CRI听力：China's Charity Work on the Rise

China Charity Award 2007 was presented in Beijing on Monday. People and organizations that had made outstanding contributions to the country's charity work were recognized by the Chinese government.

Civil affairs officials say China has seen a rapid development in charity work the past few years. CRI Reporter Wu Peng has the details.

Reporter:

Chen Guangbiao is one of the private entrepreneurs who received the Charity Award. He says he grew up in a small, poor village in east China's Jiangsu Province. From the day he started his own enterprise, he has been participating in charity work. So far, Chen Guangbiao has donated 300 million Yuan, or some 43 million US dollars, to help people in disaster-hit regions and to build primary schools in remote mountainous regions.

"I think charity is boundless, and it has nothing to do with nationality or religion. A kind heart cannot be measured by the amount of money one donates. If you are an entrepreneur and you can donate 1 million yuan, that's great. If I'm a regular guy and I can only donate 10 yuan, that's also great. It's all about the expression of love and kindness. "

Chen Guangbiao says he plans to spend some of his money in new fields this year. More specifically, he plans to invite experts and professors to give lectures on recycling economy, energy saving and pollution reduction, as well as environmental protection.(www.hxen.net)

China has seen rapid growth in the country's charity work in recent years, and thus the Award has drawn more and more global attention. Li Liguo is the Vice minister of Ministry of Civil Affairs of People's Republic of China.

"The number of non-governmental organizations in China has reached over 380 thousand, 1300 of which are fundraisers. The charity work has clearly played an important role in raising money and materials. Meanwhile, the concept of 'everyone can do charity work' has been well accepted by the people."

Statistics show that China spent 86.5 billion yuan, or about 12.4 billion US dollars, on charity work last year. Some 30 billion yuan, or about 4.3 billion US dollars, came from public donations.

The Chinese government began to present this annual award in 2005. (www.hXen.com)