Chinese keen on Ice bucket Challenge for charity
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E-mail China.org.cn, August 21, 2014
Pouring a bucket of freezing water on one's head has become the social media trend du jour across much of the U.S. and now, Chinese celebrities want in.
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Pan Shiyi, President of SOHO China and his wife Zhang Xin join the Ice Bucket Challenge to raise funds for ALS research. Celebrities taking on the challenge include Bill Gates, Tim Cook, Mark Zuckerberg, as well as Justin Timberlake, Jimmy Fallon, and Robert Downey Jr. |
Part of a charity campaign to fight Lou Gehrig's disease, the ALS Ice Bucket challenge, which began three weeks ago, has seen high-profile figures from former U.S. president George Bush to Apple CEO Tim Cook douse themselves for the cause.
Wanting to get in on the frosty fight, Chinese celebrities have passed the torch, or bucket, with more than 910 million discussion posts on Sina Weibo issuing the ice bucket challenge since Sunday.
"The campaign has raised an unexpected effect," said Bei Xiaochao, director of the social responsibility department of Sina Weibo who helped bring the challenge to China.
Lou Gehrig's disease, also known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis(ALS), attacks the nervous system and gradually leaves the patients paralyzed.
"It's a fantastic way to publicize the rare disease. Very meaningful!" said Gu Yongqiang, chairman and CEO of Youku.com. and Tudou.com, the country's top two video websites.
Gu responded to the challenge, pouring two pots of ice water over his head during the Tudou Video Festival in Shanghai on Sunday, when the headline of the day on Youku was Bill Gates' ice bath. He later challenged chairman of Alibaba Group Ma Yun.
Explosive actions
The "Ice bucket Challenge", which began spreading on Facebook in the U.S., went global as scores of prominent figures such as Bill Gates, Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber and Mark Zuckerberg jumped on the charity bandwagon.
Thousands of people worldwide have since recorded the challenge and posted videos online with Australia and New Zealand becoming the second and third most popular countries respectively to join in.
After pouring the ice water, participants then challenge others within their social media network to do the same or avoid doing so by pledging to donate 100 U.S. dollars to the ALS Association. Many have done both.
"We noticed and analyzed the phenomenon, trying to make it more practical for Chinese audiences," said Bei.
He did so by bringing the challenge to Sina Weibo and Wechat.
On Sunday evening, the Sina Weibo and China-Dolls Center for Rare Disorders(CCRD) and Support Association jointly introduced the basic tenets of China's "Ice Bucket Challenge".
"Prepare a bucket of ice water. Speak out of your name and three others whom your are challenging to the camera. Please donate 100 yuan (about 16 U.S. dollars) to CCRD if you cannot fulfill it," the initial proposal read
It instantly caught the attention of a few high-profile internet personalities and began spreading.
"I accepted the challenge from a professor in Taiwan without hesitation. It's a good deed to gain public attentions and donations on the ALS,"said Ji Shisan, founder of science club Scientific Squirrel and popular science website Guokr.com.
He fulfilled the request on Monday, posting the video online. He then challenged three others, including Wang Sicong who is the son of Real estate tycoon Wang Jianlin, China's richest man on 2013 Hurun Rich List.
Wang responded quickly by pouring a bucket of water on his head and promised to donate on his Sina Weibo account.
As of Wednesday, donations from China had reached more than 1.4 million yuan, including one million from Wang, according to the CCRD.
As with many things, the global challenge took on Chinese characteristics when breaching the country's social sphere. Many Chinese celebrities seek prior approval before challenging friends.
"It is not only because of the country's face-saving culture, but also to avoid morally hijacking those challenged," said Ji. He says spoke with all his friends before challenging them online.
Attention on ALS called
The challenge has spread from prominent entrepreneurs, web celebrities and stars to public figures in various fields within three days.
Social media users are now guessing who will be challenged next and some celebrities are preparing for their name to be called. More importantly, it carries universal values, giving people a positive energy, said Bei.
Meanwhile, more cynical web-users were doubtful of the effect raising concerns for ALS will have for patients.
"It's an exciting promotion for public awareness of ALS and other rare diseases. It makes it a social topic with wide participation," said Wang Yi'ou, founder and director of the CCRD, before quickly adding:
"Are you really concerned about the group of victims with rare diseases when you pour ice water over your head? That is the original goal for the charity campaign," she said. She said she expected the campaign to raise lasting concern for ALS, but expected excitement over the ALS Ice bucket challenge to be short-lived. Enditem (Wang Zichen and Dai Ying contributed to the sto
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