“Lu Meimei” & China-Africa Project Hope Controversy

From Sina:

24-year-old “second-generation rich” Lu Xingyu who controls 1.5 billion Project Hope fund becomes famous

After Guo Meimei, another charity-related internet celebrity named Lu Xingyu has been born. What has ignited heated discussion along with Lu Xingyu is the “taking 1.5 billion yuan to help build Hope primary schools in Africa while taking 10% of all donations as a management fee” China-Africa Project Hope project, and Lu Xingyu happens to be responsible for this project. However, as the person involved, Lu Xingyu has publicly responded that this management fee is given to the China Youth Development Foundation (hereinafter referred to as CYDF), and a representative of the CYDF has also expressed that this management fee is reasonable. They also stated that money donated to the China Project Hope definitely will not go to the China-Africa Project Hope operations.

Internet explosion, limelight on Lu Xingyu surpasses Guo Meimei

According to a June 13th Xinhua report, “China-Africa Project Hope” will within 10 years help build 1000 Hope schools, at a cost of around 2 billion RMB

Many netizens discovered that the person managing this 2 billion RMB project is a 24-year-old “second-generation rich” [child of rich parents] Lu Xingyu. As a result, on August 16th, the real name verified China-Africa Project Hope Executive Chairman and Secretary-General Lu Xingyu ignited heated online discussion.

“Lu Xingyu became famous overnight, her limelight surpassing Guo Meimei! So that project where China takes out 1.5 billion to help build 1000 Hope schools in Africa is managed by a little girl born in 1987, the daughter of billionaire Lu Junqing. The charity she runs is the same as the Red Cross Society, extracting 10% from all donations as a management fee. The management fee for 1.5 billion alone is 150 million. No wonder she doesn’t care if our own country’s children can’t afford to go to school yet is keen on helping African children go to school.” This microblog message has been reposted 23,836 times as of 17:00 since it was posted at 7:25 on August 17th.

From Youku:

“Lu Meimei” bombastically responds to netizen criticisms

English Translation of Lu Xingyu’s response above to netizens:

I personally really like the land of Africa, especially when I am there and I see how the children really need help. I know a lot of netizens say, “China also has a lot of children who need help, why do you have to go to Africa to provide help?” Well, I want to stress that we say love is without national borders, we’re all people, so why should those of us with the heart suffer being criticized/denounced?

If you really believe China has a lot of people who need help, yes, indeed there are a lot of people who need help, but you need to first consider for a moment that before you judge others, you have to consider what you yourself do, whether you yourself have personally made contributions to them [those people in China who need help] or are you just grumbling/complaining all the time on the internet? Have you actually done anything real to help them, or do you only know how to attack others? And when you attack others, what do you get from it? Is it personal comfort or a meaningful result?

For example, some people will say, “Ai, you doing this is too unpatriotic [shows too little concern for your own country]. You want to go to Africa, are you African?” That there are these kind of comments I think is laughable/ridiculous. Us going to Africa to do this is a project the country very much supports, our government very much supports, African governments very much support, and what more, the African peoples extremely extremely welcome. This is something that brings honor to our country. This is definitely patriotic behavior. So those people who say I’m not patriotic [don’t love my country], I don’t know what they are thinking.

The above video was viewed over 400k times making it one of the most viewed videos on popular Chinese video-sharing website Youku the day it was uploaded. It currently has nearly 4,000 comments spanning 132 pages.

Comments from Youku:

zhuanshilong:

Laughable, laughable, so laughable. Are you explaining? Or are you questioning netizens? We say something about you and you get mad. How inexperienced.

粗犷大汉:

You fucking even dare to respond with criticism, the masses have sharp eyes, don’t you know! The more you explain, the blacker [more evil/corrupt] you are.

暮颜丰臣:

You take netizen comments as grumbling, take netizen opinion as nonsense? On this point alone you are unpatriotic, because you simply don’t know that a country needs a proper voice, needs a clear mind, and not your kind of blind so-called “caring action”!!!!

liushun1123:

So young and already such greatness, truly a good child fostered by Americans for Chinese!!!

兮兮哈哈哈哈嘻嘻:

I’m speechless… Lu Meimei, even you yourself have said that your own motherland needs help, so why do you not first help your own country? Love has no national borders? It should be money has no national borders, and that you’re just doing this to accomplish something that benefits your own wallet only. If you truly cared, please extend some concern for the children of your own country as they are our future and if they don’t have any education, with what are they going to develop China? Unless you’re thinking we’ll be able to depend on Africa in the future to support our motherland? Everyone already knows you don’t have any heart [genuine concern]… but you do have self-interest… However, there is one good thing, that being that we now know that China’s education level far surpasses foreign countries. Through your speech, we have deeply understood that the level of foreign education cannot compare to our country’s primary school level.

zpest:

The “country supports” is referring to what exactly? The people? Do you think the people in the country who can’t even afford to go to school would support you? Love has no national borders? Just whose money are you using? You’ve used Grandpa Deng Xiaoping’s teaching of common prosperity on Africa, can it be that you only see Africa’s hardships and believe everything in your own [country] is great?~ Pei!

liushengwei:

[You] ramble, all of your speech is unsophisticated. I don’t know what the circumstances is for such a person in such an important post, when you can’t even speak well… and what more, your premises don’t even have a foot to stand on, your arguments are also a mess, and were it not for me eventually understanding your point, I would’ve thought you were telling a cold joke [dry joke]…

瘦得想哭:

One of the recipient countries of China-Africa Project Hope is Kenya, whose education spending amounts to 7% of domestic GDP, reaching the average international standard. So to have a country whose education spending only amounts to 4% do Project Hope for a 7% education-rich country is truly something I cannot understand~~ Are your brains cooked?

【漫步者】:

Garbage! Not a bit of patriotism in her.

咪咪beibei:

Don’t rush to explain, netizens aren’t idiots. If you’re going to launder money, then do so quietly. If you can’t even handle being wronged a bit in order to make money, then why come out at all~~? You need to keep cool in order to launder money~~ Be wary of netizens exposing your dubious past, because the results for the second Meimei isn’t going to be any better than the first~~ Good luck~~

jakjk:

China has innumerable children without schooling watching you, innumerable run-down schools and resource-poor schools watching you. When those children who cannot attend school because of their family’s poverty and are thus forced to enter [working] society early in order to help bear the heavy burdens of their family, when those children in mountainous areas of different grade levels must all crowd into a single run-down classroom to listen to a single teacher teach class, I think they will definitely feel very confused, asking why when we’re this poor and distressed that you would instead run abroad to help foreigners and argue something about love having no national borders here or how the government and the African people are very supportive. I’ll tell you that the entire world’s people all support you and only China’s ordinary common folk do not support you. And you’re even here saying we shouldn’t criticize you. You have no right, not when we toil every month in the offices and factories working only to get so little in wages and still donate our blood and sweat money to the Black Cross Society [corrupt Red Cross]. What are you doing?

未知的姓名:

All of you must have gone crazy from poverty. She can give her own money to whomever she wants. Her father has money, she can spend it however she wants. Her father has worked hard his entire life, yet she doesn’t go online every day cursing everyone. But you guys who go online every day cursing everyone, no wonder you are poor. This is what is known as being jealous and envious.

尹哒子:

You can first stop rushing to respond, don’t you know that netizens currently like to investigate for the facts and truth? The more you reply, the more netizens will investigate, and they will be able to uncover and expose everything about your past/family. Besides, who doesn’t know that you guys are are just using a foreign route to launder money?

full8888:

I simply can’t stand the sight of you, fuck you! Pretentious cunt!! Now she offends all netizens! Now she offends all netizens! Now she offends all netizens! Now she offends all netizens! Now she offends all netizens! Now she offends all netizens! Now she offends all netizens! Now she offends all netizens!

し毁灭了╰:

Actually, the happiest person should be Guo Meimei~ She’s probably secretly laughing/rejoicing [that the spotlight is now off her]!

What do you think? About China-Africa Project Hope? About Lu Xingyu’s response to netizens? Do you think China or Chinese people should donate money to be used in Africa? Or should they use the money in China for the children in China first?

More in-depth information about the “Lu Meimei” scandal (in English):

• Another charity mess brews in China (China Media Project)
• Lu Xingyu answers her critics (China Media Project)
• Eight uncharitable lies by the WECBA (China Media Project)