Charity dinner

How can a single meal raise enough money to feed and clothe everyone? How can the concept of charity be implanted into the public's minds and hearts? How can charitable contributions be encouraged by institutional support?

All these questions deserve more attention than was seen at the grand banquet that American philanthropists Bill Gates and Warren Buffett threw in Beijing on Wednesday evening.

Two dramas were put on the stage under the same theme that night, but they presented a stark contrast. Gates and Buffett offered a high-class dinner for a group of rich Chinese folks at a five-star hotel; diners went Dutch at restaurants for the same purpose - to highlight the importance of charity.