three years there will be huge progress. However, the prerequisite is there being no chaos and riots in society. With a stable political environment, the government may make substantial compromises.
Q: What do you think are the most serious problems of Chinese NGOs?
A: Most of Chinese NGOs, including our own, lack transparency and good management. Tzuchi, a Taiwan NGO, is a good example for mainland NGOs. I used to watch them working and was highly impressed. I don't think any of mainland Chinese NGOs I know can meet the service and management standard of Tzuchi.
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