OPINION> Commentary
Keep charity clean
(China Daily)
Updated: 2008-06-02 08:05

A handful of unscrupulous people can sour a good cause. Unless handled properly, the verified cases of misuse of donations and the rumors about it may cause unimaginable damage to the enthusiasm for acts of charity. Worse still, their negative impact on people's confidence in government-sponsored charitable undertakings can be far-reaching.

The May 31 circular issued by the State Council on strengthening the management of donations for victims of the Wenchuan earthquake, therefore, is a worthy response to public concerns.

Among the guiding principles the document spelt out, there is a special emphasis on respecting donors' intentions, as well as on transparency and supervision. These, we believe, are particularly important at this point.

Most of us have donated in the wake of the devastating tremor. No matter how much we have contributed, we all hope the money or materials we have donated will go to those in need, rather than end up fattening the pockets of corrupt officials.

The touching stories of bravery and selflessness from the frontline convince us an overwhelming majority of the Communist Party and government officials are worth our trust and respect. The corroborated cases of abuse, though extremely small in number, on the other hand, are a grim reminder that people's worries are not entirely groundless.

In a humanitarian crisis like this one, each of us may want to lend a hand. Since few of us can really make it to the affected regions and offer on-the-spot service, or have the professional expertise to do that, donating money and materials is the best way to show support. It would be a shame if people hesitate to donate just because they cannot be assured that their contributions will be properly utilized.

This is not difficult at all - just let them know how the money is used. We see no need to hide anything about the charitable work from the public eye.

Doing this may entail some extra workload, or perhaps some negligible cost, on the charitable organizations' part. Even in that case, it is worth the trouble. Not to say that they have an obligation to report their work to us.

Another valid point the circular makes is that donations should be made on a voluntary basis, and that no compulsory quotas should be imposed in any form.

This may sound irrelevant when all Chinese, as well as the international community, want to show sympathy through donations. However, we have heard about corporate managers making employee donations compulsory.

Charitable contributions should not be turned into extortion.

(China Daily 06/02/2008 page4)