VZCZCXRO2561
RR RUEHCN RUEHGH
DE RUEHGH #0337/01 2310034
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 180034Z AUG 08
FM AMCONSUL SHANGHAI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 7077
INFO RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 2041
RUEHCN/AMCONSUL CHENGDU 1341
RUEHSH/AMCONSUL SHENYANG 1337
RUEHGZ/AMCONSUL GUANGZHOU 1312
RUEHHK/AMCONSUL HONG KONG 1486
RUEHIN/AIT TAIPEI 1150
RUEHGH/AMCONSUL SHANGHAI 7652

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 SHANGHAI 000337 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EAP/CM 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM SOCI ELAB CH
SUBJECT: VOLUNTEERISM IN SHANGHAI 
 
(U) This cable is sensitive but unclassified and for official 
use only.  Not for distribution outside of USG channels. 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary.  Despite ample opportunities for people to 
volunteer, local volunteer organizations still have problems 
attracting people.  Interlocutors blamed the lack of interest in 
volunteering to the absence of legislation on volunteers, the 
lack of a system to track someone's volunteer experience and to 
the lack of flexibility in many volunteer programs.  However, 
both local governments and the central government are 
"conservatively encouraging" people to volunteer for 
non-controversial programs in the environmental, health and 
educational field.  End Summary 
 
Shanghai Volunteer Association 
------------------------------ 
¶2. (SBU) In mid-July, Poloff and FSN Political Assistant met 
with representatives of the Shanghai Volunteer Association (SVA) 
to discuss their activities.  SVA is a governmental organization 
and was established in July 1997.  It plays a leading role in 
organizing and coordinating volunteer activities for large 
official events in Shanghai such as 2007 Special Olympics, 2008 
Beijing Olympic Games and Shanghai World Expo 2010.  According 
to SVA Office Manager Du Guowei, Shanghai now has over one 
million registered volunteers from five SVA branch organizations 
including Shanghai Family Volunteer Association, Shanghai Worker 
Volunteer Association, Shanghai Community Volunteer Association, 
Shanghai Youth Volunteer Association and Shanghai Professional 
Volunteer Group.  Over 80 percent of the volunteers are 
university students.  The SVA's primary responsibility, 
according to Du, is to provide work plan, management service and 
guidance to the city's volunteer programs.  In addition, it is 
in charge of volunteer recruitment, registration, training, 
personnel dispatch and job performance evaluation.  It often 
recruits people at college campuses.  In order to attract more 
people to participate in their volunteer programs, the SVA 
provides registered volunteers with a bank card that gives its 
users discounts at various venues in Shanghai. 
 
Volunteers Wanted 
----------------- 
¶3. (SBU) According to Du, in comparison to other cities, 
Shanghai's volunteer programs are more developed.  However, it 
has not been easy finding volunteers.  Du blamed this on the 
lack of laws governing volunteers and also the lack of a record 
keeping system to track the work of volunteers.  Therefore, the 
SVA is currently creating an online system for outside users to 
check individual volunteer's work record.  Du added that the 
Shanghai Municipal Government plans on introducing guidelines on 
volunteer activities in 2009 in preparation for Shanghai World 
Expo 2010.  Du assessed that the SVA is in its "infant period" 
and more needed to be done to develop the organization.  He 
noted in particular that the SVA did not have much interaction 
with the private sector and asked for the Consulate's assistance 
in making connections to U.S. companies. 
 
More Flexibility Needed 
----------------------- 
¶4. (SBU) During a luncheon with CSR Manager of AmCham Shanghai 
Office Oliver Ye on July 15, Ye noted that it is difficult for 
full time employees to participate in government run volunteer 
programs.  These programs often lack flexibility.  For example, 
for one government volunteer program, volunteers were asked to 
participate in two two-day training courses during the week. 
This is impossible for many workers and most volunteers are 
university students.  Nevertheless, he is trying to find way 
opportunities for USG companies to participate in volunteer 
programs.  He also noted that volunteers in China like to only 
participate in one-time activities and do not develop long-term 
relations with the organization they volunteer for. 
 
Non-Governmental Volunteering is "Conservatively Encouraged" 
--------------------------------------------- --------------- 
¶5. (SBU) According to Jim Zhai, the founder of a Shanghai-based 
labor NGO called Shanghai Hua Guang Youth Employment Service 
Center, the number of opportunities for people to volunteer with 
non-governmental organizations is also increasing.  He noted 
that local and central governments are "conservatively 
encouraging" people to volunteer but only on safe issues.  The 
government encourages people to volunteer for NGOs and 
governmental programs that assist the elderly, protect the 
environment, and help people with HIV/AIDS.  However, the 
government pays little attention to disadvantaged groups like 
migrant workers.  In addition, most labor NGOs are subjected to 
registration restrictions and strict supervision.  He did not 
 
SHANGHAI 00000337  002 OF 002 
 
 
think that recent earthquake in Sichuan will have a long-term 
impact on the number of people volunteering for programs.  One 
long-term trend he sees is that fewer people are interested in 
volunteering for large programs such as the Special Olympics, 
instead many people are looking for more complex volunteering 
opportunities and are seeking out volunteer opportunities at 
NGOs.  This is especially true among university students.  He 
sees this as a positive trend and believes that volunteering at 
NGOs help students to develop a better understanding of civil 
society. 
 
Comment 
------- 
¶6.  (SBU) As social services decrease in China, NGOs are taking 
on more of the burden of helping those in need.  But to provide 
those services, NGOs need volunteers as well as financial 
support.  Hopefully interest in social NGOs like Mr. Zhai's NGO 
will continue to grow and help to foster a more diverse civil 
society. 
JARRETT