A teacher surnmaed Zhang in Central China’s Hunan province had his salary deducted by hundreds of yuan in compulsory charity donations, the Beijing Morning Post reports.

The public school teacher in rural Changsha county was forced to pay 400 yuan in mandatory contributions to good causes as part of a local government directive.

According to the report, the money was debited as part of a campaign approved by the Bureau of Civil Affairs, Changsha county government,in 2010.

The “donate on a daily basis” initiative required staff members of local enterprises and public institutions, cadres and teachers to donate one yuan per day, totaling 400 yuan ($70) over one year.

“People should not be so grudging about the sum donated, and teachers, who are publicly regarded as having higher moral standards should set the lead in the donation campaign.” said Peng Sanming, president of the Charity Association of Changsha county.

However, Zhang said “Philanthropy is good but donations should be collected on a voluntary basis and setting limits on the amount is improper. I cannot understand why such a well-developed county must force teachers to donate.”

The donation list, which was made public in Jan 2011, showed about 3.1 million yuan ($490,000) was collected in 2010 in the county.