Charity

There has been an incredible amount of sympathy from Chinese citizens showered upon their compatriots who have suffered through this earthquake. People have found many ways to help out the victims. The government has dispatched upwards of 150000 troops to the region to help in the rescue effort. There has been stories of regular citizens who have made their way into the area to help in the rescue effort. For the vast majority of the people, going into the earthquake region to help is not a realistic option so many have donate money to various charitable organizations.

During this period of time, there are inevitably certain expectations made of the rich and famous to do their part. What has surprised me is the close attention the Chinese has paid the the contribution of the wealthy. There has been lists made of famous Chinese and their contributions on the internet, The ones who made contribution that seem small has been roundly criticized on internet BBS and forums. This has led to the practice of people dissecting every celebrity's contribution in comparison to their perceived wealth. I understand that human beings love to gossip like this, but I don't ever remembering discussions about this topic to the extent that they do here in China compared to the US. Some celebrities like Yao Ming who initially contributed 500,000RMB ($71500) changed his contribution to 2,000,000RMB ($290,000) after a shower of criticism from netizens. After all, Yao makes about $10,000,000 right?

I find this type of behavior very counterproductive and petty. The extent of the peer pressure in Chinese society has exceeded my expectations. Even though I did not live through the Cultural Revolution (1960's - 1970's), I am starting to get an idea as to the mentality of the Chinese mass that let to it. Even though Mao was the instigator of the whole episode, it was the mass who exacerbated the situation. If it wasn't for regular people reporting "counter-revolutionaries" to the government, the Cultural Revolution would not have gone to the extent that it did.

So now if a person like Yao Ming does not contribute his "fair" share, he is branded a traitor. People were declaring that Yao is not Chinese anymore, he has become American. I have heard instances where workers of American companies being angry because they believe their employer's contributions were too low.

In some regards even though I grew up there, I sometimes feel like an outsider in America. But in many more regards, I am relieved that I am not an insider in China.