China Philanthropy News
August 2010
Issue 023

Click here for PDF version of this publication

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.

CONTENTS

Current NEWS

Philanthropy and Civil Society
1) New philanthropy research institute is created at Beijing Normal University
2) China Foundation Center is launched
3) Mercedes-Benz Star Fund established in China
4) Jet Li's philanthropic foundation goes academic
5) Beijing's many charities 'going backward' due to official role
6) Hotelier Yu makes room for charity
7) China's activist groups grow, even without official blessing

Health
8) China's health authorities plan to improve 550 psychiatric hospitals

Human Rights
9) The jailing of a Tibetan art dealer
10) China confirms jail term for quake activist
11) Government sets up new bureau to monitor social networking sites
12) China tightens Xinjiang security
13) Hong Kong journalists demand better protection in China
14) First labor victory as Beijing hikes wages
15) China's new migrant workers pushing the line
16) For poor Chinese youths, education is often out of reach

Population
17) China's population set to reach 1.4 billion by 2015
18) 350 million migrant workers by 2050

The Environment
19) Time to save the sharks?
20) China steps up wind power
21) Renewable Energy Law in China
22) Chinese nuclear plant experienced a small leak

Useful RESOURCES
23) Analysis: Recent Developments in Chinese Law Affecting CSO's/NGO's
24) Report on support for charities in China released by MCA
25) Study: Non-Governmental Organisations and the European Union's Promotion of Human Rights in China: NGO Influence or NO Influence?
26) New report on Chinese diaspora giving

VOICES of China
27) Yan Baohua, Program Coordinator of Global Greengrants Fund

Current NEWS

Philanthropy and Civil Society

1) New philanthropy research institute is created at Beijing Normal University
When Bill Gates and Warren Buffett recently called for all billionaires to give away half of their wealth, Wang Zhenyao thought China should have a similar formula. Wang, the head of China's first philanthropic research institute, is calling on all Chinese billionaires to donate a million yuan a year to charity. Wang says multimillionaires should give a hundred thousand yuan annually. For the past two decades, Wang has worked in the Ministry of Civil Affairs and is famous in China for his efforts to help victims during the 2008 Sichuan Earthquake. Now he has left the ministry to head the new Beijing Normal University One Foundation Philanthropy Research Institute full-time. Charity is an emerging field in China, a sign of economic growth and a response to rising inequality. Traditionally, financial assistance came either from the state or from extended family networks. The Chinese government has long spoken of "serving the people" and "serving society." However, China lags behind Western countries in private donations. More at http://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2010/06/24/chinese-philanthropy-gets-official/?KEYWORDS=Wang+Zhenyao.

2) China Foundation Center is launched
Some of China's most recognized philanthropic leaders gathered in Beijing in July week for the launch of the China Foundation Center, a new organization that aims to help increase the transparency of Chinese charitable groups, which have sometimes struggled with public suspicion of mismanagement and even corruption. The organization looks to bolster trust in Chinese foundations by making information about their activities available to the public—thus hopefully encouraging more participation in charitable work. The center's website will initially archive data on more than 1,800 foundations across China. More at http://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2010/07/12/group-aims-to-add-transparency-to-chinas-charities/?KEYWORDS=Wang+Zhenyao.

3) Mercedes-Benz Star Fund established in China
Mercedes-Benz (China) Ltd has announced the establishment of the Mercedes-Benz Star Fund with a start-up fund of RMB 30 million in partnership with the China Youth Development Foundation (CYDF). The Mercedes-Benz Star Fund, the automaker's first-ever charity fund in collaboration with nationwide dealers and one of the largest start-up charity funds in Chinese auto industry, came into effect in a ceremony held at the Great Hall of the People. As reported by PR Newswire at: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/mercedes-benz-star-fund-established-in-china-97466849.html

4) Jet Li's philanthropic foundation goes academic
The Jet Li One Foundation Project, a philanthropic organization formed by the Chinese film star, joined hands with Beijing Normal University in launching the university's One Foundation Philanthropy Research Institute. The institute is the first in China that harbors cooperation between an institute for higher education and a non-profit foundation. It reportedly will offer the executive master of public administration (EMPA) degree program. As reported by China.org.cn at: http://www.china.org.cn/arts/2010-06/21/content_20310128.htm

5) Beijing's many charities 'going backward' due to official role
The 2010 Beijing Blue Book shows that, among the 37 registered members of the Capital Philanthropy Federation, 29 philanthropic organizations have close ties to government, and of these, 16 are operated by retired local government officials. It also reveals that 80 percent of the staff have no formal training in charity work, such as managing volunteers and the distribution of funds and donated goods. As reported by China Daily at: http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/cndy/2010-05/10/content_9826935.htm

6) Hotelier Yu makes room for charity
Yu Panglin, an octogenarian hotel and real estate entrepreneur, little heard of in his native China let alone in the broader world, has just given away the last of his cash while earning recognition as the mainland's leading philanthropist for the fifth straight year—and the first billion dollar contributor in China's history. Yu gave away his remaining fortune, worth US$470 million, to a foundation that bears his name and that supports health, education and disaster relief in China. The donation brought the amount he has given to the Hong Kong-registered Yu Panglin Foundation to $1.2 billion. As reported by Asia Times at: http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China_Business/LE05Cb02.html

7) China's activist groups grow, even without official blessing
The NGO world in China is full of contradictions, compromise and uncertainty. There's been a significant grassroots push for independent advocacy groups, but it's far from certain whether the Chinese government will encourage or even accept such activity. Jin Ge, an independent media producer, became the kind of grassroots citizen advocate that's common in the West but rare in China's top-down system of Communist party and government control. As reported by Miami Herald at: http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/06/30/1708147/chinas-activist-groups-grow-even.htm

Health

8) China's health authorities plan to improve 550 psychiatric hospitals
China's health authorities are taking urgent steps to address the growing risks of leaving severe mental patients untreated following a spate of violent assaults in recent months. Vice-Minister of Health Yin Li said the ministry is planning to renovate or expand 550 psychiatric hospitals and departments across the country in two years. Other measures include establishing a registration system and free mental health counseling hotlines for patients, improving access to mental health services particularly at the grassroots level, and seeking to provide free treatment for those whose condition is serious. As reported by Xinhua.net at: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/china/2010-06/22/c_13362125.htm

Human Rights

9) The Jailing of a Tibetan art dealer
Karma Samdrup, a prominent Tibetan arts dealer and environmentalist, was sentenced to a 15-year prison term by a Chinese court for buying antiques looted from tombs — charges his supporters say were drummed up after his family crossed powerful officials in Tibet. The legal actions have raised concerns that since the deadly riots in Tibet in 2008, Chinese authorities are pursuing a harsher line not only against Tibetans who challenge the government's authority but also against people like Samdrup who have no history of political activism. As reported by Times at: http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1999639,00.html?xid=rss-topstories

10) China confirms jail term for quake activist
A Chinese appeal court upheld a five-year jail term handed to Tan Zuoren, an activist who was probing whether shoddy construction caused school collapses in a massive 2008 quake. The sentence for "inciting subversion of state power" handed to Tan related to several articles he published online about Beijing's brutal crushing of the 1989 Tiananmen protests. But Tan was arrested last year as he was investigating the deaths of thousands of children when their schools collapsed in the May 2008 quake in the southwestern province of Sichuan, which left nearly 88,000 people dead or missing. As reported by AFP at: http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5j43IRaKUHHeBlxm-Paaowt3K8J6A

11) Government sets up new bureau to monitor social networking sites
The Chinese government has quietly formed a new bureau expected to help police social networking sites and other user-driven forums on the Internet, which are proving harder for the government to monitor and control than ordinary news portals. The new bureau marks the latest outgrowth to a morass of agencies tasked with regulating online business and communications in China. People informed of the expansion say the authorities are retooling their media apparatus to deepen their leverage over the Web, and regulators are jostling for the growing power and privilege at stake, according to the New York Times. Officially called the Internet news coordination bureau, this new agency is part of an effort to better monitor the communications of Chinese Web users, who total nearly 400 million by official estimates. As reported by New York Times at: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/17/world/asia/17chinaweb.html

12) China tightens Xinjiang security
China installed 40,000 security cameras throughout the capital of the Xinjiang region days before the first anniversary of the country's worst ethnic violence in decades. The new security measures in the ethnic Uighur region came as prominent intellectuals in neighboring Tibet also face increasing pressure from the state. Chinese state media say police will constantly monitor the high-definition surveillance cameras to ensure the capital remains peaceful for all ethnic groups. But Corinna-Barbara Francis of Amnesty International says creating a police state will not solve the problems among Xinjiang's ethnic groups. As reported by Voice of America at: http://www1.voanews.com/english/news/human-rights/China-Tightens-Xinjiang-Security-Targets-Tibetan-Environmentalist--97662044.html

13) Hong Kong journalists demand better protection in China
A Hong Kong journalists' group has demanded the semiautonomous government lobby Beijing for better protection after local reporters and cameramen allegedly faced rough treatment, bogus drug accusations and denial of press credentials in the mainland the past year. As reported by Associated Press at: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hx7C-KQQs9zDQDnGFSskPZJD_MmwD9GHE6NG1

14) First labor victory as Beijing hikes wages
The minimum wage has risen in nine provinces and cities by up to a third. The decision was inspired by the government's desire to build a domestic market and reduce reliance on foreign demand. As reported by Asianews at: http://www.asianews.it/news-en/First-labour-victory-as-Beijing-hikes-wages-18820.html

15) China's new migrant workers pushing the line
China may be "the workshop of the world", but young rural migrant workers are less accepting than their parents were of life in the factories -- low pay, grueling hours, and sometimes martial workplace rules. Workers have refused to man the factory lines at suppliers to Toyota, Hyundai, Adidas and other foreign companies. The new assertiveness of migrant workers has implications that reach far beyond the obvious higher costs for foreign companies that have relied on a cheap and docile Chinese workforce. And it comes at a time when a strengthening yuan is further eroding China's labor-cost advantages, prompting some firms to consider relocating their China operations. The prospect of workers organizing, electing leaders, and protesting also raises difficult questions for a Chinese government obsessed with stability and control, while also pledging to address a gaping rich-poor gap by raising the incomes of workers and farmers. As reported by Reuters at: http://ca.reuters.com/article/topNews/idCATRE6640QD20100705?pageNumber=1&virtualBrandChannel=0

16) For poor Chinese youths, education is often out of reach
Education through middle school has been compulsory and free in China since 2007, but it's upon leaving middle school that the problems start for poor and disadvantaged students. After that, families must foot the bill themselves, and poorer students are faced with the reality that high school may not be a viable option. That leaves students with the daunting task of making a life-altering decision at a tender age. As reported by Daily Titan at: http://www.dailytitan.com/2010/07/02/for-poor-chinese-youths-education-is-often-out-of-reach/

Population

17) China's population set to reach 1.4 billion by 2015
China's population is projected to reach 1.4 billion by the end of 2015, when the urban population will become the majority for the first time, officials said. As reported by Asia One at: http://news.asiaone.com/News/Latest%2BNews/Asia/Story/A1Story20100705-225225.html

18) 350 million migrant workers by 2050
China's population of floating migrant workers reached a record 211 million by 2009 and will hit 350 million by 2050 if government policies remain unchanged. The number, however, could increase at a slower rate if the number of new workers joining the migrant population continues to fall each year. By 2050, only about 3 million are estimated to join the migrant population each year, a number in stark contrast to the current 6 million new people who join the migrant work force each year. As reported by Xinhua.net at: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/china/2010-06/28/c_13372643.htm

The Environment

19) Time to save the sharks?
In China, campaigns to protect the fish and stop the practice of finning face an uphill struggle. Views are old and fixed, and there is a lot of money to be made. Although the consumption of shark fin has long been criticized by animal-protection organizations, high-end restaurants in China all offer shark-fin dishes. It is seen as a simple luxury, popular at weddings, and scarcely anyone asks about shark protection. Yet the American marine environmental group Oceana published a report in March stating that up to 73 million sharks are killed every year, mainly for their fins – and that many of these are then sold to China. As reported by China dialogue at: http://www.chinadialogue.net/article/show/single/en/3677

20) China steps up wind power
China's wind power generation capacity is expected to grow 36 percent year on year by the end of this year, ranking it No. 2 in the world, Zhang Guobao, vice minister of the National Development and Reform Commission, told an Expo forum in Nanjing. The development of wind energy, including offshore wind turbine construction in Shanghai, is part of China's strategy to develop a low-carbon economy through clean energy, said Zhang who is also director of the National Energy Administration. As reported by Eastday at: http://english.eastday.com/e/100704/u1a5308163.html

21) Renewable Energy Law in China
The Renewable Energy Law came into effect on April 1st, 2010. The amended law aims to further promote the growth of renewable energy in China, to encourage the development of power grids and to support the power grid industry in purchasing renewable energy despite its higher generation costs. As reported by lexology at: http://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=9bbd4c58-cac6-451b-87b1-f3ed678e4520

22) Chinese nuclear plant experienced a small leak
A fuel rod at a state-owned nuclear power plant in southeastern China earlier this year leaked traces of radioactive iodine into the surrounding cooling fluid, but no radiation escaped the building. The Hong Kong electric utility, CLP, said in a statement that the leak was small and fell below international standards requiring reporting as a safety issue. As reported by New York Times at: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/16/world/asia/16china.html

back to table of contents

Useful RESOURCES

23) Analysis: Recent Developments in Chinese Law Affecting CSO's/NGO's
This brief paper discusses two recent developments with regard to funding for CSOs in China and their work with international NGOs. The first development concerns the promulgation of the Notice of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) on "Issues Concerning the Administration of Foreign Exchange Donated to or by Domestic Institutions". The second development is the promulgation of a regulation in Yunnan Province establishing a documentation system for international NGOs in that province. While each of these has been strongly criticized by human rights organizations, the author argues that both regulations address real concerns and that they are, in a comparative perspective, not over-reaching. At http://www.iccsl.org/pubs/China_Recent_Developments_June_10.pdf.

24) Report on support for charities in China released by MCA
China received more than 33 billion yuan ($ 4.83 billion U.S.) in donations in 2009, according to a government charity report released April 8, 2010, which was discussed in a story by the Xinhua News Agency. The report, jointly released by the Department of Social Welfare and Promotion of Charities under the Ministry of Civil Affairs (MCA) and the China Charity and Donation Information Center, said donations included more than 22.7 billion yuan in funds and goods worth more than 10.5 billion yuan. Domestic and overseas enterprises were the major donors, contributing more than 13 billion yuan to the total, according to the report. Overseas donations amounted to 4.5 billion yuan. More than 40 percent of the donated funds were for education, a survey showed. The original report can be accessed at: http://www.apccsl.org/pubs/GTZ_final_unmarked.pdf

25) Study: Non-Governmental Organisations and the European Union's Promotion of Human Rights in China: NGO Influence or NO Influence?
This paper examines whether lobbying the European Union's institutions by non-governmental organizations (NGOs), concerning respect and defense of human rights in China, has a measurable impact on the EU decision-making framework of promoting human rights in China. This is especially interesting at a time when this very framework is in a relative crisis and the EU is struggling to overcome its democratic deficit. Relying on Paul A. Sabatier's Advocacy Coalition Framework, the paper argues that, although the influence of NGOs has increased over recent years and they know where to turn for their lobbying efforts, they do not have a de facto impact on EU policy-making regarding human rights in China. In order to increase influence on the EU, NGOs should come together in sub-groups and broader trans-sector coalitions. Furthermore, they should predominantly concentrate on the scope of rights and issues defended – as should the EU –, so as to strengthen both coherence and overall convergence of strategies. Finally, the paper questions the current attitude of the EU with regard to China and suggests a modification of both European and Chinese mind patterns in order to enhance the level of receptiveness of NGO inputs. At: http://aei.pitt.edu/13211/01/EDP_4_2010_Hansen.pdf

26) New report on Chinese diaspora giving
China Charity Donation Information Center in partnership with Shanghai NPO Development Center has completed the Diaspora Giving to China 2008-2009 report as part of APPC's Diaspora Philanthropy Grants. Among the highlights of the report: Sichuan province received the most donations due to the Earthquake and snow disaster in early 2008, receiving 37% of the total diaspora giving to China, and hometowns of overseas Chinese are also top receivers of Diaspora giving. For a full copy of the report, email info@asiapacificphilanthropy.org

back to table of contents

VOICES of China

27) Yan Baohua, Program Coordinator of Global Greengrants Fund
In this issue, we interviewed Ms Yan Baohua, who is the Program Coordinator of Global Greengrants Fund. She talks about the recent situation and development of grassroots groups in China, mainly focusing on the environmental movements.

Q: How do you describe recent development or change of environmental movements in China? Where do you see the role of grassroots groups fitting into this larger picture?
A: There are more and more environmental information available to the public through various media, and people are increasingly aware of and concerned about environmental problems around them and their rights to a health environment. As a result, more and more people are either forming or joining in environmental organizations/groups to help identify problems, educate the public and figure out ways to address existing problems and foster new life styles towards a healthier environment. I think two of the major roles that grassroots groups have been playing are: 1. to monitor what is happening in the community environment and propose ways to address challenges to a healthy environment; and 2. to collect and disseminate environmental information, and educate and involve the public in environmental protection efforts, especially at a local level.

Q: How do the environmental movements in China contributing to the development of civil society?
A: To my understanding, a well-developed civil society is where people concern about public affairs and voluntarily take active part in efforts to guarantee and/or realize public benefits. To ensure that, there needs to be clearly defined public benefits goals, people need to have good access to relevant information, and there should be mechanism for people to participate and contribute. The environment is where every human being lives with and everyone's actions could have an impact on. Meanwhile, productions and big-scale development and construction projects, when not having environmental impacts integrated into the initial designs and/or as a priority, often pose challenges to the health of the environment. Therefore, the environment is clearly a major field of public benefits, and environmental grassroots groups have been an important component of the civil society development in China because the role they are playing as stated above.

Q: What do you think are the most urgent environmental issue in China? How further efforts should be made to work on it?
A: What's the most urgent environmental issue in China really depends on the perceptive taken, e.g. whether it is from an issue perceptive or from a movement perceptive? From an issue perceptive, I think pollution (water pollution, air pollution, soil pollution, etc.) is one of the most urgent environmental issues in China. There have been many researches, reports and evidences of the severity of pollution in China. Many efforts need to be taken, but specifically from the grassroots level, it is very important to promote the educating and monitoring role of grassroots groups. People care most about their health and future and those of their future generations. Local people are closest to the pollution problems and often those who are impacted most directly and who are among the first to notice the impacts. In order to do that, from the government perceptive, a mechanism of environmental information disclosure and public involvement should be sufficiently set up and implemented. From the philanthropic perceptive, more and more resources need to be mobilized to help grassroots groups grow and build up their capacities.

Q: Can you name some grassroots environmental groups in China with impressive work?
A: The work of many grassroots environmental groups that we are working with in China has been very impressive. For example, Green Kunming, an organization based in Kunming, Yunnan Province, in southwestern China, successfully brought the underground water pollution problem into the attention of the public and the local government. Informed of the issue of misusing the underground water for various economic activities, which seriously depleted and polluted the underground waterways by local villagers in 2006, Green Kunming organized volunteers to conduct field investigations on polluting sources. They presented the results to the local government and on the local media. As a result of their continuous efforts, the city Bureau of Water Resources was requested to conduct a thorough investigation of the issue, and Kunming Underground Water Conservation Regulations was passed by the Standing Committee of the People's Congress of the city in August 2009.

Green Eyes, a youth-led environmental organization, conducts raids on local illegal wildlife traders to support the local agencies in wildlife law enforcement, among many other meaningful education and action activities. In less than 10 years, it has developed from a high-school environmental action group in Wen Zhou, Zhejiang Province, into a national youth environmental network dedicated to wildlife and nature conservation with hundreds of volunteers and regional offices in Zhejiang Province, Fujian Province, Guangdong Province and Hainan Province.

Q: Is there anything unique in Chinese grassroots groups compared to the international trend? What can other countries learn from China's experiences?
A: A unique characteristic of many grassroots environmental groups in China is that they were established and run mostly by young people. The point I wanted to make is definitely not that only young people should be the main force of grassroots environmental movement. People from all walks of life should be involved in this movement for a sustainable planet; however, young people do have their unique strengths: they are energetic and passionate, they are often masters of new technology, and more importantly, they are the future.

Q: What are the opportunities and challenges you see for the potential growth of grassroots environmental groups in China?
A: There are many opportunities for the potential growth of grassroots environmental groups in China, e.g. the international and national emphasis on environmental protection and sustainable development, increasing information available on various media, and the prospect for an easier registration process for non-profit organizations, etc.

In my opinion, the lack of a self-sustaining mechanism in many grassroots environmental groups and the need for professional development and management are two major potential challenges, which are also, to some extent, inter-related. Many grassroots organizations depend on funding from international or domestic foundations. Therefore, they have to strive for funding all the time and often have to design projects according to foundation funding scopes and preferences, instead of their own mission and project ideas based on local needs. Available funding is always limited and not stable. Low payments and lack of sufficient insurances and other security benefits force many young people leaving the jobs they love and have real passion for to look for "real" jobs. Lack of a good management and fund-raising mechanism also further constrains the development of grassroots environmental groups. A few leaders of an organization (or one or two in many cases) often have to take on many different responsibilities, from writing proposals to carrying out projects, from communications and networking to organizing and managing volunteers. Moreover, there is often lack of a functioning body (if there's any) to hold the leader(s) accountable.

back to table of contents

ABOUT GRANTMAKERS WITHOUT BORDERS

Grantmakers Without Borders, a philanthropic network, is dedicated to increasing funding for international social justice and environmental sustainability and to improving the practice of international grantmaking. Our membership, currently numbering some 350 individuals from roughly 160 grantmaking entities, includes private foundations, grantmaking public charities, individual donors with a significant commitment to philanthropy, and philanthropic support organizations. Availing of this wealth of experience and expertise, Grantmakers Without Borders provides capacity-building support to international grantmakers both novice and experienced. We offer a space for education, community and collaboration among international social change grantmakers. We advocate before policymakers on behalf of social change grantmakers, and we work to leverage the philanthropic sector to increase funding to the global South. In all our efforts, Grantmakers Without Borders is committed to the ideals of justice, equity, peace, democracy, and respect for the environment. We value and respect the wisdom and experience of local communities in all their diversity, and we are dedicated to amplifying the voice of the global South in international philanthropy.

Grantmakers Without Borders
1009 General Kennedy Ave., #2
San Francisco, CA 94129
P: (617) 794-2253

back to top

Grantmakers Without Borders   1009 General Kennedy Ave., #2   San Francisco, CA 94129     Phone 415.264.4370
Copyright © 1998-2010. All rights reserved.
For more information contact us at GwoB@gwob.net
Please report any problems with this site to the webmaven

Web Design by Lucille Design