Whether Chen Guangbiao is true to the title of the country's top philanthropist is only one issue of concern.

Chen, an entrepreneur, gained fame for his promise in 2008 to donate all his property and money to charity after his death. He also gained a great deal of publicity when he gave each of the earthquake victims in Yingjiang county, Yunnan province, 200 yuan in cash and had a photo taken with them with banknotes in their hands.

However, he is now the center of controversy, not just because of his way of playing up his charity acts in public, but also because there are doubts about whether he has really paid the donations he has promised to some charity projects.

He has more than once faced criticism from people who accuse him of using his acts of benevolence to promote himself and his company.

Chen has obtained many titles as a result of his charitable giving, such as member of Jiangsu provincial committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, deputy to the Nanjing people's congress, and being listed as one of the top 10 philanthropists in China for four consecutive years, and such titles, have in turn, helped him secure more opportunities for his company.

His response to his critics is that 98 percent of the accusations are false because he has met most of his promises. He has also said that he will continue doing charity his way no matter what other people say about him.

However, this sends the message that some of the criticisms are valid.

Chen needs to come clean and take his critics to court if necessary.

The press also needs to push for the truth as this is not just a matter of Chen's reputation, but representative of wider concerns about charitable giving in China.

As all know, there is much to be desired when it comes to charity in China. Transparency is needed even for foundations sponsored by the government, to say nothing of non-government organizations and private entrepreneurs.

One example is an expensive reception dinner by the Luwan district office of the Red Cross Society of China's Shanghai branch earlier in April.

Though the office used administrative fees instead of charity funds, the repercussions call for the establishment of a mechanism for more effective supervision over the use of donated money for charity purposes and more transparency in the running of charities.

This country and its people need genuine philanthropists. With charity, entrepreneurs will achieve personal gains in the end, but the results will be different if the aim of such acts is merely to achieve these gains in the short term.

China Daily

(China Daily 04/27/2011 page8)