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Online exposure sparks support
By Xu Wenwen |
December 13, 2010, Monday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
A poor Chinese man with the bone marrow condition aplastic anemia has received a wave of support thanks to an Internet campaign.
Yang Debiao, 26, from Xuancheng, Anhui Province, has been in the Zhejiang Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Hangzhou since September. Currently, he needs at least 400,000 yuan (US$60,145) for a bone marrow transplant.
Despite being diagnosed with the condition in September last year, Yang has been unable to have the surgery since he is from a poor farming family in a remote village, and treatment has already cost him more than 200,000 yuan.
However, his situation changed for the better when Grassroots Family, a Hangzhou non-governmental organization of migrant workers, gave his plight exposure on the Internet.
In November, a news article about Yang and his mother was published on Zhejiang Online, the leading news website in Zhejiang, telling the story of how the mother stood at the busiest street corner in Hangzhou and sang to attract donations toward her son's treatment. This story was followed up several times.
The series of reports were written by Liao Xiaoqing, a reporter from Zhejiang Online, who learned about the story from Grassroots Family.
Since the story was transferred to hundreds of other Chinese websites, Yang had received donations of more than 40,000 yuan from across the country by the beginning of December.
At the start of this month, the journalist Liao published a short post on Sina weibo (the Chinese equivalent of Twitter) making a plea for further donations.
"An almost 50-year-old mother from Anhui Province sings the song 'In the Spring' at a bustling street corner in Hangzhou to call for donations to her son suffering from a severe condition. More than 30 migrant workers in Hangzhou volunteered to hold a public talent show to collect more donations. So touching!"
The post was forwarded online many times in two days. The weibo message not only prompted messages of support from netizens and inquiries as to how they could donate money, it also brought about tens of similar threads appealing for help at the same website.
The Internet was so influential, other local media sources were soon swarming into Yang's ward for interviews.
When a short documentary about Yang and his mother shot by a local TV station was uploaded to Sina weibo, netizens again forwarded it many times and a new wave of donations followed.
By last weekend, the amount donated had reached more than 60,000 yuan.
Yang registered his own weibo account two weeks ago to thank those who had helped him and explain the donation process.
However, the 60,000 yuan is just the beginning, and Yang could be at great risk if he cannot find 400,000 yuan for bone marrow transplant by the end of this year. The remaining amount will depend on two public performances by migrant workers from the Grassroots Family.
On Saturday, the Grassroots Family gave a performance at West City Square, and it will give another one this Saturday, although the venue is not determined yet. Two migrant farm workers - Wang Xu and Liu Gang - who became an overnight sensation after a video of their heart-rending version of the pop song "In the Spring" posted online, also performed.
Yang is not the only cause to have appealed for help using weibo.
Last October, two journalists who became lost in mountains were saved by signaling an SOS on weibo. Another netizen who was carelessly locked in part of an airport was eventually let out after contacting the editors of weibo. Besides, weibo requests for donations to the needy are frequently seen.
Yang Debiao, 26, from Xuancheng, Anhui Province, has been in the Zhejiang Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Hangzhou since September. Currently, he needs at least 400,000 yuan (US$60,145) for a bone marrow transplant.
Despite being diagnosed with the condition in September last year, Yang has been unable to have the surgery since he is from a poor farming family in a remote village, and treatment has already cost him more than 200,000 yuan.
However, his situation changed for the better when Grassroots Family, a Hangzhou non-governmental organization of migrant workers, gave his plight exposure on the Internet.
In November, a news article about Yang and his mother was published on Zhejiang Online, the leading news website in Zhejiang, telling the story of how the mother stood at the busiest street corner in Hangzhou and sang to attract donations toward her son's treatment. This story was followed up several times.
The series of reports were written by Liao Xiaoqing, a reporter from Zhejiang Online, who learned about the story from Grassroots Family.
Since the story was transferred to hundreds of other Chinese websites, Yang had received donations of more than 40,000 yuan from across the country by the beginning of December.
At the start of this month, the journalist Liao published a short post on Sina weibo (the Chinese equivalent of Twitter) making a plea for further donations.
"An almost 50-year-old mother from Anhui Province sings the song 'In the Spring' at a bustling street corner in Hangzhou to call for donations to her son suffering from a severe condition. More than 30 migrant workers in Hangzhou volunteered to hold a public talent show to collect more donations. So touching!"
The post was forwarded online many times in two days. The weibo message not only prompted messages of support from netizens and inquiries as to how they could donate money, it also brought about tens of similar threads appealing for help at the same website.
The Internet was so influential, other local media sources were soon swarming into Yang's ward for interviews.
When a short documentary about Yang and his mother shot by a local TV station was uploaded to Sina weibo, netizens again forwarded it many times and a new wave of donations followed.
By last weekend, the amount donated had reached more than 60,000 yuan.
Yang registered his own weibo account two weeks ago to thank those who had helped him and explain the donation process.
However, the 60,000 yuan is just the beginning, and Yang could be at great risk if he cannot find 400,000 yuan for bone marrow transplant by the end of this year. The remaining amount will depend on two public performances by migrant workers from the Grassroots Family.
On Saturday, the Grassroots Family gave a performance at West City Square, and it will give another one this Saturday, although the venue is not determined yet. Two migrant farm workers - Wang Xu and Liu Gang - who became an overnight sensation after a video of their heart-rending version of the pop song "In the Spring" posted online, also performed.
Yang is not the only cause to have appealed for help using weibo.
Last October, two journalists who became lost in mountains were saved by signaling an SOS on weibo. Another netizen who was carelessly locked in part of an airport was eventually let out after contacting the editors of weibo. Besides, weibo requests for donations to the needy are frequently seen.
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