Documentary promoting concept of charity to hit TV screens

A six-episode documentary on the development of charitable organizations is expected to hit Chinese TV screens soon, as the country eyes growth in a sector whose reputation has been sullied by frauds in recent years.

Launched in 2016, the Power of Charity aims to promote the concept of charity and the newly-enacted China Charity Law.

Jointly produced by the China Charity Alliance and Fujian Dazhong Film and Television Cultural Exchange Center, the documentary makers interviewed almost 100 charity figure worldwide, including Microsoft's Bill Gates and Muhammad Yunus of the Grameen Bank.

Public donations to charities have climbed in the past few years, reaching an estimated 155.8 billion yuan ($22.6 billion) last year, according to the Annual Report on China's Philanthropy Development 2018.

But fraud involving people who amass money in the name of charity has undermined the reputation of the sector.

To enhance credibility, the Ministry of Civil Affairs released a regulation in July that aims at improving the transparency of charities.

The new rules, which followed the Charity Law that took effect in September 2016, lay out the specifics of what must be disclosed and the punishment for lack of transparency.