VZCZCXRO7819
RR RUEHCN RUEHGH RUEHVC
DE RUEHGZ #0716/01 3640955
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 300955Z DEC 09
FM AMCONSUL GUANGZHOU
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1234
INFO RUEHOO/CHINA POSTS COLLECTIVE 0415
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 0995
RUEHGH/AMCONSUL SHANGHAI 0343
RUEHCN/AMCONSUL CHENGDU 0344
RUEHSH/AMCONSUL SHENYANG 0353
RUEHHK/AMCONSUL HONG KONG 0407
RUEHIN/AIT TAIPEI 0300
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHINGTON DC 0227
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC 0385
RUEKJCS/DIA WASHDC 0381

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 GUANGZHOU 000716 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EAP/CM, OES/PCI, DRL, AND EAP/PD 
STATE ALSO PASS USTR FOR CHINA OFFICE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: SOCI ECON PGOV SCUL EAID PHUM CH
SUBJECT: Guangxi Snapshot: Local Volunteer Association Flourishing 
 
REF: A) GUANGZHOU 678, B) GUANGZHOU 679 
 
GUANGZHOU 00000716  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
(U) This document is sensitive but unclassified.  Please protect 
accordingly.  Not for release outside U.S. government channels.  Not 
for internet publication. 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary: Volunteer organizations formed with the support of 
local government appear to be spreading to third-tier cities in 
China as illustrated by the example of the Beihai Civil Volunteer 
Association (BCVA) in coastal Guangxi.  The organization has more 
than 400 members and is engaged in projects that range from 
education to healthcare to environmental protection.  It receives 
support from government, members, local corporate sponsors and even 
some foreign donors.  BCVA has gained traction on sensitive and 
difficult issues through its non-confrontational, consultative and 
collaborative approach. End Summary. 
 
Volunteers Organize in Beihai 
----------------------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) Volunteer organizations are sprouting in many places in 
China, even third-tier cities like Beihai in the Guangxi Zhuang 
Autonomous Region.  The Beihai Civil Volunteer Association (BCVA) 
was founded in 2004 after Beihai residents commented online that the 
municipality should have a volunteer NGO like many big cities in 
China have, according to Xu Haiou, the organization's chair.  She 
explained in a December 7 meeting with the Consul General that BCVA 
had about 400 members who had volunteered more than 40,000 hours of 
community service.  The members have diverse backgrounds and include 
lawyers, environment specialist, doctors, government officials, 
scholars, students and entrepreneurs, she said. 
 
A Variety of Goals - Education, Health, Environment 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
 
¶3. (SBU) Xu, who works by day as a newspaper journalist for Nanguo 
Zao Bao, explained that the organization had four main goals: to 
spread love, to promote charity, to improve the members themselves 
and to improve society.  Within these broad goals, the organization 
has pursued projects in areas that include education, healthcare and 
environmental protection among others, according to Xu. 
 
--Education - The association has raised over RMB 2 million (about 
US$290,000) from overseas sources to assist more than 500 poor 
students; 50 of whom have gone on to college.  BCVA has also 
collected over RMB 200,000 (about US$29,000) to help build five 
primary schools. 
 
--Health - With the grants from the UN, BCVA has advised more than 
150 local sex workers on how to protect themselves from AIDS using 
condoms.  None of the sex workers has tested positive for HIV during 
the three years of the program. 
 
--Environment - The organization's first public activity was a beach 
clean-up. It has since conducted other beach clean-ups as well as 
programs to plant trees, protect endangered birds and preserve the 
areas mangrove forests.  BCVA sponsors performances, distributes 
leaflets, hold art contests for students and conducts Internet 
outreach to raise environmental awareness. 
 
--In addition, BCVA members volunteer on weekends at care centers 
for elderly residents in the outskirts of the city.  After the 
Sichuan earthquake last year, BCVA also raised RMB 31,000 (about 
US$5,000) in donations within three days. 
 
Help from Many Sources 
---------------------- 
 
¶4. (SBU) According to Xu, BCVA gets substantial support from the 
government as well as from officials who contribute as individuals. 
It is formally registered as a non-profit NGO with the Beihai Civil 
Affairs Bureau.  The Beihai Health Bureau is its official 
supervisory agency.  Since its founding, BCVA has established 
cooperative relationships with several government agencies, schools, 
research institutes and media outlets, according to Xu.  She 
described BCVA's approach as non-confrontational, consultative and 
collaborative, noting this method had helped achieve results even on 
some very sensitive issues such as HIV/AIDS and human trafficking. 
 
GUANGZHOU 00000716  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
She noted that BCVA's efforts had received positive publicity from 
local, regional and national media. Several officials have 
participated in volunteer activities, including a former mayor of 
Beihai, Xu said. 
 
¶5. (SBU) She explained that individual members provide some of the 
organization's funding with each paying a RMB 30 membership fee that 
supports the association's administrative costs.  BCVA also raises 
funds from the public and corporate sponsors, including donors from 
Hong Kong and Macao.  A well-known monk who chairs the Macao 
Buddhist Association once donated RMB 300,000 (about US$44,000) for 
one of the association's education programs.  Many local companies, 
such as the Shangri-la Hotel, also provide support for the 
association's activities. 
 
JACOBSEN