Just as with his first appointment two years ago, his reappointment also raised huge controversy. The common feeling is that, as a well-known comedy actor, he is only making a show of being a political official. In addition, does the man who is always making people laugh with his humour, have the ability to do the job?

Anyway, Niu was reappointed on December 29, 2002 in the local people' congress election with a vote of 223 in support and seven against. "I also gave myself a 'Yes' vote," he laughed.

The link-up

Niu Qun, famous for his comic dialogue, is known as Niu Ge (brother cattle), as Niu in Chinese means cattle. Mengcheng, a centre for cattle raising, is still a poverty-stricken place, referred to as the Siberia of Anhui Province.

Cattle make the connection. So when a county official asked if Niu Qun could help them promote the county's economy by exploiting Niu's reputation, he agreed. His major task is to fill the pockets of local people.

But there was also criticism, because according to the law county leaders should not be appointed, but elected. The answer from the county was that Niu is a "name brand chief" due to his fame, rather than an administrative official.

"I found local people were both happy and doubtful when they saw me. They liked my performances but were not sure whether I could make them rich," he said.

The effect of celebrity is so obvious. When an international seed company heard about Niu Qun's appointment via the Internet, the company immediately decided to donate grass for the cattle in the county.

"When most people still didn't have the opportunity to taste Western food, our cattle took the lead in sampling it," Niu joked.

To collect more money for the county, which was unknown by most people, Niu flew around the country to promote its business. During the past two years, his trips have covered all the provinces except Tibet and Qinghai.

During the past two years, the county has attracted investment of several hundred million yuan. The figure may be tiny to a big city such as Shanghai, but to Mengcheng, it is undoubtedly a huge economic earthquake.

"I can't say whether it is due to me, I stand on the stage because of my reputation, actually my colleagues do most of the work," he said.

One thing pleasing Niu was that now people's expressions were full of trust.

Unusual frugality

When discussing business in other provinces, Niu never uses his mobile phone unless it is urgent. "It is too expensive if I use the phone for long distance calls, with the additional service fee," he said.

"The county pays for my business trip. How can I waste the money of a not-so-rich county?" So he uses short messages to communicate with others because it costs only 10 fen a time.

When he arrived in Shanghai to promote agricultural products this time, he stayed in a five-star hotel, because it was freely provided by his friend. "I would choose a very cheap one if I had to pay," he said. "I know it is very difficult for the county to raise money."

With more and more stories about corruption being released all the time, Niu's high profile can seem hard to believe. Some have commented that Niu's position is all show.

But if it is only a show, it is certainly a big one. Niu donated all his tangible and intangible capital to charity. He made five notarizations: donating his personal capital from his school, donating the development rights, benefit rights and ownership of the registered trademark of his profile, donating his income from performances and advertising, separating his personal capital from his home and donating it and finally donating his body to a nearby hospital - after death.

Niu said he only kept the salary from his employer - the Beijing Xiandai Publishing House - for his daily life. "My goal for the rest of my life is to build a school for disabled children," he said. "I must donate all the money, or I will feel uneasy while engaged in charitable activities. After donating everything, I think I can be braver about telling the truth."

The discovery

Going to Mengcheng County is a big changeover in Niu's life, according to him. The change originated from a visit to a local school early in 2001. Niu Qun, who lives in Beijing, was astonished to see children studying in almost collapsed classrooms. What is more, they were the lucky ones, because some other children don't even have that opportunity to study, due to shortage of money.

"I felt so upset and sorry for them, it was hard to imagine all this before, when I was living as a famous actor or photographer in Beijing," he said.

So Niu Qun accepted a post as president of the school. Later he found another larger place for the school. The school transformed itself into a private one, with Niu as its ceremonial figurehead.

"I am thinking about how to collect money for the school all day long, all the teachers wait for me to pay their salary and all the children wait for learning," he said.

Niu Qun is busy promoting his Wuziniu Bottled Water produced by a factory invested by the school. But 50 per cent of the profits will be donated to charity to support all disabled children.

His plan is to build a special school for disabled children from all over the world. "I will not relax until all children can study without difficulties," he said.

(Shanghai Star January 15, 2003)