US$6.3 mln donation stirs controversy
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Chinese entrepreneur Chen Guangbiao stands behind a wall of banknotes to announce his new charity trip at the Industrial and Commercial Bank's Jiangsu provincial branch last Friday.
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The latest donation of 43.16 million yuan ($6.3 million) by a major philanthropist and 512 other entrepreneurs toward the needy has stirred controversy in the charity sector.
On Friday, Chinese entrepreneur Chen Guangbiao stood behind a wall of banknotes at the Industrial and Commercial Bank's Jiangsu provincial branch to announce his new charity trip.
Before next month's Spring Festival, Chen, with 126 other philanthropists, will visit the remote rural areas of the west and distribute aid to the poor in the Xinjiang Uygur and Tibet autonomous regions, as well as Yunnan, Guizhou and Sichuan provinces.
Still, many in the Chinese online community have questioned Chen's motives and accused him of generating publicity for his own benefit.
"I have committed myself to philanthropy in the past 10 years, during which many people said I was just concerned with my own reputation," Chen was quoted by China National Radio as saying yesterday.
"But I really hope more people can follow me and also make a show with their own money, of course," he said.
"In this way, more people in need can get help."
Stories of Chen's generosity abound. After growing up in a small, poor village in Jiangsu, Chen now manages a construction company and is one of the entrepreneurs who received the Charity Award by the Ministry of Civil Affairs. He said he has been committed to charity from the day he started his own business.
