Volunteers hold out hopes for a new society

Serving as volunteers is a global phenomenon that has been around for decades. For instance, many people volunteered to go and save lives on the battleground in the name of justice as early as the two world wars. Dr Norman Bethune, the Canadian surgeon who went to China and is remembered forever by the Chinese people for making the ultimate sacrifice while helping China's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression during World War II. He was one of the outstanding examples of volunteering endeavor.

Much closer to this time, a large number of volunteer teams rushed to the Japanese victims' rescue following the devastating Hanshin earthquake in 1995. The Japanese government later promulgated a law specifically to nurture and regulate volunteer groups.

The United States is another country with a rich tradition of volunteering. After the September 11 incident in 2001 a "civic services" movement was launched across the nation as a form of emergency response to disasters by the whole society.