Chinese philanthropist marks New Year by handing out £3m on ‘giving tour’

By: 

Cheryl Chapman

Managing Editor, Philanthropy UK

Chinese philanthropist Chen Guangbiao set out on his annual ‘giving tour’ this week, at the start of the Chinese New Year, heading for western China to distribute more than 40m yuan (£3.62m) in red envelopes to needy families, reports the Shanghai Daily.

The chairman of the Jiangsu Huangpu Renewable Resources Utilization Co Ltd, is well known for donating 1bn yuan (£90m) over the past 10 years and who was awarded the Chinese government’s Charity Award in  2007 for his work in disaster hit regions and building schools in remote mountain regions.

Guangbiao started his annual tour in 2008 and this year will be joined by 126 entrepreneurs. A total of 43.1m yuan (£3.9m), including 33m yuan (£2.9m) in cash, was jointly donated by 513 entrepreneurs and others nationwide, according to a China National Radio report.

Guangbiao told the radio station that giving cash directly to needy people was common among entrepreneurs nowadays because China doesn't have a sound framework for effective giving or a transparent and accountable service yet.

"Transparency is the most dominant challenge for philanthropy on the mainland at the moment," said Zheng Yuanchang, an official in the social security and philanthropy department of the Ministry of Civil Affairs.