China learns to give

Washington Post:

At the headquarters of the Red Cross Society of China, volunteers turned a boardroom into a makeshift cashier's office Thursday, sending tens of thousands of fluttering bank notes through counting machines and handing receipts to people like Cai Lili, 30, who stood in long lines with bricks of cash to donate to earthquake relief efforts.

Since a massive earthquake struck Sichuan province and surrounding regions three days ago, Chinese have donated $192 million to help their countrymen, according to China's Civil Affairs Ministry. The fundraising has come as officials have issued a rare public appeal for cranes and rescue equipment, hammers and shovels, bandages and medicine.

In scale, the financial contributions have been unprecedented in China, which for decades taught its citizens that the state and the state alone would take care of them from cradle to grave.

There is no organized philanthropy here, and independent nongovernmental organizations are banned. Ordinary Chinese and famous Chinese, including Houston Rockets center Yao Ming, have simply decided to open their wallets to help the estimated 10 million people affected by the earthquake.

Many have given as individuals in addition to or instead of giving at the office, saying they were making a statement about their gifts coming from the heart.

"I wanted to separate the collective action from the individual action," said Cai, a clerk with the Beijing special armed police, who earlier gave $14 at the office, then stood patiently in line Thursday to donate $71 in her daughter's name. "Although in this diverse society, there are many conflicting values, in the face of disaster we stand together."

On the opposite side of a table stood Zhao Shuangying, 48, sunglasses hanging from the collar of his pink polo shirt, belly protruding over a pair of white loafers. "It's very simple. I cannot go to Sichuan, so I came here to help," said Zhao, the owner of a technology company.

In his hands were several bricks of notes totaling more than $14,000. "I want to show that it's me who's donating. It's not connected with anybody else. I'm donating in my own name," he said.

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The quake that struck central China, however, has inspired a completely different outlook among ordinary Chinese, many of whom belong to the country's growing middle class.

The outpouring of support was partly in response to the unusually open news coverage of the earthquake, especially compared with the limited state-controlled coverage of previous disasters. This time, heartbreaking images, dramatic rescue accounts and humble requests for help have been the subject of nonstop live broadcasts, lengthy online postings and a large display in the lobby of the Red Cross building.

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China is learning the value of a market economy in a tragedy as well as the value of an open society. Hopefully it will encourage both in the future. I have been following Yao Ming since he came to Houston and he is a remarkable person. Even his fiercest competitors like the guy. When he finishes his basketball career he would have a great future as a diplomat. He has certainly been one in Houston, and it si not surprising to me that he would show generosity toward those who have suffered a tragedy.