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One mother, writing on a professor’s blog, described how one of her son’s classmates had been highly praised for handing in a donation of 10,000 yuan (US$1,460) to his teacher, in response to a notice sent out by the elementary school. Her son told his mother how ashamed he was that he had only 30 yuan to donate (US$5) – money originally intended to pay for his spring outing.
The mother proposed that the family could offer a bigger donation through the bank to a charity, but the boy objected. “No one will know we’ve donated whatever amount it is, and the teacher won’t praise me, either,” complained the boy.
The helpless mother lamented that it was difficult to cultivate her son’s character when schools and teachers behaved in this manner.
She went on to complain that government workers and the staff of public-sector organizations had all been asked to donate a specific amount, this being their duty as public servants. Even kindergarten children were expected to donate, she added.
These statements could well be true. Since shortly after the earthquake, domestic media have repeatedly shown groups of people of various backgrounds and settings eagerly putting their donations into big transparent boxes – without using envelopes, so the bills could easily be seen.
Although many people have donated out of a sincere desire to help the victims, it cannot be denied that many others were asked to do so by their superiors or some government authority. There has been an overwhelming “bijuan” campaign on the Internet – a Chinese term meaning “forced donation.” The Chinese are very familiar with this phenomenon, especially when a disaster strikes the country.
Donations include both money and blood. One netizen, a public servant, complained that his supervisor had instructed him to become a “voluntary” blood donor. “I have done what I could to help the suffering people, but I’m just not in good physical condition. Still, I hesitate to ignore this request,” he wrote.
Chinese celebrities have come under pressure to donate generously from their presumed huge fortunes. Those who have come under the spotlight include Wang Shi and Pan Shiyi, two giants from the real estate industry; Ma Yun, owner of Alibaba, the most powerful e-commerce platform competing with Yahoo China and E-bay; Yao Ming, the well-known Chinese basketball player and member of the U.S. National Basketball Association; and Andy Lau, a top singer and actor in Hong Kong. Except for Lau, all of them added much larger amounts after facing criticism for their initial humble donations.
Andy Lau was surely the star of the donation stars. He wrote a song and mobilized 400 performers from Hong Kong, Taiwan and the mainland, including famous actor Jackie Chan, in an eight-hour marathon fundraising event on June 1. He even knelt down onstage to show his sincere gratitude to the performers and others who helped with the show. Earlier he had visited people in the disaster area.
Some entrepreneurs have held fundraising events as well. But no one could outdo the state-run China Central Television, which mobilized its considerable resources to hold the kind of gala event for which it is famous.
“CCTV’s evening party to raise funds for the earthquake victims was really a show,” commented Professor Tao Dongfeng from the Chinese Department of Capital Normal University in Beijing. “Those who contributed over a certain amount were given huge signs stating the amount of their donation, and paraded onstage to demonstrate their ‘charity.’ It was like a competition, or an award ceremony. It will make those who donate less feel ashamed and unable to hold up their heads in public.”
More than 1.5 billion yuan (US$216 million) was raised during the evening event.
Tao criticized the program for emphasizing the monetary rather than the moral value of helping others. Furthermore, he pointed out that the government has huge financial reserves and does not need to collect donations from the citizens. He also criticized those who sought to take advantage of the situation to enhance their reputations by making huge donations to the relief effort.
Wu Haijun, founder of the domestic computer company, Hasee, was discovered to have handwritten an internal instruction to his employees, stating that those who failed to donate for the quake victims were “cold-blooded” and did not deserve to stay with the company. His note was posted on QQ, a major blog site.
Some netizens called Wu a “bandit” and a “dictator,” and accused him of extortion for treating his employees in this manner. Others praised him for shaming those who failed to contribute to the quake effort.
“Everyone’s involvement in the fundraising is commendable, but fundraising shouldn’t become a movement in itself, and should not be compulsory, like the traditional government-led mobilizations,” stated Han Han, a famous, but controversial, young writer and cultural activist.
Han’s voice is unique among Chinese youth. He actually went to the disaster area within 48 hours after the quake to assist with the rescue work. He called on his Internet friends to donate relief supplies, and gave 200,000 yuan (US$29,000) to rebuild a collapsed school. He left the area as celebrities and the media were arriving – but one journalist spotted him and told his story.
While many “angry youth” were arguing online over this disaster, Han insisted he would donate nothing through official channels. Instead, he took action. In his quiet, low-key way he set an example of true humanity in this time of crisis, beyond all the hype.
