China Philanthropy News
May 31, 2006
Issue 003
Click here for PDF version of this publication
China Philanthropy News is produced by Grantmaker Without Borders (Gw/oB) as a service to grantmakers and donors interested in philanthropic engagement with China. For more information on Grantmakers Without Borders, visit www.gwob.net. To suggest a posting or to subscribe or unsubscribe to China Philanthropy News, send an email to jizhi@gwob.net.
CONTENTS
NEWS
1) Drought and floods strike China, affecting millions of people
2) China to set up special fund for poverty reduction
3) HIV drugs for children badly needed in China
4) Three gorges dam completed, serious criticism remains
5) Chinese, American parks forge partnership
RESOURCES
6) Study: New Democratic Trends in China? Reforming the All-China Federation of Trade Unions
AT GWOB
7) Gw/oB and the Clarence Foundation launch China Giving Circle Program in Chicago and San Francisco
8) Final week to register for "Just Giving", Gw/oB's annual conference on global social change grantmaking
CHINA ACTIVIST PROFILE
9) Hu Jia and Jinyan: AIDS and Environmental Activists
NEWS
1) Drought and floods strike China, affecting millions of people
Drought and floods in different parts of China have affected the lives of tens of millions of people. A drought has affected 16.3 million hectares of farmland in China's northern, northeastern and southwestern regions, threatening supplies of drinking water to more than 14 million people. The Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that more than 60 per cent of the winter wheat crop has been destroyed in the worst hit areas and people living in these areas are facing food shortage because of prolonged drought. Beijing, the capital, is suffering its worst drought in 50 years. Meanwhile, annual midyear flooding has begun across a large swath of central and eastern China, with storms claiming the lives of 22 people in Guizhou province within the past 20 days. Reported by AP, full text article available at http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2006/5/12/apworld/20060512162438&sec=apworld
2) China to set up special fund for poverty reduction
China is expected to set up a special industrial fund to boost its poverty reduction efforts. The poverty reduction fund was proposed by the China Association for Poverty Alleviation and Development and has been submitted for approval from the central government. Lack of funds remains the biggest obstacle in China's battle against poverty. Since many poverty-stricken areas do not have adequate access to financial resources, proponents of the industrial fund for poverty reduction hope that it could be an effective way to raise funds for the benefit of the poverty-stricken population and the investors alike, as it is expected to yield high returns. Full text report available at http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2006-05/14/content_4544473.htm
3) HIV drugs for children badly needed in China
The Chinese government says it has 76,000 AIDS orphans and estimates the figure will hit 260,000 in 2010. Antiretroviral (ARV) drugs help prevent HIV replication and prolong the lives of people with the disease, but pediatric formulations are not widely produced, as they are not regarded as commercially viable. Chinese companies began producing at least three generic ARVs in 2002, which sharply reduced the cost of caring for its citizens living with the disease, but do not manufacture dosages for children. The Bill Clinton Foundation donated ARV drugs for 200 children in 2005, 86 of which were distributed through Chi Heng Foundation, a Hong Kong based foundation which provides education and help for children suffering the impact of AIDS in China. Still, much more efforts and money are needed to help AIDS-affected children in China. Report by By Tan Ee Lyn at Reuters, full-text article available at
http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=healthNews&storyID=
2006-05-16T122812Z_01_T68118_RTRIDST_0_HEALTH-AIDS-CHINA-DC.XML
4) Three Gorges Dam completed, serious criticism remains
The construction of Three Gorges Dam on Yangtze River, the largest dam in the world, was completed on May 20, 9 months ahead of schedule. The entire project is scheduled to be completed in 2009. Although official media lauded the early completion, critics continue to voice their concerns on environmental damage raised by the dam, as well as on issues of corruption, migration and unfair distribution of costs and benefits of the construction of the dam. By David Stanway, full text article available at http://www.interfax.cn/showfeature.asp?aid=12795&slug=THREE%20GORGES
5) Chinese, American parks forge partnership
Mount Huangshan in East China's Anhui Province and Yosemite National Park, in California forged a cooperative alliance, the first of its kind between the United States and China. Included on the World Heritage Lists for cultural and natural values, as well as the Global Network of Geoparks, Mount Huangshan shares with Yosemite National Park a reputation for granite spires, sharp cliffs and oddly shaped pine trees. The two parks hoped to exchange views on administrative techniques and technical information, and cooperate on environmental protection, administration and the planning of eco-tours. Full text article available at http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2006-05/13/content_4542400.htm
RESOURCES
6) Study: New Democratic Trends in China? Reforming the All-China Federation of Trade Unions
Authors: Howell, J. Produced by: Institute of Development Studies (IDS), Sussex, UK (2006)
This Working Paper examines the rise of direct elections in the All-China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU), their significance for the reform of China's sole trade union federation and for improving workers' conditions, and their broader implications for processes of governance in China. Full text paper available at http://www.ids.ac.uk/ids/bookshop/wp/wp263.pdf
AT GW/OB
7) Gw/oB and the Clarence Foundation launch China Giving Circle Program in Chicago and San Francisco
Grantmakers Without Borders and The Clarence Foundation are partnering to catalyze new giving circles focused on philanthropic support to China, beginning in September 2006 in San Francisco and Chicago. A giving circle, which might best be described as the philanthropic equivalent of a book club, is a group of up to 15 donors who pool their time, talent and resources to learn and make international grants together.
The purpose of the giving circles is to build upon the momentum of the conferences organized by Gw/oB and to provide a path from learning and inspiration to active engagement and philanthropic support. The giving circle members will be part of a community of caring people who share an interest in the future of China and want to see that it develop in a sustainable way.
Participants will engage in an in-depth, hands-on process of learning, led by Gw/oB and Clarence staff and assisted by a range of expert guest speakers. Members will pool their funds together and consider a portfolio of grassroots organizations based in China that are addressing issues of the environment, HIV/AIDS, education, or other interests of the group. The giving circle will be a personally engaging process in which participants receive mutual support for their grant making while combining resources to make the greatest impact.
For more information on how you can get involved, please contact Marc Manashil at (510) 384-7188 or marc@theclarencefoundation.org.
8) Final week to register for "Just Giving", Gw/oB's annual conference on global social change grantmaking San Mateo, CA Jun 8-10
Globally minded foundations, individual donors and allies in philanthropy are warmly invited to attend Just Giving, Grantmakers Without Borders' Sixth Annual Conference on Global Social Change Philanthropy.
Conference participants will have more than 40 sessions to choose from, including:
- General sessions that tackle such challenging issues as global giving in light of the so-called "war on terrorism" and the meaning and practice of "social change philanthropy"
- Breakout workshops on good practices in evaluation, due diligence, program strategy and grantor/grantee relationships and on issues including women's rights and HIV/AIDS
- Ample time to network and build relationships with peers and allies in grantmaking.
China will be well represented at the conference. The program includes a session focused explicitly on grantmaking in China, while workshops on AIDS/HIV, US policy and other topics will be of relevance to China grantmakers.
Institutional grantmakers both expert and novice will find abundant opportunities to build knowledge and improve practice. The conference will also offer special opportunities for individual donors with a significant commitment to philanthropy to learn about global giving.
This three-day conference will be held at the San Mateo Marriott, conveniently located just eight miles from San Francisco International Airport and less than 30 minutes from downtown San Francisco.
For more information or to register, visit www.gwob.net.
CHINA ACTIVIST PROFILE
9) Hu Jia and Jinyan: AIDS and Environmental Activists
Written by Humphrey Wou, AIDS Relief Fund for China
I recall the day when I met the young environmental activist Hu Jia. It was five years ago, and he stole away from the hospital where he was being treated for his hepatitis to attend a conference. Today, Hu Jia is a well-known AIDS activist and a voice of conscience for human rights and victims rights-related issues. Ironically, he was once again supposed to be in a hospital bed for his liver disease, when he stole away and went to a book fair in a neighboring park. It was there that I met up with him and we talked about the ordeal of the last two months - an ordeal which led to his making international news.
Hu Jia went missing on Feb 16th. He had been under house arrest by the National Security (the equivalent of FBI) because he and a few others were planning a hunger strike to protest police brutality in southern China. When his wife, Jinyan, came home that evening, the National Security people were gone and he was nowhere to be found.
I had the great fortune of knowing Zeng Jinyan, who has been one of our (AIDS Relief Fund for China) favorite grantees. She only graduated from university a year ago but her maturity and management skills have impressed everyone who has come in contact with her grassroots organization, Loving Source. Hu Jia and Jinyan co-founded this NGO to help children impacted by HIV/AIDS in rural Henan Province.
I called Jinyan a couple days after Hu Jia's disappearance. She sounded calm. But her response was slow and restrained, punctuated with silence. I could tell that she was emotional. She said that it would be okay and her husband could come back any day.
Over the course of a month, Jinyan and Hu's mother paid many visits to the local police stations and the National Security offices in several districts of Beijing. No one seemed to have any information. Maybe it was because of Bush visiting China, people guessed, and the authorities would release him when Bush was gone. They waited but no Hu Jia. Then maybe it was because of the Russian President Putin visiting China. They waited but no Hu Jia. Then it was China's parliament meeting. Maybe when that was over... still no Hu Jia.
By then, UNAIDS, Human Right Watch, Amnesty International, the European Parliament and China's Ministry of Health had written letters to the authorities on Hu's behalf. Countless Chinese citizens and activists signed on-line petitions. Still, no Hu Jia.
The whole incident was unprecedented. From what we know, the police in China may detain a person for breaking the law before the initial investigation is complete. The family has the right to be informed. But in this case, no one admitted that Hu Jia had been arrested at all.
Then Jinyan did something equally unprecedented: She called an international press conference.
The night before the conference, the authorities called Zhang Jicheng, a journalist friend of Hu Jia, and ordered him to tell others that the conference had been cancelled. When Zhang refused to cooperate, they sent out email cancellations under Zhang's name. Meanwhile, the hotel cancelled Jinyan's reservation of the conference room.
Jinyan rented a guest room from a hotel across the street from the International Building. As it happened, there had been another press conference in that building earlier in the day. Zhang stood up at the end of the meeting and shouted out the new location of Jinyan's press conference. A large crowd rose up and marched across the street.
Right away, news of Hu Jia's disappearance was on the international news wires. The next day, ACT-UP in Paris, Washington, D.C., and New York staged protests in front of the PRC Consulates.
On March 28, seven days after Hu Jia's name appeared in international papers, he was released. There was not an explanation, or even an excuse given by the National Security.
At the end of a very long night, light came back. Jinyan started a blog a few days after Hu Jia disappeared. This e-diary has now become a great source of strength and comfort for those in similar situations. Although Jinyan's strategy of inviting international press had grown out of her desperation, it is now being copied by other families of the wrongfully accused. Her organization, Loving Source, was being audited three times in the last twelve months which was highly unusual. But the latest round of government scrutiny was passed in three hours, a process which usually takes two to three days. Before Hu Jia's detention, the landlord of Loving Source's office was under pressure to evict them. Now the landlord has agreed to reinstate the lease. Whatever the reasons that the National Security had for holding Hu Jia 41 days cannot be compared with the embarrassment this incident caused. So will this political tempest soon be blown over? One can only hope.
Hu Jia is now in the hospital because of this ordeal. For the 41 days being locked up in a suburb of Beijing, he was not able to get access to his hepatitis medication, which caused his liver condition to deteriorate. His doctor walked in one afternoon and told him that he had two options: treat it aggressively with anti-viral drugs, the kind given to HIV patents, or wait passively for his body to heal itself. After five days of consideration, he chose option one.
When I caught up with him in the park, I was eager to talk with him about the implications of his decision. He has to follow a strict regimen for at least two years. The obvious question is how he will be able to do so when his personal freedom is so often and so easily violated. 126 days of 2005 were taken away from him. Even when he lies in a hospital, the secret police sit inside a white sedan at the entrance day and night.
When we went back to his hospital room, Jinyan fell asleep waiting for us. She has been cheerful and upbeat ever since Hu Jia came back. Seeing her small and frail figure I was reminded again she is only 23, an old soul in the body of a young girl. She may not know it, but many of her elders have come to admire her strength and courage.
Not long ago, the three of us spent an afternoon sitting in an ice cream parlor. Hu Jia gave Jinyan a plastic bear whose two eyes would spin like a slot machine and show colorful icons by the push of a button. After playing with it for a long while, Jinyan smiled big and showed me the bear's eyes which were showing two red hearts.
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