Chinese views on American philanthropy
The Economic Observer has put together a great collection of reactions to the Gates & Buffett charity banquet, which gives us a great look on what Chinese people think about American philanthropy. I’ve quoted my favorite below:
The Economic Observer’s Editorial Board discussed the structural and legal barriers to charity:
“If there is no transparent mechanism to ensure the money collected by charity organizations is reasonably used, if people encounter ridiculous difficulties when attempting to donate their assets, and if non-government charitable organizations are always considered a threat to the government that cannot be trusted, then it’s not just the wealthy but everyone that will hesitate before giving to charity.”
Wang Dongya in the China Youth Daily provided additional reasons:
“The silence over the event is embarrassing. But it might partly be the fault of the world’s richest billionaire, Bill Gates; he does not understand how things work in China. You cannot invite China’s wealthiest to a high profile function under no obligation to donate. The guests will not know what to do. Attending and making a donation will make them look like greedy cowards who’ve been taught a lesson. Refusing is even worse. Every guest will be enormously wealthy, so matter how much anyone donates, it will not feel like enough, and the amount they give will be compared and judged by their peers. The truth is, many of them would be willing to give, but sometimes, saving face is more important.”“In America too, charitable donations are not always motivated by genuine good-will. The assets of deceased millionaires, because of a heavy estate tax, end up in the treasury anyway. But if the rich voluntarily donate their assets to charity, the assets are tax-exempt and they can buy themselves a good reputation. It’s no surprise that Zong, the richest man in China, sees nothing special about charitable donations. To him, American charity is just a way to avoid paying inheritance taxes.”
“But learning to shoulder the responsibilities of wealth is a life-long lesson. And in that respect, there is a lot to be learned from Bill Gates.”Ye Qinglin from The Southern Media Group (publishers of Southern Daily, Southern Weekend and other influential Guangzhou-based newspapers, writes: “The disputed levels of China’s cultural and social development cannot be an excuse for our current attitude toward charity. The per capita income of the US is 38 times that of China, but their charitable donations per capita is 7,300 that of this country.”
In the same feature, Zhu Xunyao writes:
“Western countries and the Chinese perceive charity differently … . China’s rich still cling to their assets because they feel insecure about their status as a wealthy, privileged class. These insecurities can only alleviated by political recognition and status … For western millionaires, charity is aligned with religion and personal conscience. China’s wealthy donate only for political reasons, as a way of achieving recognition and status which provide them a sense of security in Chinese society.”
Xue Yong from The Beijing News writes: “It’s not charity … it’s what I am calling “‘philanthrocapitalism’ (仁资主义 renzi zhuyi)”
“If the redistribution of wealth through big government is truly becoming outdated, then the market must be able to perform the function of readjusting the gap between rich and poor. This is exactly what the Gates Foundation is doing.”
“China used to be poor, and all the focus was on generating wealth. Now, the country has seen unprecedented levels of wealth and must learn how to redistribute the wealth through the market. The rich in China must contemplate adopting philanthrocapitalist methods to promote the growth of society as a whole.”
Read the full article here.