Charity In China

One of the primary messages of the Rebe is that increasing in acts of goodness and kindness will hasten the coming of moshiach. since 1991 the concept of goodness and kindness has exploded through the world just try to Google random acts of goodness and kindness you Will get close to 400,000 results. there have sprung all kinds of foundations, clubs, associations, that are engaged in acts of goodness kindness.

We also know what Maimonides says that a person should always seet hemselfels and the world in a perfect balance and one good deed, could change the balance of the world for good. the fact that "charity" or goodness and kindness is spreading to the entire world shows us clearly that we are moving closer towards moshiach.

In addition we know that the Talmud says that when the nations of the world give charity it is a sin offering for them. meaning it kind of cleans the slate and again makes the world a more good world. after the Tsunami in 2004 the outpouring of charity was unprecedented the amount of charity the world gave was unparalleled. after a tragedy one should always look to grow from the experience and try to see some positive. as the excerpts of this article shows this tragedy in china has changed the Chinese people and has created a flood charity in a country that until 2004 private charities were banned.

Another angle is that the military in is heavily involved in providing humanitarian aid and relief which is a beginning of the promise "and you will beat you swords into plowshares and your spears into pruning hooks" basically the military whose purpose is to kill and destroy is involved in provided food and life ( there are many instances of this all around the world. Afghanistan, Iraq etc.. the first time this happend was in Somalia) there are many other exemples of this like using missile covers for silo's, using miisiles for reforstation, and much more but that is for another post. As we continue towards a world of good join the effort and do another act of kindness. As we continue towards a world of good join the effort and do another act of kindness.

below are excepts of the articles this one is from CNN By Jaime FlorCruzCNN Beijing Bureau Chief

One of the most destructive moments in Chinese history is bringing together -- at least temporarily -- this vast nation of more than a billion people, made up of disparate ethnic groups stretching across five time zones.
......Horrific scenes of death and devastation -- covered heavily by the local media -- have triggered a surge of patriotism and charity.
"When one is in trouble," the Chinese say, "help comes from all directions."

In Beijing, Chinese officials, entertainers, athletes and artists attended a marathon concert, giving donations and calling on the public to give more.

.......Live on Chinese TV, local businesses pledged to give money and build free housing for victims -- an unusual display of civic charity. As of last Saturday, Chinese enterprises had donated more than 3.5 billion yuan ($501 million) in cash and relief goods.
"Traditionally the Chinese people don't share as much with strangers. They share a great deal among friends and family, but not with strangers," according to China analyst Zhang Daxing.

.....Students in the Chinese capital have even taken to the street to collect donations.
"Although we cannot go to Sichuan to save them, we can still help them with donated money," one student said.
Analysts say this unprecedented display of charity is partly in response to the quick action already taken by Chinese officials to the emergency.
.......The Chinese, at least for now, are more united as a people and more charitable, as citizens pull together in the wake of a massive earthquake.

This is from the associated press.

By CHRISTOPHER BODEEN and CARA ANNA, Associated Press Writer Mon May 19, 3:27 AM ET

Chinese donate their newfound wealth after quake

.........In a China normally racing full-throttle toward getting rich, the deadliest disaster in a generation has touched off an unprecedented outpouring of charity, especially among newly wealthy and urban Chinese. Donations are flooding in, more money than charities in China collected all of last year, and so are volunteers.
In the week since the quake, donations have totaled $1.3 billion — 85 percent raised within China, the Xinhua News Agency said Sunday, citing the Ministry of Civil Affairs.

With living standards soaring with the economy's spectacular performance in recent years, a new group of rich Chinese are expressing interest in philanthropy. The ministry's China Charity Information Center projects that private foundations will overtake the government and aid and activist groups to become the country's main source of charity in five years.

.........The giving is striking in a society where the communist government once provided all welfare. Private charities were banned until 2004. In the rush to embrace free markets and prosperity, Communist Party leaders, scholars and ordinary Chinese have decried the pervasive greed, selfishness and corruption.
"You give to the people you know," said Russell Leigh Moses, an analyst of Chinese politics based in Beijing.
The vast majority of aid to help the millions left homeless by last Monday's quake is still coming from the government, on military convoys.
But this time instead of waiting for government-organized charity drives, people quickly acted on their own. Bank account numbers for making earthquake donations flashed on Web logs and mobile phones. Blood donation centers were overwhelmed with offers and began asking citizens to register in advance. Groups as unexpected as the China Beauty Parlors Association have issued public challenges to their millions of members to give.
"People are really united this time, and they're acting on their own without waiting to be asked," said Wu Yu, one of several employees at Weipeng, an investment consulting firm in neighboring Guizhou province, who loaded up two vans and a jeep with old clothing, bread and instant noodles, and were heading north of Dujiangyan toward the quake's epicenter.

...."We're in rescue and recovery mode, not in reconstruction of society mode," said Moses. But the giving "has been from the ground up, and the government to their credit has not been standing in the way," he said.