December 9, 2009 – 9:46 pm | No Comment

 
 By ANDREW JACOBS, New York Times, Published: December 2, 2009
 (Abridged from artilce entitled “H.I.V. Tests Turn Blood Into Cash in China“)
 …Although not trumpeted in its promotional materials, the foundations (Gates Foundation) other goal is more …

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New Book: The Art of Doing Good: Charity in Late Ming China
February 4, 2010 – 6:54 pm | No Comment

The Art of Doing Good: Charity in Late Ming China (Hardcover) by Joanna Handlin Smith 

  • Hardcover: 424 pages
  • Publisher: University of California Press; 1 edition (March 11, 2009)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0520253639
  • ISBN-13: 978-0520253636
  • Product Description

    An unprecedented passion for saving lives swept through late Ming society, giving rise to charitable institutions that transcended family, class, and religious boundaries. Analyzing lecture transcripts, administrative guidelines, didactic tales, and diaries, Joanna Handlin Smith abandons the facile explanation that charity was a response to poverty and social unrest and examines the social and economic changes that stimulated the fervor for doing good. With an eye for telling details and a finesse in weaving the voices of her subjects into her narrative, Smith brings to life the hard choices that five men faced when deciding whom to help, how to organize charitable distributions, and how to balance their communities’ needs against the interests of family and self. She thus shifts attention from tired questions about whether the Chinese had a tradition of charity (they did) to analyzing the nature of charity itself. Skillfully organized and engaging, The Art of Doing Good moves from discussions about moral leadership and beliefs to scrutiny of the daily operation of soup kitchens and medical dispensaries, and from examining local society to generalizing about the just use of resources and the role of social networks in charitable giving. Smith’s work will transform our thinking about the boundaries between social classes in late imperial China and about charity in general.

    From the Inside Flap

    “In her study of the rise of charities amidst the late-Ming crises, Joanna Handlin Smith has marshaled so many interesting and rare sources that she is able as few before to give life and especially depth to a large and diverse group of remarkable people. This landmark book on one of the most exciting periods in Chinese history makes you all the more sorry that the Ming dynasty collapsed despite so much devotion and talent.”–Pierre-Étienne Will, Collège de France

    “In her absorbing accounts of both big events and small, Joanna Handlin Smith has anchored her narrative in original research, producing a work of admirable scholarly care and ingenuity. This fine study, attentive as much to the complex of moral ideals underlying them as to the detailed practices of early modern famine relief and benevolent societies, will make a lasting contribution to our understanding of charity as performed in Chinese contexts.”–Vivienne Shue, Oxford University

    The Development and Operations of the Board of Directors System in Chinese Nonprofit Organizations
    February 3, 2010 – 6:32 pm | No Comment

    (Original in Chinese by Tian Kai, PhD., School of Government, Peking University. Translated by Hong Liu of Harvard University.)
    Since mid to late 1980s, board of directors system (the board system) has become an important theme in international …

    China’s Corporate Social Responsibility Report 2009 : 40% of China’s Top Corporations are CSR Bystanders
    January 10, 2010 – 1:35 am | No Comment

    On the 18th October 2009, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) held a press conference on “2009 China’s Corporate Social Responsibility Blue Book” and development of corporate social responsibility (CSR) of top 100 China’s corporations in …

    China Daily: NGOs to Get Legal Status from Government
    December 1, 2009 – 3:40 pm | No Comment

    By Shan Juan (China Daily)
    Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) committed to fighting HIV/AIDS in China will soon get legal status to operate, as the government is considering legally recognizing these organizations, experts close to the situation said.
    These …

    Li Dan: Exploring the Path of Social Entrepreneurship in China
    November 17, 2009 – 7:07 pm | No Comment

    On 6 October, 2009, Li Dan, a social activist promoting knowledge about human rights and the human rights for AIDS orphans in China and the founder of Donzhen Nalan Cultural Transmission Center, gave a roundtable discussion at the …

    Shenzhen Government Delegates Some of Its Functions to Social Organizations
    November 10, 2009 – 7:19 pm | No Comment

    In September, the plan for administration system reform in Shenzhen that has attracted great attention was announced, and 31 new institutions were established as part of the “Super-Ministry System” reform. Following the “Super-Ministry System” reform, …

    Rural Environmental NGOs come onto the stage
    October 30, 2009 – 5:18 am | No Comment

    The China Environment Federation Secretariat announced that it will promote an environmental case in Jiang Yan, Jiangsu Province to the entire nation as a successful mode to address environmental issues.
    In recent years, rural areas have …

    A Recent Survey on Internet Usage and Communication Needs of NGOs in China
    July 22, 2009 – 4:43 pm | No Comment

    A general survey on the Internet usage of NGOS in China was recently conducted by MIT New Media Action Lab (MIT-NMAL) in collaboration with the Institute of Knowledge Management of University of Science and Technology …

    The Role of NGOs in China’s AIDS Crisis
    June 22, 2009 – 2:03 am | No Comment

    Original byJoan Kaufman
     “The global AIDS epidemic continues to worsen and is one of the leading develop­ment challenges of our era.” Facing this global crisis, “NGOs have played a decisive role in the response, both for …

    New Book: Non-Governmental Organizations in Contemporary China-Paving the Way to Civil Society?
    June 16, 2009 – 11:30 pm | No Comment

    By Qiusha Ma
    Series: Routledge Contemporary China Series

    ISBN: 978-0-415-54672-0
    Binding: Paperback (also available in Hardback)
    Published by: Routledge
    Publication Date: 04/15/2009
    Pages: 258

    About the Book
    In the first systematic documentation of the pattern and processes of land development taking place …

    New Book: State and Society Responses to Social Welfare Needs in China—-Serving the people
    June 15, 2009 – 8:36 pm | No Comment

    Edited by Jonathan Schwartz, Shawn Shieh
    Series: Routledge Contemporary China Series
    List Price: $125.00

    ISBN: 978-0-415-45224-3
    Binding: Hardback
    Published by: Routledge
    Publication Date: 05/26/2009
    Pages: 224

    About the Book
    This volume examines the shifting role of the state and social organizations (e.g. …