中國慈善家偏好本地公益和教育

Chinese philanthropists favour local causes and educational institutions in particular, a study that tracks giving by billionaires has found.

一項追蹤富豪捐款行爲的研究發現，中國慈善家偏愛本地公益事業和教育機構。

The biggest donor in the study of China’s top 100 is Wang Miaotong, the head of Huatong Group, the manufacturing conglomerate. Mr Wang has given away 5.6 per cent of his wealth, according to the Ash Center for Democratic Governance at Harvard University’s Kennedy School.

在對中國前100名慈善家的研究中，最慷慨的捐款者是製造業綜合企業浙江世紀華通集團董事長王苗通。據哈佛大學(Harvard University)肯尼迪政府學院(Kennedy School)艾什民主治理與創新中心(Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation)稱，王苗通捐出了其財富的5.6%。

The men and women who made their fortunes from China’s three-decade expansion are reaching an age where they begin thinking about what to do with their money. But they face a wasteland of charity options because China’s communist revolution dismantled traditional charity channels such as clan associations. Beijing remains suspicious of prominent religious groups or non-governmental organisations.

在中國過去三十年的迅速擴張中發家致富的人們，目前已經到了開始思考如何利用其財富的年齡。但是，因爲中國的共產主義革命廢除了宗親會等傳統慈善渠道，他們可以選擇的慈善途徑並不多。北京方面對著名的宗教團體以及非政府組織仍然持懷疑態度。

But they are slowly joining the ranks of wealthy Asians, especially in Hong Kong, who have decided to make their mark in a sector dominated by the fortunes of America’s gilded age.

但是，他們正在慢慢加入亞洲（特別是香港）富豪之列，後者已經決心在由美國鍍金時代創造的財富主導的領域嶄露頭角。

Beijing has revised some tax structures and other incentives to make charity more attractive since a 2010 “billionaires’ banquet” hosted by Bill Gates and Warren Buffett launched a national debate over why China’s wealthy give less than their foreign counterparts.

自從2010年比爾蓋茨(Bill Gates)和沃倫巴菲特(Warren Buffett)舉行的“慈善晚宴”引發有關中國富豪爲何比外國富豪捐款少的全國性討論以來，中國已經對一些稅制和其他激勵政策進行了修訂，以使慈善更具有吸引力。

The China Philanthropy Project found that the preference for giving locally benefits the more prosperous, private enterprise-oriented regions that have engendered China’s biggest success stories. Many of the recipients identified by the study are government entities.

“中國慈善項目”(The China Philanthropy Project)發現，在當地捐款的偏好使得那些造就了中國最大的成功故事、經濟較爲繁榮、私營企業爲主的地區受益。該研究發現，很多受益方都是政府機構。

Giving locally may reflect gratitude to the causes that influenced the donor and good business sense, says Peiran Wei, who co-authored the study. “The more local the gift, the more direct the impact on one’s immediate network, and one’s political and social capital.”

該研究的共同作者魏沛然稱，在當地捐款或許反映出捐贈者對於影響了自己的事業的感激之情以及他們良好的商業頭腦。“捐贈越是地方化，對捐贈者直接人際關係及其政治和社會資本的影響就越直接。”

Donor choices reflect in large part a traditional reverence for education and the fact that top universities such as Peking or Tsinghua are trying to mimic their US counterparts in tapping graduates’ largesse.

捐贈者的選擇在很大程度上反映出，中國人尊崇教育的傳統以及北大、清華等頂尖高校試着效仿美國高校利用校友的慷慨贈與的情況。

Of the 100 donors tracked by the study, 17 have created foundations to channel donations. That could reflect the lack of institutional charities and a desire to control their own donations after a series of scandals involving the Chinese Red Cross.

在該研究追蹤的100位捐贈者中，有17人創建了基金會。這或反映出慈善機構的缺乏，以及在中國紅十字會曝出一系列醜聞之後捐贈者控制自己的捐款的意願。

Mr Wei said: “Much of this activity is linked to strengthening the donor’s ability to shape giving in a national philanthropic landscape that is still emerging. It is harder to give to organisations other than those you can control.”

魏沛然稱：“此類動向大多與增強捐款者在正在興起的全國做慈善的大環境下管理捐款的能力有關。向那些不受你控制的組織捐款是比較難的。”

But do not expect a charitable legacy to match those of Andrew Carnegie or the Rockefellers, at least not yet, said Shawn Shieh, an authority on Chinese civil society and philanthropy. “Most foundations are very young, under-resourced and lack a clear sense of direction,” he said.

但是，中國公民社會和慈善方面的權威謝世宏(Shawn Shieh)稱，不要指望中國的慈善遺產可以企及安德魯慍蕓基(Andrew Carnegie)或洛克菲勒家族，至少目前還不能相提並論。“大多數基金會還非常年輕，資源不足，且缺乏明確的方向感，”他稱。