China’s Guangcai Initiative: Doing Good with Integrity, Benefiting the People with Practical Benefits

　　Since the establishment of its fourth board of directors in 2010, the China Association for Promoting Public Welfare (referred to as the China Guangcai Association) has closely focused on the central tasks of the Party and the state, adhered to the fundamental principle of “helping those who are less well-off to become prosperous first, thus achieving common prosperity,” and upheld the core philosophy of “balancing justice and profit, with justice taking precedence.” It has guided its broad membership of Guangcai directors and non-public-sector economic actors to make sincere efforts and selfless contributions to the cause of poverty alleviation.

　　Over the past five years, a total of 39,559 Guangcai projects have been implemented nationwide, with charitable donations amounting to 42.7 billion yuan, training 4.63 million people, providing employment for 6.54 million people, and helping 8.26 million people shake off poverty.

　　(1)

　　Thanks to a certain experience, Lei Jufang developed an unbreakable bond with Tibet.

　　Lei Jufang told a reporter from the Economic Daily that during her first visit to Tibet, she discovered that natural plants and minerals sourced from the plateau region possessed some remarkable therapeutic properties. Unfortunately, due to underdeveloped technology, local residents were limited to applying topical medications and taking medicinal baths, which significantly reduced the effectiveness of these treatments.

　　“Tibetan medicine and Tibetan pharmaceuticals represent a systematic medical framework with its own independent theoretical foundation. Promoting Tibetan medicines not only brings relief to more people, but also offers a promising career path with great potential for development.” Thus, Lei Jufang decided to found Qizheng Tibetan Medicine: “Essentially, we’re just focusing on one thing—using modern industrial technologies to enhance Tibetan medicines and build a bridge that will carry the legacy of Tibetan medicine and Tibetan medical culture even further.”

　　After years of hard work, Lei Jufang and the company she leads have reaped abundant rewards: “Qizheng Tibetan Medicine” has won the International Invention Gold Award; it has been selected as a key over-the-counter (OTC) brand and ranked first in the Chinese surgical medicine category on the inaugural OTC product ranking, earning itself the title of a nationally renowned trademark. Moreover, for several consecutive years, Qizheng has been recognized by the government as a tax-compliant and trustworthy enterprise, and has made it into the top 100 private enterprises in China in terms of tax payments.

　　As the company has grown and its brand has gained prominence, Lei Jufang has devoted more energy to public welfare initiatives and established the “Tibetan Cultural Heritage and Preservation Special Fund” under the China Guangcai Program Foundation. To date, Qizheng has cumulatively invested nearly 90 million yuan in various public welfare endeavors, including disaster relief, poverty alleviation, medical care in western China and Tibetan areas, and education.

　　Lei Jufang is just one among many non-public-sector economic actors who actively put the "Guangcai Initiative" into practice. In line with the country’s major development strategies and poverty alleviation efforts, the China Guangcai Association has stepped up its support for poverty-stricken areas—including old revolutionary base regions, ethnic minority areas, frontier regions, and contiguous areas characterized by extreme poverty—thus establishing a practical platform that connects private enterprises with impoverished regions in need of assistance.

　　From October 26 to 28, 2010, the “China Guangcai Initiative—Xiaogan (Old Revolutionary Base Area) Tour” was held in Xiaogan City, Hubei Province. More than 200 private entrepreneurs from across the country participated, signing 43 projects with a total investment of 13.279 billion yuan.

　　From August 30 to September 1, 2011, more than 100 private entrepreneurs joined the “China-Eurasia Expo and Guangcai Initiative Xinjiang Tour,” signing investment cooperation agreements with Xinjiang’s prefectural and county governments and enterprises totaling 122.689 billion yuan, and donating 17 million yuan in public welfare funds to local communities.

　　On July 25, 2012, more than 230 private entrepreneurs participated in the “China Guangcai Project Yanbian Tour” investment and study tour. During the event, 159 investment projects were signed, with a total investment approaching 100 billion yuan. Additionally, 24.9 million yuan was donated to the project aimed at renovating dilapidated housing for the families of fallen heroes facing financial hardship in Yanbian.

　　On May 9, 2013, the “China Guangcai Cause—Lu’an Event and Anhui Province’s Cooperation and Development Conference with Well-Known Private Entrepreneurs Nationwide” was held. Some entrepreneurs donated 20 million yuan to Jinzhai County through the China Guangcai Cause Foundation, to improve local farmers’ access to safe drinking water.

　　From August 4 to 5, 2013, the “China Guangcai Initiative Tibet Trip” event signed a total of 229 projects with a combined investment amount of 361.307 billion yuan. The China Guangcai Association, in collaboration with the National Health and Family Planning Commission, launched the “Guangcai—Tibet and Tibetan Areas in Four Provinces Health Promotion Project.”

　　On May 21, 2014, the “China Guangcai Cause Xinyang Tour” was held. The China Guangcai Association donated 20 million yuan to Xin County in Henan Province to support the construction of the Xin County Guangcai Experimental School.

　　On August 12, 2014, the “China Guangcai Initiative—Southern Xinjiang Tour” event was held in Kashgar, Xinjiang. The total amount of charitable donations alone reached 68.4 million yuan, which was allocated to various public welfare projects including the installation of natural gas pipelines in rural areas of the Hotan region, the construction of energy-efficient wood-burning stoves and solar cookers in rural areas of the Kashgar region, a drinking water project for humans and livestock in Kezhou, a sheep-farming base in the Aksu region, and “wind-solar complementary” streetlights for grassroots units of the Production and Construction Corps.

　　……

　　Over the past five years, the China Guangcai Program has organized 10 “Guangcai Tours” and 8 smaller-scale investment exploration events. Some of these “Guangcai Tours” have involved investment projects exceeding 100 billion yuan, with charitable donations surpassing 10 million yuan. In 2013 alone, the Guangcai Program’s “Lu’an Tour,” “Tibet Tour,” “Ganzhou Tour,” and “National Tour for Non-Public Sector Entrepreneurs to Express Gratitude to Yan’an, the Revolutionary Old Base Area” attracted a total of 1,800 private entrepreneurs, with total investments amounting to 1,007.819 billion yuan—a record high for the Guangcai Program in a single year. While promoting economic and social development and improving people’s livelihoods in revolutionary old base areas, ethnic regions, border areas, and contiguous regions plagued by extreme poverty, private enterprises have also expanded their own room for growth, enhanced the added value of their products, and improved the comprehensive utilization of resources, thereby achieving a win-win situation that boosts both local economic and social development and the enterprises’ own growth.

　　(2)

　　The "Guangcai" Initiative is a groundbreaking effort by non-public-sector economic actors to respond to the call of the Party and the state and voluntarily participate in poverty alleviation and development. Over the years, many private entrepreneurs have strengthened their sense of social responsibility and elevated their spiritual outlook by taking part in the "Guangcai" Initiative.

　　Fengning Manchu Autonomous County in Hebei Province is one of the counties surrounding Beijing and Tianjin in Hebei Province, and also serves as an important corridor connecting Beijing with the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. The county’s name embodies the meaning of “abundance, prosperity, health, and peace.” Sun Ximin’s hometown is in Shiqidao Gou Village, Fengning County.

　　In 2002, Sun Ximin, who was doing business in Beijing, joined the Guangcai Initiative. In 2006, when he returned to his hometown to visit relatives, Sun Ximin saw that his fellow villagers were still living in poverty, which inspired him to consider returning home and starting a new venture.

　　……

　　In December 2011, Sun Ximin’s Yuantianran Group was recognized as a “National Key Leading Enterprise in Agricultural Industrialization.” In 2013, the group received the National Harvest Award for Agriculture, Animal Husbandry, and Fishery, presented by the Ministry of Agriculture.

　　Subsequently, Sun Ximin established the “Guangcai Cause Relief Foundation” in the village, addressing the issue of farmers lacking funds for medical treatment, providing Spring Festival condolence payments to elderly residents, sponsoring impoverished students’ education, and funding major renovations of the village’s opera house... “I’ve caught up with a great era, and I’m deeply grateful,” he told a reporter from the Economic Daily. “I want to give back to my hometown and ensure that my fellow villagers can reap the benefits of the ‘Guangcai Cause.’”

　　Gratitude is a feeling—a steadfast devotion to love, a pursuit of beauty, and a commitment to goodness. Gratitude is also a sense of responsibility—a respectful reverence for life and a dedication to society.

　　Gratitude is a traditional virtue of the Chinese nation, an important component of the core socialist values, and also a social ethos that urgently needs to be vigorously promoted today.

　　The China Guangcai Association has always emphasized the integration of “making a real impact” and “providing education,” closely focusing on the theme of “promoting the healthy development of the non-public sector economy and the healthy growth of entrepreneurs in the non-public sector.” It consistently incorporates ideological and moral education throughout its Guangcai initiatives. By fully leveraging red educational resources such as Jinggangshan and Ganzhou in Jiangxi, Yan'an in Shaanxi, and Bazhong in Sichuan, the Association organizes entrepreneur directors to pay respects at martyrs’ cemeteries, visit historical sites of the revolutionary era, attend special lectures, and watch educational films—activities designed to help them deepen their understanding of the country’s conditions, the Party’s situation, and the people’s sentiments.

　　According to the unified deployment of the United Front Work Department of the CPC Central Committee, the China Association for Promoting Development has launched an “Action of Gratitude,” with entrepreneurs from the non-public sector as the main participants and focusing on pairing up to provide assistance to “three veteran groups”—veteran Red Army soldiers, veteran Eighth Route Army soldiers, and veteran Party members. This initiative has provided entrepreneurs from the non-public sector with profound education in revolutionary traditions, further enhancing their conscious awareness of being grateful to the Party, grateful to the country, grateful to the people, giving back to society, and repaying the people. It has also fostered a positive atmosphere of promoting the spirit of gratitude and actively engaging in gratitude-based practices.

　　The “China Guangcai Initiative Yanbian Campaign” donated 24.9 million yuan to Yanbian’s project for renovating dilapidated housing for the families of deceased martyrs facing difficulties in rural areas, enabling the construction of 350 multi-unit residential buildings accommodating a total of 700 households. As a result, all 700 households of families of deceased martyrs facing difficulties in Yanbian Prefecture will now be able to move into their new homes.

　　The “China Guangcai Initiative Ningxia Tour” has donated 31.7 million yuan to the “Tongde Ecological Relocation Project Area in Hexi, Tongxin County, Wuzhong City,” supporting the autonomous region’s ecological relocation efforts. This donation will fund the cultivation of 7,150 mu of Keshui goji berries. As a result, each household in the relocated villages will see an annual income increase of 50,000 yuan, and per capita annual income will rise by 10,000 yuan. Additionally, 10 million yuan has been donated to the Children’s Welfare Institute in Xiji County, Guyuan City, helping to address issues related to the institute’s infrastructure development as well as the living, educational, and medical needs of orphaned and disabled children.

　　A pilot project called “Guangcai Loving Home—Lehe Home” is being implemented in 10 villages across 3 districts and counties in Chongqing Municipality, providing care and support to more than 1,200 left-behind children.

　　In addition, 26 public welfare projects have been implemented, including the treatment of congenital heart disease among Tibetan children and the rehabilitation building for the Yan'an Bayi Nursing Home for the Elderly. According to statistics, since the establishment of the four-term board of directors, Guangcai directors and private entrepreneurs have made charitable donations totaling 560 million yuan solely through the “Guangcai Journey” activities and the “Gratitude to Revolutionary Old Areas” tours.

　　At the first National Conference on Social Poverty Alleviation convened by the State Council in 2014, a total of 60 private enterprises and 5 grassroots Guangcai Association organizations were awarded the title of “Advanced Collective,” accounting for 25% of the total number of awards. Additionally, 94 private entrepreneurs were honored with the title of “Advanced Individual,” representing 36% of the total number of awards.

　　Reporting media: China Economic Net

　　Report link: http://politics.people.com.cn/n/2015/1021/c70731-27725377.html