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Charity 'must be handled professionally'

By Liu Wei (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-03-17 08:02

BEIJING: Charity must be handled professionally and if you do not know how, then work with someone who does, agreed two charity experts on actress Zhang Ziyi's recent donation fraud controversy.

In an interview with China Daily on Monday, Zhang said that she raised only $1,300 in Cannes in 2008, while the rest of the widely reported $500,000 was only in pledges.

"A donation is not complete until the payment is received," said Wang Haijing, vice-president of the Red Cross Society of China. "If the donator cannot give the money at once, a formal donation contract should be presented to the charity institution."

Wang's advice to those wanting to make charitable donations is to work with professional institutions.

"Passion is not enough in doing charity," he said. "Professionalism is extremely important. You won't do it right without the relevant knowledge. If you don't have the chance to learn this knowledge, you'd better work with professional institutions."

Zheng Yuanchang, director of the Ministry of Civil Affairs' charity office, agreed.

"Charity is professional," he said. "You must understand the relevant laws and rules, or you could turn good intentions into misdeeds."

Zhang is not alone. In recent years, many celebrities have joined in charity affairs in China, such as Jet Li's One Foundation and Faye Wong's Smile Angel Foundation. Some people praise them, while others think some of them are just cashing in on the hype for a better public image. Both Wang and Zheng, however, still welcome more of them despite the recent controversy.

"There is no difference between celebrities and non-celebrities. Anyone who wants to do charity deserves respect," Wang said. "As a charity foundation, what we do is to help them convey their kindness to those who need help. To be lowkey or not is something personal. We would not intervene."

"Celebrities have social influence. If they want to use it to call for more people to join in charity affairs, we welcome that," Zheng added.