Serving the People.(China sees rise in volunteerism and charitable giving)

After a long career as a Russian interpreter for the Chinese government, Luo Xianqiu could be enjoying retirement at home. Instead, the perky 62-year-old is standing outside the Beijing Workers' Stadium on a cold, gray morning, teaching a badminton-like sport called rouli to a group of disabled adults. As a volunteer, Luo has spent more than a year training people who can barely walk. The animated Luo explains that the swooping, underhanded motion the players use is a great way to "warm" their bodies and restore the inner balance that practitioners of traditional Chinese medicine claim is essential to good health.

Luo says the volunteer work has done wonders for the people she works with--and for her own mental health. She's thankful she saw the announcement placed in the newspaper by a philanthropic group asking for volunteers. Some of Luo's peers were skeptical when she told them of her plans to sign up. "They told me to be sure I wasn't being taken advantage of, but even if I am I think helping others is great!" Luo says.

The spirit of giving is seizing hold of the Middle Kingdom. After two decades of rapid economic reform--during which time per capita income has tripled--more and more Chinese are realizing they have enough money, and spare time, to contribute to those who are in poor health or who have missed out on the country's boom. The country's largest charity organization, the China Charity Federation, has seen its donations steadily climb since it opened 10 years ago. In 1995 the group collected only about $488,000 in donations. Through October of this year, it had received more than $22.3 million.

The newly rich are building schools in their hometowns. Members of the emerging middle class are planting trees and using their mobile phones to send donations to their favorite causes. A Chinese Internet company teamed up with NBA star Yao Ming to host a telethon for the fight against SARS, pushing the total amount raised in the country to $480 million, 65 percent of which came from domestic donors. Beijing is full of little signs that "serving the people" is more than just a communist ideal.

Chinese have historically given freely to their families and friends, but have mixed feelings about giving to strangers. During the early days of communism (and to some extent today), the government practically forced people to give money to the less fortunate, especially after ...