(China Daily)
Updated: 2007-08-15 07:19

Only by setting down solid regulations on charitable donations can people's love be effectively and continuously passed on, says an editorial in Beijing News. The following is an excerpt:

In May, Guo Xiaojuan, a girl from Shanxi Province who was suffering from a brain tumor, received a donation of 150,000 yuan ($20,000) from a group of netizens. At the time, Guo said that any money left over after she had paid for her medical treatment would go to others in urgent need.

In June, Guo had a successful operation and soon after returned home. Despite her earlier promise, she took with her the remaining 100,000 yuan, which sparked condemnation from the cyber community.

This should have been a clear case, but the outcome has put both the givers and the receivers in an awkward position.

Like all taxpayers, the people who donated money have a right to know where it went. When they found out Guo had returned home with the remaining money they were naturally angry. In their eyes, the money was to help those in need of urgent medical treatment, not just a gift to the poor.

Guo, on the other hand, told the media she believed in the rule of "love oneself first and then love others". She thought she was still a patient in the process of recovery; only when she fully recovers can she start to care about others. She thought that what the netizens said about the money only being for emergencies was wrong.

It seems Guo saw the money as a lottery win and kept it, rather than passing to on to others in need. Her act pricked the hearts of those who gave money and it might well make them reluctant to give more in the future.

The case raises some serious questions about China's spontaneous, or folk, charity. As the organizers confessed, there were problems from the start and there was little inspection of the finances.

It should serve to remind us that only by mapping out sound rules on charity can our love be effectively and continuously passed on.

(China Daily 08/15/2007 page10)