Li Ka-shing Leads Drive For Philanthropic Work In China

Li Ka-shing, Asia's richest man, is shaking up philanthropy in China.

亚洲大富豪李嘉诚正在改变中国慈善事业的全貌。

While multibillion-dollar donations by Western entrepreneurs such as Warren Buffett, Bill Gates and Mexico's Carlos Slim are turning private wealth into a force for tackling social problems, philanthropy remains a radical concept in China. The Communist Party has long stymied privately funded institutions, from churches to schools, viewing them as a threat to its grip on power. And traditional Confucian beliefs hold that charitable donations should be done quietly, so as not to extract personal benefit from altruism.

虽然在西方社会中，像沃伦•巴菲特(Warren Buffett)、比尔•盖茨(Bill Gates)和墨西哥人卡洛斯•萨利姆(Carlos Slim)这些企业家所捐赠的数十亿美元已经让私人财富转化成了一股解决社会问题的力量，但在中国，“慈善”仍然是个前卫的概念。长期以来，无论是建教堂还是办学校，私人出资成立机构的做法在中国常面临着重重阻力，因为共产党担心这会影响到它对权力的控制。传统的儒家思想也认为，捐钱要不留名，以免有沽名钓誉之嫌。

Now, Mr. Li, the chairman of Hong Kong conglomerate Hutchison Whampoa Ltd., is leading a growing group of wealthy Chinese who are challenging tradition and embracing a more open approach to giving. Last year, Mr. Li announced plans to give a third of his fortune -- a pledge estimated at more than US$10 billion -- to his foundations that fund philanthropic projects around the world. The move will give the Li Ka-shing Foundation an endowment that rivals the $11 billion Ford Foundation, the second-largest U.S. philanthropy after the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

而现在，由和记黄埔(Hutchison Whampoa Ltd.)董事长李嘉诚领军，已经有越来越多的中国富人正在挑战传统，走上一条更开放的慈善之路。去年，李嘉诚宣布将自己三分之一的财产归入李嘉诚基金会名下，致力于全世界的慈善事业。据估计这笔财产总价值超过100亿美元，这令李嘉诚基金的规模足以媲美福特基金(Ford Foundation)。后者是美国第二大慈善基金，规模达110亿美元，仅次于比尔及梅林达－盖茨基金会(Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation)。

'In the U.S., philanthropic support from entrepreneurs is tightly integrated into the fabric of society, whether it's health care, medical research or education,' the 79-year-old Mr. Li said during a rare interview about his philanthropic work. 'Now, slowly, China will know this.'

现年79岁的李嘉诚在接受采访时表示，由企业家支持的慈善事业已深入美国社会，无论是医疗保健、还是医药研究，抑或教育事业都有他们的身影；中国现在也会慢慢认识到这点。李嘉诚很少就自己的慈善工作接受采访。

Dozens of high-profile Chinese entrepreneurs are following Mr. Li's lead. Yang Lan, a prominent talk-show host who is often called the Chinese Oprah Winfrey, has donated an estimated $72 million to set up a foundation aimed at cultural exchanges, environmental protection and education, according to the Hurun Report, a publication that tracks philanthropy in China. Yu Pengnian, the 85-year-old head of the Chinese luxury-hotel empire Shenzhen Pengnian Hotels, has donated close to $270 million, roughly 80% of his net worth, to health-care causes, including funding cataract operations for thousands in rural China, Hurun Report says. And Niu Gensheng, chief executive of Mengniu Dairy Group, has donated all his shares in one of China's largest milk companies -- valued at nearly $600 million -- to a foundation devoted to agriculture, education and medical endeavors, according to the company.

继李嘉诚之后，已有数十位知名中国企业家投身到了这项事业当中。据《胡润中国慈善报告》称，被称为中国的奥普拉•温弗瑞(Oprah Winfrey)的著名电视主持人杨澜，估计总共捐赠了7,200万美元来成立一家致力于文化交流、环保和教育事业的基金会。报告还介绍到，中国豪华酒店集团──深圳彭年酒店(Shenzhen Pengnian Hotels) 85岁高龄的董事长余彭年向医疗保健事业捐出了约2.7亿美元，相当于他个人净资产的80%左右，中国农村地区数千例白内障手术都得到了他的资助。据蒙牛乳业集团(Mengniu Dairy Group)称，该公司首席执行长牛根生将自己名下价值接近6亿美元的蒙牛股票全部捐给了一家扶助农业、教育和医疗事业的基金会。

The Chinese government is gradually becoming more open to philanthropic giving as capitalism generates new concerns about wealth disparity. While the average wage in China is less than $200 a month, some 500,000 Chinese have a net worth of more than $1 million, and China is home to about 106 billionaires, according to Hurun Report.

由于贫富差距已成为困扰中国社会的新问题，中国政府对慈善事业的态度也逐步变得开明起来。虽然中国人的平均月收入还不到200美元。但据《胡润中国慈善报告》称，现在已有50万中国人的净资产超过100万美元，其中更有106人迈入了亿万富翁的行列。

'As the wealth gap grows, the government is concerned about growing social discord because the poor are being left out,' says John Peralta, managing director of the consulting firm Global Philanthropic in Hong Kong. China will eventually 'embrace philanthropy as a way to maintain social harmony,' he predicts.

香港咨询公司Global Philanthropic的董事总经理约翰•佩拉塔(John Peralta)称，随着贫富差距扩大，穷人在社会发展洪流中被甩在了后面，因此产生的社会不谐之音引起了政府重视；慈善在维护社会和谐方面的作用终将得到中国政府的认可。

But today, many factors work against private giving in China. One is the region's long tradition of family money remaining within a family. 'In Asia, our traditional values encourage and even demand that wealth and means pass through lineage as an imperative duty,' Mr. Li said in September 2006, shortly after he announced the donation. He called on Asia to 'transcend this traditional belief.'

但目前中国存在的很多因素都不利于私人进行捐赠。其中一点就是长期以来中国人一直有着“肥水不流外人田”的观点。李嘉诚在2006年9月宣布捐出财产后不久曾表示，亚洲的传统价值观鼓励、甚至要求让财产在自己的家族成员间传承，有如一项必尽的义务。他呼吁亚洲人民要战胜这种传统观念。

China has no comprehensive law on charitable giving. There is no requirement, for instance, that charities disclose information on their activities or works, which can lead to suspicions among the public about their activities. Moreover, Beijing still requires that all donations be funneled through the government.

目前中国对慈善捐赠行为并没有详细的法律规定。举例来说，尚无规定要求慈善团体披露他们的活动或工作信息，这不免令公众对他们所做的工作心生怀疑。此外，中国仍然要求所有的捐赠必须经由政府之手。

But the government is growing more accepting of philanthropy. A major report released at the 17th Party Congress last month said China's social-welfare programs should be 'complemented with charity programs.'

不过，慈善事业已经得到了中国政府越来越多的承认。上个月，中国共产党十七大会议报告中指出，应该将慈善项目作为社会福利计划的补充。

'There are high expectations for a comprehensive law on philanthropy in China,' says Liu Youping, chief editor of China Philanthropy Times, which is published by the Ministry of Civil Affairs. The ministry couldn't be reached for comment.

中国民政部(Ministry of Civil Affair)主办的《公益时报》总编刘佑平称，中国公众对出台有关慈善问题详尽法规的期望值很高。《华尔街日报》(The Wall Street Journal )的记者未能联络到民政部官员就此置评。

In the meantime, donors tend to stick to causes considered 'safe,' like health care, to avoid conflicts with officials. But not even all health-related donations pass muster. Earlier this year, the government shut several offices of the China Orchid AIDS Project, which provided funding to AIDS patients, and detained the organization's head. Many saw the move as a warning to charities about the risks of getting involved with causes considered controversial by the government.

与此同时，为了避免与政府发生冲突，捐赠者往往选择医疗保健等“安全的”慈善事业。即便如此，并不是所有与健康有关的捐赠都能得到政府的批准。今年早些时候，政府就查封了东珍纳兰文化传播中心(China Orchid AIDS Project)的数个办公地点，并拘留了负责人。很多人认为这是对公益事业发出的一个警告，即从事政府认为有争议的慈善事业也会有风险。东珍纳兰文化传播中心是一个为艾滋病患者提供资助的机构。

In China, Mr. Li has stuck to relatively uncontroversial causes, such as education. At a leafy university campus near his childhood home in southern China, Mr. Li has spent hundreds of millions of dollars to build Shantou University, and is helping shape the school's unusually global curriculum.

李嘉诚在中国一直致力于教育等相对来说没有争议的慈善事业。在中国南方儿时故乡的附近，李嘉诚斥资数亿美元创办了汕头大学(Shantou University)，他目前还在帮助该校开设高度国际化的课程。

Starbucks Corp. founder Howard Schultz lectured students on business ethics last year. Former CNN correspondent Peter Arnett has been teaching journalism since February. Three U.S. congressmen came through in April to discuss the U.S. political system. And a crew of former NBA stars was recently hired to help Shantou's basketball squad.

去年星巴克(Starbucks Corp.)创始人霍华德•舒尔茨(Howard Schultz)向汕头大学的学生讲授了商业道德问题。曾经担任有线电视新闻网(CNN)记者的彼得•阿奈特(Peter Arnett)自2月份以来一直在该校教授新闻学。4月份有三位美国国会议员相继来校向学生们介绍美国的政治体制。几位退役的NBA明星最近受该校聘请对学校篮球队进行指导。

Born in China in 1928, Mr. Li fled to Hong Kong with his family in 1940 after the Japanese began bombing his village. In his teens, he lost his father to tuberculosis and had to drop out of school, which he never formally finished. From then, Mr. Li saved his paychecks from a Hong Kong watch factory and, in his early 20s, bought a plastics factory that became the largest supplier of plastic flowers in Asia. The father of two says he had enough money at 30 to last his entire life.

李嘉诚1928年生于中国。上个世纪40年代在日本侵华战争的炮火中他和家人逃到香港。他十几岁时，因父亲患肺结核去世而不得不辍学，并且至今都未正式完成学业。之后，李嘉诚开始在香港一家手表厂工作；他勤劳节俭，20多岁时就买了一家塑料厂，后来这个厂发展成为亚洲最大的塑胶花供应商。李嘉诚有两个儿子，他说自己30岁时赚的钱已够一辈子衣食无忧了。

Now, as chairman of Hutchison Whampoa and Cheung Kong (Holdings) Ltd., he sits on top of a business empire that operates in 55 countries and employs 220,000 people working in retail, telecommunications and ports. His personal stake is valued at over US$25 billion.

作为香港和记黄埔有限公司和长江实业（集团）有限公司（Cheung Kong (Holdings) Ltd.）的董事长，李嘉诚现在已坐拥一个商业帝国，公司业务遍及55个国家的零售、电信和港口业，员工多达22万人。他个人所持股份的价值超过250亿美元。

In Hong Kong, his rags-to-riches story has bred as much resentment as admiration. Many locals refer to Mr. Li as 'Superman' for his ability to time markets. His detractors resent the control his businesses have over the economy of the capitalist enclave, and at times have attacked his philanthropy.

李嘉诚白手起家的传奇故事在香港令人称颂，可也招致不少嫉恨。很多香港人因他对市场的适时把握而称他为“超人”。而贬抑李嘉诚的人则指责他的生意控制了资本主义制度下的香港经济，他们有时甚至还对他的慈善之举进行攻击。

In 2005, Mr. Li's foundation gave HK$1 billion (US$129 million) to the medical school of Hong Kong University, which renamed the school the Li Ka-shing Faculty of Medicine. That prompted street protests by some university graduates who said it amounted to Mr. Li buying the name of a storied institution. Mr. Li dismisses the accusations as 'jealousy' and says his donations don't have any correlation to his business interests.

2005年李嘉诚基金会向香港大学(Hong Kong University)医学院捐款10亿港币（合1.29亿美元），学校于是将该学院改名为李嘉诚医学院(Li Ka-shing Faculty of Medicine)。这激起该校一些毕业生走上街头进行抗议，他们称这相当于李嘉诚用钱买下了一所著名学院的名字。李嘉诚反驳说这种指责是出于“嫉妒”，并表示对该校的捐助与自己的商业利益没有任何关系。

While Western philanthropists face increasing pressure to bring accountability and transparency to their work, Mr. Li's charitable deeds remain opaque. He won't provide any estimate of his net worth, or the exact amount he plans to give away. He says he is '70% of the way' toward donating a third of his fortune to the foundation, though he won't disclose how much that is.

当西方慈善家们迫于不断增大的压力而相继改善自己慈善事业的公开性和透明度时，李嘉诚的慈善事业却仍令人捉摸不透。他从不透露身价几许，也不透露计划捐赠的具体数目。他表示要将财产的三分之一捐赠给基金会，目前已完成计划的70%。但他并未透露这笔捐款究竟有多少。

Mr. Li is sharp and thoroughly engaged in his work. He says he wakes every day at around 5 a.m. and plays golf about four times a week. He wears an inexpensive Seiko wristwatch, which he sets 20 minutes fast.

李嘉诚头脑敏锐，专心敬业。他说自己每天早上5点左右起床，每周大约打4次高尔夫球。他戴的是价格便宜的精工(Seiko)表，还把表调快了20分钟。

His project at Shantou has grown from an empty field 20 years ago into a compact campus with a man-made lake, nine different schools -- including one of China's best medical schools -- and a $20 million library that is under construction. For nearly two decades, Mr. Li passively funded the school, and left the curriculum in the hands of government bureaucrats. But several years ago, when the school's mission seemed adrift, Mr. Li assigned Solina Chau, his personal companion and the director of the Li Ka-shing Foundation, to take a more active role in the school's affairs.

汕头大学所处之地20年前还空无一物，如今却已是菁菁校园。学校里有一个人工湖，九个学院（其中的医学院属于中国最好的医学院之一），目前正在建设一个造价2,000万美元的图书馆。在近20年中，李嘉诚只是单纯地为学校提供资金，而课程设置则由政府部门负责。但几年前，学校的使命似乎偏离了轨道，于是李嘉诚委派经常陪伴左右、现任李嘉诚基金会董事的周凯旋(Solina Chau)更加积极地参与学校事务。

Since then, Ms. Chau, who provides much of the strategic vision that drives Mr. Li's foundation, brought in a new cast of academics, administrators and scientists largely educated outside of China as part of an effort to turn a second-rate college in a depressed coastal town into one of China's top universities.

为了将萧条海滨小镇上的这所二流学校变成中国顶尖大学，周凯旋自此之后开始引入一大批新教师、管理人员和研究人员，其中大部分都有海外教育背景。周凯旋为基金会的发展提供了很多远见卓识。

The changes haven't been easy. Even the smallest have involved negotiations with local officials, the local Communist Party and the university's state employees. The university, for example, was reluctant to keep the cafeteria open most of the day, like at many Western universities, to allow students more flexible schedules. At Chinese universities, cafeterias are open for only a brief window at lunch and dinner every day.

然而改变并不容易，即使是最细小的改变也需要与当地政府、党委和学校里的政府雇员进行协商。比如，学校不愿延长自助餐厅的开放时间；而在很多西方大学，自助餐厅一天中大部分时间都是开放的，以便学生更灵活地安排时间。在中国的大学里，自助餐厅只在午餐和晚餐时开放很短一段时间。

China's educational system has traditionally stressed rote memorization over critical thinking. But the educators at Shantou are trying to create a new educational paradigm for China that is more open to debate, discussion, creativity and freedom. 'If you can't do it in a university, how can you do it in society?' says Gu Peihua, the university's vice president, who moved to Shantou from Canada. 'You're changing people's behavior.'

中国传统的教育体制强调死记硬背而非独立思考。但汕头大学的教育者正努力为中国创造一个鼓励辩论、讨论、创造力和自由的新型教育模式。汕头大学副校长顾佩华来自加拿大，她说如果在学校里都做不到这些，又如何能在社会上做到？教育是在改变人们的行为。