This summer’s heavy rainfall and flooding in southern China has prompted many local governments to solicit flood relief donations from the public, but public reaction has been notably cynical, even hostile. A combination of numerous and repeated scandals in the charity sector, reports of fraudulent fundraising or donations not reaching the intended recipients, and poorly executed—even blatantly performative—disaster relief measures by local governments have made many Chinese citizens profoundly wary of donating money for disaster and flood relief this time around.
Among the affected areas are Meizhou, in Guangzhou province, which was hit with “once-in-a-century” rainfall in mid-June. May and June also saw heavy rainfall and flooding in Fujian, Guangxi, Jiangxi, and Zhejiang provinces. Hunan’s Pingjiang County experienced its worst flooding in decades, leaving local residents short of food and drinking water. This weekend, emergency workers in Hunan raced to repair a dike breach at Dongting Lake, China’s second-largest freshwater lake. After successfully repairing the breach, the red-clad workers waved dozens of red flags and posed for propaganda photos praising “red power,” prompting social media users to liken the self-congratulatory scene to something from CCTV’s annual Chinese New Year’s variety show gala, or a freakishly joyous funeral.
CDT editors have archived two articles that discuss the Chinese public’s growing reluctance to open their wallets for disaster relief. Both articles include copious critical comments from netizens and mention a recent study showing a decline in charitable donations from corporations and the entertainment industry.
The first article, “Under News Items Appealing for Disaster Relief and Donations, A Shift in Public Sentiment,” was published to WeChat account 天涯行路 (Tiānyá Xínglù, “Journey to the far corners of the Earth”) by blogger Song Qingren. The author begins by asking why this year’s unprecedentedly severe flooding didn’t feature more prominently in social media lists of trending topics, and concludes that stemmed not from a lack of reporting on the floods or an uptick in online censorship, but rather, from public apathy fueled by distrust of the charity sector and a sense that donations don’t do much to help the intended recipients. Song quotes from some of the 44,000 comments under a WeChat post by Pingjiang city authorities appealing for donations to help rebuild homes that were destroyed by floods there. Many of the comments are openly cynical and distrustful, with some sardonically echoing government talking points about disaster relief efforts, rumor-mongering, or telecom fraud: “With the might of the motherland behind you, I trust that you will be able to overcome all hardships! Best of luck.” “Beware of online telecom fraud, don’t spread or believe in rumors, don’t cause the government any trouble, and trust that the government will come to your rescue.” “To the people of Pingjiang, I’m very sorry, but I’m afraid of being swindled.” Others commented on the overall tone of the comment section: “This is the first time I’ve seen such a unanimously honest comment section.” “The comment section is the true voice of the people!”
The article concludes by noting that public trust is a scarce and precious resource that needs to be nurtured, lest it be lost:
When trust is betrayed time and again, and appeals for charitable donations remind potential donors of past fundraising abuses, the trust and attention of the public will, much like the floodwaters, gradually ebb. The mocking comments we see online are more than an expression of dissatisfaction; they are a barometer of what the general public has come to expect. It is essential that we pay attention not only to the catastrophic flooding, but also to this crisis of public trust.
Natural disasters may destroy homes, but the collapse of public trust is even more deadly. Floods may carry away the soil and inundate cities, but they cannot wash away human kindness. The sympathy and trust of the public is a scarce and precious resource. Once this trust is lost, it will be very difficult to rebuild. [Chinese]
The second article, “Once People’s Hearts Turn Cold, They Will Never Thaw Again!” was published by the WeChat account 黑柳丁 (hēi liǔdīng, “black willow.”) It opens with the following sentence: “You can fool some of the people some of the time, or even some of the people all of the time, but it’s impossible to fool everyone all of the time.” The author notes that under one online appeal from officials in Jiujiang, Jiangxi province, calling for local residents to return home to help fight the floods, netizens left comments referencing past charity scams, mocking government authorities, or noting the chilly public reaction to local officials’ pleas: “Can you please tell me Guo Meimei’s bank account number?” “If someone requests donations without disclosing how the funds will be used, can I report them to the police for fraud?” “Is it worth pondering that among all these comments, no one is posting [formerly typical] phrases like ‘together we stand’ or ‘our hearts are with you.’” Even in official media, news about the flooding was subject to the same skeptical public commentary. One of the most-liked comments under a flooding-related article in The Paper, a digital newspaper run by the state-owned Shanghai United Media Group, read: “Would it be possible to make the donation accounts transparent and open to the public?”
The author goes on to mention a brief 10-second news clip on iQilu, a news app affiliated with Shandong Radio and Television, announcing that corporate donations to aid the victims of natural disasters had plummeted this year, entertainment industry disaster-relief efforts were unusually muted, and that online fundraising for disaster-relief projects had dropped from seven million yuan in 2023 to just over 300,000 yuan in 2024. The short news clip attracted over 15,000 comments, many expressing distrust in the government or in disaster-relief charities: “Let’s talk first about those 66 counties that misappropriated kids’ school lunch funding!” “What has made kind and decent people turn so cold-hearted?” “In the future, please first publish the amount of donations made by local urban, rural, and transportation enforcement departments.” [This refers to the highly unpopular and often violent or corrupt local policy enforcers known as the “chengguan,” “nongguan,” and “yunguan,” respectively.]
Lastly, the article delves into how past scandals regarding the misuse of charitable donations have caused the Chinese public to turn away from donating money, even for what might seem worthy causes:
Why is this happening? Has the world changed, or have people become colder? Or is this generation more disobedient, less inclined to do as the government says?
None of these things are true. Chinese people have always been kind-hearted, generous, and charitable to others. When confronted by various natural disasters, they have never exhibited the sort of indifference we are seeing now. The only explanation is a loss of trust—particularly a loss of public trust in certain platforms and certain people.
When did this transformation begin? Perhaps it started with the Guo Meimei scandal, or with [the pandemic measures and extended lockdowns in] Wuhan and Shanghai a few years ago, or perhaps it was a long process of people being ground down and defeated, bit by bit.
Last year, a netizen said something that I still remember vividly: “When disaster strikes, I think it’s time for the Red Cross to throw open its storehouse doors and provide relief supplies, instead of opening more bank accounts to solicit public donations.”
[…] During last year’s flood in Zhuozhou, one social media user wrote, “I want to donate, but I’m worried about how much of the money I donate will actually reach disaster victims.”
[…] In the summer of 2021, Henan suffered from heavy rainstorms and floods, and received nearly 10 billion yuan in reconstruction funding. Two years later, in August of 2023, a report by the Henan Provincial Audit Office revealed major irregularities in the use of this reconstruction funding […]: in 73 counties, 242 projects worth 3.346 billion yuan were plagued by substandard engineering quality control and other problems; three non-disaster-related projects in three counties were found to have been illegally funded with 375 million yuan in reconstruction funds that they were not entitled to; and four cities and counties overstated the cost of 15 projects by 432 million yuan.
[…] So now, it is no longer a question of whether or not you are willing and able to donate, but a question of whether or not you would even dare to donate. To put it bluntly, once people’s hearts have turned cold, it is unlikely that they will ever thaw again. It is not the general public’s fault that things have deteriorated to this point. [Chinese]
