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Savior or showman, saint or sinner?

By Raymond Zhou (China Daily) Updated: 2014-06-28 06:51

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A Chinese businessman's radical approach to charity in the US has raised some eyebrows. Although his method is deeply rooted in tradition, it has now evolved, leaving him looking more like a showman than a philanthropist.

Chen Guangbiao is at it again.

The some-say eccentric renewable energy and recycling billionaire, and now self-styled, high-profile philanthropist, is certainly a master showman.

Well, perhaps master is not exactly the right word.

If it is his goal to make most of his compatriots think he is a joker, as many netizens are calling him, then he is being successful.

In his latest move, Chen invited 1,000 homeless people to a free lunch in Central Park, New York, after which he planned to give each $300 in cash, and then he hoped to perform We Are the World - the charity single penned by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie for USA for Africa.

Several times that number are reported to have signed up, some of whom begged him to bring them to China instead.

This is not the first time Chen has made headlines by doing something unusual.