In the past year new information has emerged concerning the state
of mental healthcare and the mentally ill in
China. According to the World Health
Organization,
mental illness supersedes heart disease and cancer as the most
taxing health concern in China’s healthcare system. An
estimated 100 million people in China have some type of mental
disorder although some say this number is likely higher due to
the dearth of information available and the lack of public
awareness regarding mental illness.
Xinhua reports that “twenty percent of all ailments and
injury-led disabilities in China” are caused by mental illness.
Dr. Huang Yueqin, director of the National Center for Mental
Health, told
Telegraph that she estimates only about 5 percent of those
with illnesses are aware of it and receive treatment. (It is
important to note the range of illnesses covered under these
statistics, which include anxiety and
Internet addiction as well as depression and schizophrenia.)
This month’s China Economic Review (CER; requires a subscription
to view) has a special feature on the growing trend in private
philanthropy amongst China’s wealthiest businessmen (featuring
our own Managing Director, Grace Chiang.) Philanthropy has
traditionally been kept on the down low in China, largely for
cultural reasons; however, the growing number of private
foundations has set the public on edge. Many people are
distrustful of the wealthy and consider the rise in philanthropic
endeavors as a thinly veiled way to evade taxes or plump up their
own image and that of their business.
Today we bring you a guest post from Plan China's Zheng Wei. Zheng is
primarily responsible for implementing the organization’s
corporate-community partnership strategy with multinational
companies and foundations and advising companies on effective
community programs. Having worked both at Plan’s fundraising
offices in Canada as well as the field offices in rural China, he
has gained a good understanding about the needs from both the
donor and the field.
When we look at the present state of China we can see two
distinct faces. The first is one of rapid economic development
and continuous prosperity over the last two decades. The other is
that of the rural areas, which lag far behind the developed
cities especially in environmental and social challenges. Over
one hundred million people in China still live on less than a
dollar a day. Other challenges for the country include
large-scale migration, a declining child population,
approximately thirty-four million children living in poverty, and
if it remains unchecked, the spread of HIV/AIDS.
Social Enterprise (SE) is becoming a sector to watch in the Greater China context. On November 13 and 14, I attended the Social Enterprise Summit (SES) 2009 in Hong Kong. Organized by the Hong Kong Policy Research Foundation (PRF), this year’s theme was “Development Strategies, Partnerships and Investment opportunities.” Participants came from Hong Kong, Taiwan, Macao and Mainland China. The purpose of the event was to create a platform for further dialogue among social enterprises, governments, investors, as well as, academic institutions in the Greater China region. For me, the two-day conference was a precious opportunity to get connected with others outside of just the Mainland context. It was also great for catching up with the latest thoughts and developments in the social enterprise stratum. Here are some of my key takeaways from the time:
I’m reading now an interesting study released by Bain & Company
and China Merchant Bank in June 2009 about the growth of private wealth in
China and the market opportunities for private wealth management firms.You can click here
to read the full report.A
report like this is great in that it puts concrete data behind a good deal of
anecdotal evidence we have seen about the growth in China’s high net-worth
individuals (HNWIs) and their habits.It also gives specific recommendations for potential private wealth
management (or in our case, philanthropy advisory) firms.
Compared to other
Asian countries, the Chinese microfinance sector has developed slowly. Even
though the first Microfinance Institution (MFI) was introduced to China in 1996,
MFIs have had a difficult time. Government regulations have stilted their
progress and, much like NGOs, they have had difficulty gaining enough legal
status to develop effective programs. Much is changing, however, in China’s
microfinance sector. In September, famed microfinance pioneer Muhammad Yunus of
Grameen Bank and Jack Ma, CEO of Alibaba, announced plans
to create Grameen China. A recent article in China
International Business
Magazine (CIB) discusses the evolution of microfinance in China including
new laws that signify a significant shift in the sector.
In China’s cities, migrant workers and their families are undervalued, underpaid, and undereducated. They are marginalized and have little stability in their working and living environment. Compassion for Migrant Children (CMC) is one organization working to change that. This Beijing based NGO, offers tutoring and training for migrant children, their parents, and teachers through community centers strategically located in migrant neighborhoods. I spoke with Jonathan Hursh, the founder of CMC, to learn more about their work.
Recently, the China Charity and Donation Information Center released the 2009 First Half-Year Report on Charitable Donations in China. The report provided macro data of philanthropy given to Chinese charitable causes including the total size of donations, the portion of donations received from overseas sources, a breakdown of donations received by each charitable sector, and a demographic of donors. Below I summarize some important findings from the report.
On August 8, Taiwan was hit by a severe typhoon with initial newscasts reporting a death toll of fifteen in Taiwan but final reports approximating more than 600 killed. Typhoon Morakat, which is Thai for emerald, had already caused the death of 21 people in the Philippines the previous week and as it swept through East Asia hundreds were missing due to severe floods, mudslides, and landslides. As reported in the New York Times, Taiwan's president Ma Ying-jeou said the storm which thrashed the island with rain for three days, had cost the country USD1.5 billion and destroyed the homes of 7,000 citizens. With a record 8 feet (244cm) of rain hitting southern Taiwan, the typhoon was the worst one to hit Taiwan in fifty years and left the country in severe distress.
China's wealthiest are being counted. The 2009 China Rich List, published by the Hurun Report, is the yearly digest of the mainland's biggest earners and biggest spenders. This year's statistics show significant growth in the number of the country's high income individuals despite the financial crisis. Here's a brief comparison: In 2008 there were 800,000 people with wealth over 10 million RMB (1.46 million USD) versus 825,000 this year. This year there are a total of 51,000 individuals with over 100 million RMB up 1,000 people from last year. One person in 25,000 has 100,000 million RMB. Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangdong are the cities with the most multimillionaires; however, second and third tier cities also have a growing number of rich residents.
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