Zhu Xisheng, secretary-general of the China Children and Teenagers' Foundation (CCTF), introduced information on the status of charity events in the country and stressed the importance of China's first draft for a charity law, which will aim to protect the interests of donors, beneficiaries and volunteers in altruistic projects, when he attended an interview organized by People's Daily Online at its headquarters in Beijing on March 7.

The new draft of Charity Law is scheduled to be deliberated by deputies at the ongoing fourth session of 12th National People's Congress (NPC), which opened on March 5 and will be concluded on March 16.

During the interview, Zhu talked about the birth of "'Free Lunch Action' for Spring Bud Girls". Co-sponsored by the CCTF and altruistic netizens, it aims to provide rural girls from economically underdeveloped regions with free nutritional lunches whilst promoting the business of qualified local enterprises engaged in food production.

He emphasized the rising trend of online charity programs in China since 2010, stating that these campaigns are also popular in western countries and play an important role in fund-raising. "The popularity of charity events will ensure sound, long-term growth for the industry in China," he added, "and the further development of "Free Lunch Action" is no exception"

Zhu noted that the "Free Lunch Action" program was relatively safe from corruption due to its structure and the fact that  the public had full access to monitoring its operation. This security earned it a large following from domestic celebrities since its conception.

When asked about the significance of the draft for the new law, Zhu said that it was a landmark event and would lead to both opportunities and challenges for the growth of charity in China. The law will beef up the supervision of charity organizations with an emphasis on monitoring fund-raising efforts and the allocation of said funds, which in turn will create more credibility for expansion in the future. The law promises harsh punishments for defectors.

Zhu ended his comments by promising the CCTF would work with  relevant governmental bodies and the public to protect legal rights and interests of underprivileged rural girls in coming years.

(Source: cctf.org.cn/Translated and edited by Women of China)