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Home>Service> Awardees of Fervent Global Love of Lives Award> 14th Fervent Global Love of Lives Award 2011> The Greatest Philantropist in China --- Chen Kuang-piao
Loving and Happy Donation‧Long-distance Disaster Relief
      Jiangsu Huangpu Recycle Resource Reuse Ltd. Chairman Chen Kuang-piao, born in a poor family, could not afford school tuition when he was very young. He used to carry water, be an ice stand and dress vendor in night market. He was not afraid of difficult situation. In1990, he graduated from Nanjing China Medical College ; in 1996, he founded an electronic medical instrument company and made the first barrel of gold. Since 2003, he changed his direction and founded Jiangsu Huangpu Recycle Resource Reuse Ltd., an annual sale estimated approximately ten billion RMB.
      Successful Chen Kuang-piao started charity organization in 1998. To date, the donation is estimated approximately 1.4 billion RMB; especially after 2008 Wenchuan earthquake, he contributes money and time to save people in the disaster. The Prime Minister Wen Jia-bao called him “knowledgeable and sensitive businessman”.
 
Start the Business from Scratch; Make One Cent to 7 Billion RMB.
      Chen Kuang-piao was born in a poor family in Northern Jiangsu in 1968. When he was two years old, an older brother and sister were starved to death; at very young age, he never had meat or entire flat bread. At ten, he picked up water from thirty-meter-deep well in two small wooden buckets after school; then, he carried the buckets on a small pole for sale in a town 1.5 kilometers away from home. His slogan was: “All you can drink for one cent”. Surprisingly, he was able to make more than twenty cents in one morning, equivalent to half-day wage for an adult.
      After three to four years, he switched to sell popsicles and grain food. He purchased unused grain food from neighboring farmers then sold to grain management office for service charge. Every time, 50 kilograms grain carried on a bicycle are worth five or six dollars. He works on a bicycle, a cart and then a tractor; at age of seventeen, he became his hometown the first “teenager million dollar household“.
      He did not abandon schoolwork even he had business venture. In 1985, he was admitted to study in Nanjing China Medical College ; after graduation, he came back home to start his business such as acupuncture and manipulation. He returned to Nanjing in 1991 for a new business. One day when he walked around to a pharmacy, he saw a group of people asked about a pocket-size instrument. It was a newly marketed instrument, an ear probe for detecting diseases. It has two electronic pole clips on ears to detect diseases on your body. He suddenly had an idea: This disease detection instrument is not able to provide direct responses for patient to see the results; otherwise, it will be more popular and welcomed by doctors and patients.
      On the second day, Chen Kuang-piao hired an expert for 3,000 RMB to improve the original ear probe disease detecting instrument and invent “Innovative Family CT Machine”. The machine not only has acquired its patent, price of the prototype is about 100 RMB; after improvements, it is sold for more than 8,000 RMB. Therefore, he had his own business.
      In 1992, he had discovered a business opportunity in Shan d ong Tai -a n store. Tai-an produces ganoderma lucidum for a lower price, 200 RMB for a kilogram. It is for chronic diseases and very effective. He began to think: “It is not convenient to have ganoderma lucidum in diet. If it is grinded, capsules are easier for patients to swallow. Thus, he started his ganoderma lucidum capsule sale; 200 RMB for one kilogram is made for capsules that are worth 2,000 RMB. Tai-an City Government also has issued special allowance for Chen Kuang-piao to thank him bringing wealth to local people.
      In 2000, he organized Jiangsu Huangpu Investment Group. In the beginning, he purchased bad assets from banks to consolidate and sell to the others. His principle is “Invest but not opportunistic”. Later on, Nanjing City Government invited him to take over a job tearing down houses in the neighborhood of the former site of Nanjing City sports event. Then, he realized the dismantled old steel and tires could be recycled and reused, not only environmental friendly but a business to make money.
      To date, his Huangpu Investment Group has involved with modern material manufacture and production, recycled resource reuse, real estate development, juvenile national defense education, electricity factory facility production and intellectual identification system R&D industry. In 2005, its sale was worth nearly 7 billion RMB and it paid sales tax close to 40 billion RMB. It was awarded “Chinese Honest and Sincere Organization” and became one of the 2006 “One hundred most energetic and profitable businesses in China ”.
      Chen Kuang-piao often says he is a regular guy. He works harder than the other people so he can have today's achievement. Several years in business, he never smokes, barely drinks and he insists not to gamble or go to night clubs and ballrooms. In his spare time, he would study and learn new things. Reading improves his personal level.
 
Vow to become the No. 1 Philanthropist by doing good deeds.
      At ten, Chen Kuang-piao helped people the first time in his life and started to practice his belief to actively do good deeds.
      At the time, his family did not have enough money for him to go to school. He carried two large buckets of water on a pole after school and walked for 1.5 kilometers to sell clean water and make money. He earned 4 RMB during a summer vacation so he had 1.8 RMB for tuition money. Then, his mother told him that neighbor's kid cried because he did not have money for tuition so he gave money to neighbor's kid for tuition without complaining.
      The second day when he went to school, teacher wanted to tell every student that he helped the other people. The teacher tore off one corner of a red paper on the classroom wall, cut into star shapes and stick on his face to encourage his good deeds. That day, he had this small red star on his face walking around the campus. If the red star fell from his face, he would put it on his right cheek using saliva. He wanted his classmates to know he got this prize because he helped the other student. He said: Love is infectious. Many students since then started learning to support themselves and help others. His mother also encouraged him and applauded that his had done the right thing. Thus, he set a goal for himself. – To become the No. 1 Philanthropist in China , and let people know what he did.
      In 1996, Chen Kuang-piao founded Nanjing King Willy Electronic Medical Supplies. He contributed 30,000 RMB, although his company had less than 200,000 RMB of annual sales, to sponsor a leukemia patient in Anhui . In 2002, he donated nearly 10 million RMB to Nanjing City Public Security Fire Department for fire safety and social welfare. In 2003, he donated 800 RMB far infrared temperature measurement machines and 2 million RMB in cash to Jiangsu Province medical facility. At the end of 2004 tsunami in Southeastern Asia , he also donated 3 million RMB to the disaster area.
      In 2006, he was one of ten youngest philanthropists. For more than ten years, he has donated 1.4 billion RMB to more than 200,000 people. The total donation reached 181 million RMB. Although not a number 1 Nanjing philanthropist, Chen Kuang-piao was called “the number 1 philanthropist in China ” in April 2008 and awarded “Chinese Red Cross Medal”.
      He describes that fortune is like water: “If you have a glass of water, you can enjoy alone; if you have a bucket of water, you can keep it at home. If you have a river, you have to learn how to share with the other people.” He thinks charity is based on morality and love instead of a simple donation. It is caused by social needs and the donation comes from the bottom of heart.
      He believes “theory of good deeds without loss”. He often says “it seems that good deeds cost money, which seems a loss. I think it is not a loss; on the other hand, I make money out of it. Why? One of the reasons is that good deeds would produce power and make me feel valuable. Secondly, one of the businessmen does good deeds for a long period of time and his partner, government or social public would acknowledge the value of this businessman; then, the cooperation will be comfortable”.
 
Join the disaster relief immediately without a break.
      On May 12, 2008 the Sichuan earthquake, he was at a board meeting in Wuhan . He immediately changed the notion to disaster relief work assignment. Then, he asked for sixty large-sized machineries such as cranes, bulldozer and power shovel from Jiangsu and Anhui headquarter. In addition, he brought 200,000 RMB in cash and two million dollar RMB check.
      At four o'clock in the afternoon on the 12 th , all machinery arrives. Disaster relief troops left for Sichuan along with more than 100 staff from the company. Once they entered Sichuan , they saw many collapsed houses and people who fled for safety. They distributed money to the victims; “spend money on the edge and we would give you money as long as you need!”
      On May 13, 2008, he arrived Dujiangyan and saw Wen Jia-bao brought soldiers using bare hands to save people. The machinery was very limited; therefore, he left about twenty machine vehicles and forty staff in there and continued on towards Beichuan with the remaining forty vehicles. On the way, the roadway of a mountain cavity was buried by collapsed mudslide. He ordered the bulldozer to open the road; after a hour, he finally had opened a passageway so that the lead troops of Cheng d u military district got through safely. Three o'clock in the afternoon on the 13 th , thirty six hours after the earthquake, the relief team he brought finally arrived the most influenced area Beichuan County from Jiangsu and Anhui , 2,000 miles away.
      Very soon, his relief team was sent to Beichuan Middle School by the local government. He describes he often attends Chinese Red Cross relief mission but he never experiences the brutality of Beichuan. The tragic condition before his eyes was unbearable and he could not stop crying! “More than 1,000 kids are buried under the ruins. Up until now, we have dug more than 200 kids; among them, only a few are alive. Floor boards are on their legs and waist. Children are head to head and toe to toe. Their faces are all swollen. Many relief personnel were working with tears.” He was not counting how many dead bodies he carried on his back. His body was covered by blood and could barely move because of fatigue. According to statistics, he carried 208 kids and only a few of them are alive.
 
Open donation because it is shameful to die a very rich man.

      He says: “Being a rich man, I do not want to be a scrooge.” Many times, he publicly announces that he would give away all his wealth to charity organization instead of half of the fortune when he leaves this world because worldwide rich and poor people are in one family. Everyone has different starting point, destiny and opportunity so they have differences in terms of quantity of wealth.
      He says: “I always think that life is short. When we are alive, it is a blessing and joyful thing to do that we are able to make contribution to our country, create wealth, jobs, civilization and improvement. On the same notion, when we are about to leave this world, it is noble and mighty that we can return all the wealth to the world so that more miserable, unfortunate and poor brothers and sisters can enjoy.
      Good deeds of mankind are not different because of nationality, race and religion. The world will be full of harmony, justice, love and beauty because everyone's active involvement --- this is his biggest hope.