Recently, some volunteers in China have begun to carry books and stationery with them when traveling in the country's remote areas. By adding an extra kilogram of these items to their backpacks, their trip is no longer a journey in the conventional sense, but one of contribution. Although they do not mean to act as charity activists, they are offering aid and spreading love while enjoying their holidays.

Although the material donations are just books and stationery, these backpackers are giving children in far flung areas what they so desperately need. And that is to learn more about the great wide world they live in, which may inspire the children's passion for life and even change their attitude toward living.

To do a kind deed is not a difficult job. As long as they have the will to do so, everyone can do something to help others. It makes more sense to make a contribution within one's own ability, than to complain about people's indifference and the fickleness of human relationships.

According to official statistics, China has 10 million registered enterprises, but those that have a record of charity donation amount to no more than 100,000. That means 99 percent of the enterprises fail to lend a helping hand to the needy. In addition, no entrepreneurs topping the 2006 list of China's richest released by British journalist Rupert Hoogewerf are found on the top of China's charity roll. Statistics issued by the China Charity Federation show that China's wealthy people, who possess 80 percent of the country's fortune, contribute less than 20 percent of the total charitable donations.

We have reasons to accuse enterprises of their indifference to social responsibility, but while doing so, we may have neglected a striking characteristic of the charity cause: Charity is not the privilege of millionaires, but society as a whole should get involved.

According to the China Charity Federation, every year 75 percent of the donations come from overseas, while 15 percent come from China's wealthy and 10 percent from ordinary people. However, in countries with well-developed charity systems, like the United States, big companies only contribute 10 percent, big funds 5 percent, while individual contributions make up 85 percent.

This fact shows that the gap in the charity cause between China and the United States does not result from the limited company donations alone. In order to improve the cause in China, charity organizations need to speed up and win more trust from the public.

There is a need for more relevant laws, regulations and system improvement, so as to create a favorable environment for the development of charities in China. This development is still in the embryonic stage. People's awareness of charity is yet to be developed, and a law governing charity activities needs to be drawn up. Existing laws and regulations are incapable of promoting the sound development of the charities and allied institutions.

Charity organizations should be disengaged from direct connection with the government, so that charity activities will be based on people's willingness to give, instead of on government demand. More importantly, how donations are used should be made more transparent.