Handbook released to guide celebrities on philanthropy

A Beijing-based charity and a research group rolled out a handbook on Wednesday aiming to help singers, youth icons and other philanthropic celebrities navigate the fast-growing charitable sector.

The stated purpose of the guide is to help make public figures' charitable endeavors more "professional, standardized and sustainable", according to the China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation.

The foundation compiled the book alongside the China Global Philanthropy Institute, which was launched in 2015 by five Chinese and US-based philanthropists. 

Research underpinning the book shows Chinese celebrities have often failed to follow up with the execution of the charitable programs they endorse. They have also scrambled to choose charity partners and fear a misstep can morph into a public relations crisis that jeopardizes their careers.

Celebrity-fueled charity endeavors in China date back to the 1930s during the Japanese occupation, and reappeared after the Chinese mainland embraced a market economy in the late 1970s, experts said.

The foundation's deputy secretary-general Wang Peng said at the book's launch ceremony in Beijing that entertainment professionals are a crucial part of China's sprawling charitable sector, and harbor huge social influence. 

As China has shifted its national focus from poverty alleviation to rural revitalization, "entertainers will continue to devote themselves to vitalizing the countryside and philanthropy," he said at the event.

Huang Haoming, deputy head of the institute, said the handbook has great significance in the development of the country's charitable sector.

"It is the first in China's philanthropy history," he said, adding it bolsters the health and development of the sector.