Let the Donor Beware

By+Yin+Pumin

Luo Yixiaos story was heart-rending. The 5-year-old in Shenzhen， a city in south Chinas Guangdong Province， had been diagnosed with leukemia and her family professedly did not have money to pay for her expensive treatment.

Her father Luo Er posted an online appeal for help in November 2016. It caught the eye of Shenzhen-based financial company Xiaotongren， which said it would donate 1 yuan （$0.15） each time someone reposted the appeal.

Consequently， the appeal went viral on different social platforms. In five days it had been read over 100，000 times on WeChat alone. Readers also chipped in and more than 2 million yuan （$297，177） was raised.

Then there was a revelation. More information surfaced on the Internet， indicating Luos family， far from being poor， had three apartments and a car， which meant they had the financial capability to pay for the little girls treatment.

The disclosure shocked and outraged Internet users and some of them denounced Luo Er as a swindler.

“Its totally unacceptable. He just took advantage of peoples kindness. Its a shame，” wrote a Web user using the sign-in Shandandanhuakai.

Still more disquieting information followed. Figures from Shenzhens social insurance bureau showed the treatment had cost 204，200 yuan （$30，342）. Of this， Luos family only had to pay for 36，200 yuan（$5，379）. The rest would be covered by social insurance.

Then Luo Er held out an olive branch. In an interview with the local media， he admitted that his family had an apartment in Shenzhen and two more in Dongguan， another city in Guangdong. “At first I thought we could afford my daughters treatment but when she was taken to the intensive care unit， I started to panic，” he explained.

Soon after that， Luo Er posted another message on his WeChat public account， expressing his gratitude for peoples kindness and promising to return Web donors money.

“It was not a good ending，” remarked Yang Tuan， Deputy Director of the Center for Social Policy at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. “That chapter has closed， but its influence will remain for some time. Luos conduct damaged public enthusiasm. People may hesitate to lend a helping hand to those asking for assistance next time.”

Ring of controversy

In recent years， the Internet has become a popular platform for philanthropy. Many believe that it is more transparent than traditional charitable organizations.

The new Charity Law， which came into effect on September 1， 2016， also lists the Internet as one of the public platforms authorized for fundraising， along with broadcasts， the TV and press.

“The Internet provides charity a platform with a wide audience， velocity and low operating cost. It is a growing tool for the development of charity，” said Wang Aiping， Vice President of the China Charity Alliance， a network of nonprofit social organizations.

According to figures from the China Association of Fundraising Professionals， in 2014， a total of 1.1 billion online donations were recorded， raising 437 million yuan（$64.93 million）.

However， while boosting charity， the Internet is also ground for controversy since scammers are on the prowl in cyberspace， looking for gullible victims.

The Luo Yixiao incident is not the only example. In 2015， a woman calling herself Yang Cailan made up a story on her Sina Weibo microblogging account， saying her father had died in the explosions in Tianjin Municipality. The series of explosions in August that year claimed about 170 lives. Yang obtained nearly 100，000 yuan（$14，859） in donations.

In October 2016， a woman in Suzhou in east Chinas Jiangsu Province exaggerated her mothers breast cancer treatment costs， trying to raise 300，000 yuan （$44，577） through an online fundraising platform.

But after it was revealed she had exaggerated the amount needed， she lowered the target to 50，000 yuan （$7，429）.

Another case occurred in early November 2016， when a host at a live streaming site faked a charity event in Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture in southwest Chinas Sichuan Province. The Chengdu Economic Daily reported that the host， who used the online name Kuishoujiege， gave money to villagers during the event which was streamed live. But once it was over， he took the money back.

In an interview with the newspaper， the host admitted he had organized the fake charity show for personal gains. “More fans means I can get more gifts，” he said， referring to the custom of subscribers sending virtual presents while watching the live show， which is a way for the hosts to earn money.

Governmental officials in Liangshan confirmed that some hosts had been organizing similar fake charity activities in other counties in the prefecture， giving villagers food to participate in their so-called charity shows and pretending to give them cash.

Wang Yongjie， Director of Beijing Zeyong Law Office， calls the hosts activities fraud.“Fake charity activities pose a direct challenge to the Charity Law， which forbids any organization or individual from seeking benefits for themselves in the name of charity，”Wang said.

He suggested stricter supervision and efficient implementation of the law to keep such questionable online events in check.

The individual enigma

To regulate charity work in China， the National Peoples Congress， Chinas national legislature， passed the Charity Law in March 2016. It came into effect on September 1.

The law says that online fundraising can be conducted only by organizations authorized by civil affairs authorities. In August， the Ministry of Civil Affairs （MCA） designated 13 websites as official platforms for online charity fundraising.

“Charity activities held by unauthorized websites will be punished，” said An Ning， Deputy Director of the MCAs Social Organizations Management Bureau.

According to the law， groups or individuals raising funds from the public through unauthorized websites will have to return the donations. They also face a fine of up to 200，000 yuan （$29，718）.

Regarding personal requests for help， the law says an individual can post such appeals on a platform of their choice but the medium must shoulder the responsibility of checking the authenticity of the request and warn the public against the risk of frauds.

However， Jin Jinping， Director of the Center for Nonprofit Organizations Law with Peking University， is concerned about individuals in real need， since the Charity Law only allows social organizations and nonprofit governmental organizations designed for public welfare to solicit donations from the public. These individuals therefore do not enjoy legal protection.

Ji suggests such individuals should cooperate with the authorized organizations and websites. “In this way， they can achieve legal status and the authorized organizations and the websites can supervise the whole process，” the director said.

Deng Guosheng， Deputy Director of the Institute of Public Welfare and Charity with Tsinghua University， emphasized that the biggest risk in individual fundraising lies in the possible misuse of donations. “The Charity Law should stipulate that individualsuse of donations must be in accordance with the Contract Law and other related statutes to make sure all donations end up in genuinely needy hands，” he said.