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Peer pressure keeps charities in funds


ALMOST all Chinese people have given to charity, but less than one-third said they gave of their own volition, according to the latest survey by China Youth Daily newspaper.

Up to 95 percent of respondents said they have donated to charities, but only 28 percent said they gave of their own free will. Pressure mainly came from their employers (50 percent), friends (45 percent) and media reports (43 percent), according to the survey.

The survey covered 15,796 people across the country, with 90 percent aged in their 20s and 30s. Two-thirds are employed and 80 percent have college higher education. Half make a monthly income between 1,000 yuan (US$147.62) and 4,000 yuan and a quarter over 4,000 yuan, according to the newspaper.

Though half those surveyed believed it is an obligation for an individual to donate, only a quarter, or 26 percent, said they had ever tried to find out how and where their donation had gone. Half said they would never try to learn the whereabouts of their gift.

Forty-nine percent of those who gave did not know they are entitled to tax breaks and 59 percent said they never claimed the rebates.

More than half, or 60 percent, of the donors said they never asked for an invoice.

To ensure their donation goes to the people they mean to help, 48 percent said they would give to charities that had good financial disclosure. A third (32 percent) said they would choose government-backed institutions.

Nearly two-thirds, or 65 percent, hoped the institutions further disclose their financial operation and raise their accountability.

In 2008, Chinese people gave 100 billion yuan to help victims of the May 12 earthquake in Sichuan Province, according to Xu Yongguang, Secretary-General of Nandu Foundation.




 

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