China's tycoons pass on Gates' invitation

Bill Gates(right) and Warren Buffett(left) (Photo:Xinhua)
A number of Chinese entrepreneurs may have shunned the invitations of Bill Gates and Warren Buffett to a charity event in Beijing this month due to busy schedules, not because they were embarrassed to be lobbied to make huge donation pledges, as some reports had suggested, an insider said.

Zhang Jing, a press officer at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Beijing Office, told the Global Times that it would be understandable for some invitees not to be able to attend the charity dinner hosted by the US billionaires at the end of this month because of prior obligations.

"But that does not mean businessmen are afraid of being lobbied to donate their wealth. Some may not make it simply because of their tight schedules," she said.

Zhang added that the planning of Gates and Buffet's trip to China started as early as March, way before they started the Giving Pledge campaign, which took off in June.

The Giving Pledge is a program initiated by Gates and Buffett, through which the pair has successfully convinced 40 US billionaires to donate half of their wealth, worth as much as $125 billion.

The foundation is involved in the coordination and planning of this trip, but the primary coordinator is the Giving Pledge, according to media reports.

Since the announcement of Gates and Buffett's trip to China and their hosting of a charity dinner, reports emerged claiming that the two are on a mission to persuade wealthy Chinese entrepreneurs to make similar donation pledges, which scared away some potential attendees.

"A small number of people declined the invitation to attend, while many of the invitees called to ask whether they would be required to pledge a donation at the dinner," Ray Yip, head of the foundation's China program, was quoted as saying by some media organizations, including CNN and the Beijing News.

Zhang said Yip was misinterpreted.

A total of 50 Chinese were invited to the charity dinner hosted by the two US billionaires, the Beijing News reported.

Zhang declined to offer details of the invitation list and the number of invitees who confirmed their attendance.

Chen Guangbiao, a Chinese philanthropist, confirmed to the Global Times that he had accepted the invitation and replied to Gates and Buffett in a letter, where he talked about his willingness to donate all of his wealth to charity funds in China when he dies.

Chinese businessmen cannot succeed without the support of State policy, a stable social environment and the hard work of their employees, Chen said.

"Our wealth doesn't belong to us alone. We should take more social responsibility, do more for other people to reward society," Chen said.

By Zou Le, Global Times
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