Somebody has posted
a very interesting story at Tianya, China's most widely visited BBS forum (it's in Chinese only - obviously...). So far, the story has been visited 393,421 times and resulted in 2,081 comments (according to the Tianya site counter, a further 500 people visited whilst I was writing this post). So, what's caused all the commotion?
It's pretty simple. The writer says that he was born in a drought affected area in China, and during the current extreme droughts affecting parts of China donated immediately relief was sought (FYI: drought has affected parts of China for months, with rainfall 60 percent below normal since September. Guizhou province has been particularly hard-hit, with 86 out of its 88 cities within the drought zone and more than 17 million people short of drinking water). However, when the writer returned to his home village in Guizhou, he was shocked to discover a brand new car sporting a sign in the window saying "Guizhou Drought Relief Vehicle" (click on the link above to see more and larger photos of the car and sign).
Like many others in China, he had seen the pictures on TV of the relief efforts funded by donations (his included), but now wondered just where his money had gone. Going by some of the comments I've read, many others are wondering that, too. The original poster was so angry at the misuse of money, that he picked up his camera and started shooting. And now it's on Tianya and hundreds of thousands are reading it.
The question is relevant to companies. Where do donations go? Into this nice, new 'drought relief' vehicle?
