OPINION> Commentary
Volunteers hold out hopes for a new society
By Huang Qing (China Daily)
Updated: 2008-06-16 07:35

Serving as volunteers is a global phenomenon that has been around for decades. For instance, many people volunteered to go and save lives on the battleground in the name of justice as early as the two world wars. Dr Norman Bethune, the Canadian surgeon who went to China and is remembered forever by the Chinese people for making the ultimate sacrifice while helping China's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression during World War II. He was one of the outstanding examples of volunteering endeavor.

Much closer to this time, a large number of volunteer teams rushed to the Japanese victims' rescue following the devastating Hanshin earthquake in 1995. The Japanese government later promulgated a law specifically to nurture and regulate volunteer groups.

The United States is another country with a rich tradition of volunteering. After the September 11 incident in 2001 a "civic services" movement was launched across the nation as a form of emergency response to disasters by the whole society.

Behind such selfless acts is the spirit of volunteering, which represents the human pursuit of spiritual greatness and is a key characteristic of man as a social being. To a certain extent, the volunteer's spirit is also a pillar supporting the cohesiveness of society and the continuation of civilization. The need for this spirit becomes more urgent whenever a society is in crisis.

China launched its own young volunteers' movement in the 1990s. The movement carries on the traditional Chinese virtue of unity and compassion, taking pleasure in helping others and fighting for justice as well as in the revolutionary and socialist spirit of sharing the nation's concerns and helping people in need. It also builds on the wonderful achievements of human civilization and has given rise to China's own volunteer spirit characterized by "devotion, compassion, mutual assistance and progress".

Volunteers are making their presence felt strongly again in the rescue and relief efforts following the massive earthquake that struck Wenchuan, Sichuan province last month. In the city of Mianyang nearly 10,000 volunteers have joined the "Red Ribbon" action. And throughout the disaster area 200,000 young volunteers are working feverishly on the frontline with local Communist League offices acting as coordinators.

Many people from the rest of the country and overseas, including foreign citizens and Chinese nationals, have joined the volunteers' work in the quake-hit region. Long queues of people eager to donate blood for the earthquake victims were seen throughout the country day and night. The whole world is witnessing the spiritual sublimation of the Chinese nation in the face of unprecedented challenges as we relive the days when people were more passionate about life without the kind of material comfort we take for granted today. We are seeing again the "spirit of civilian support" for the People's Liberation Army (PLA) as it fought Chiang Kai-shek's US-equipped but dispirited troops during the Liberation War (1946-49). And thousands of volunteers as well as PLA soldiers working in the quake-hit area certainly remind us of Lei Feng, the late farmer-turned-PLA soldier whose name has become synonymous with Chairman Mao's famous motto of "Serve the People".

The emergence of so many volunteers in the country proves China's civil society is maturing. And behind the volunteers and the volunteer movement is the blossoming spirit of giving. The conventional definition of the spirit of volunteering has three key elements: spontaneous, free of material reward and benefiting others. Take a step farther and one will realize it is an individual's promise to the society and a sacred contract: "Don't ask what the nation has done for you but what you have done for the nation".

The spirit of volunteering is a precious expression of civic sentiment, which consists of such fundamental values as the sense of social responsibility, national pride and human compassion. It is beyond the principle of commodity exchange and illustrates the glorious side of human beings. Volunteers are rewarded for their work, but the spiritual satisfaction they earn from sustaining national pride, saving and helping others and solving problems is far more rewarding than anything money can buy.

The nation was deeply moved by a team of volunteers known as "the righteous men from Tangshan" as they risked their own lives to help the people of Chenzhou, Hunan province, battle the rare snowstorm early this year. Now, in the ruins left by the devastating Wenchuan earthquake an army of volunteers are showing the whole world their fearlessness and their calm in the face of danger and other challenges. And during the upcoming Beijing Olympic Games China's volunteers will once again bring out the magnificent spirit of the Chinese people for the world to marvel at.

The young volunteers have been doing a particularly impressive job since the movement kicked off in China. A short poem bears perfect testimony to their outstanding work: When responsibility whispers "You should", the youth replies "I can". And today's Chinese youths have voiced "I can" loud and clear.

The spirit of volunteering is indispensable in today's world, because it is a spiritual yarn in the fabric of the lives and activities of all human beings and represents a proactive attitude toward life. In addition to helping shape a collective personality for the society it is also a source of warmth, compassion, confidence and pride that all human beings need.

The spirit of volunteering is thriving in China today exactly because the nation needs it and shows the Chinese people are becoming more proactive everyday. The spirit of volunteering needs sustained popularization and development so that it can prevail in every aspect of life rather than just in times of crisis.

This is an enormous social engineering project that requires as much innovative thinking, careful arrangement and effective organization as possible to achieve better social results.

There are two notable developments going on in China today: one is that the respect for and protection of civic rights are advancing with the times; the other is that the citizens' sense of social responsibility and willingness to give to society have not only taken root but are also maturing. The two developments are interacting with each other in a constructive and mutually complementary manner, which will no doubt contribute to the emergence of a more harmonious and more vibrant social environment.

The author is a council member of the China Foundation of International Studies

(China Daily 06/16/2008 page4)