A frugal millionaire who made his fortune in the garment trade has donated more than 700,000 yuan (US$92,105) since 1993 to assist some 300 poor students.

 

Earlier this year, Le Yongheng, 80, wrote a will leaving his 4 million yuan (US$526,316) worth of shops and apartments to establish a fund for poor students.

 

The Chengdu Federation of Trade Unions, in the capital of Southwest China's Sichuan Province, will administer the fund.

 

Le, a frail, white-haired man, said he was happy to help needy students since attending college could change the lives of the students and their families.

 

Years ago, Le resigned from a State-owned enterprise to sell clothing in the Hehuachi Garment Wholesale Market in Chengdu.

 

At the beginning, the cash-strapped Le purchased relatively inexpensive clothing in Guangzhou, capital of South China's Guangdong Province, to resell in Chengdu.

 

To cut costs, he traveled to Guangzhou on the cheapest hard seat railway ticket, slept in cheap hotels and ate the least expensive food.

 

Thanks to a booming business and thrift, he became a millionaire in the 1990s, owning three shops in the Hehuachi Garment Wholesale Market and two apartments.

 

He said that the three shops are worth more than 3 million yuan (US$394,737).

 

In September 1993, Le read a newspaper story about a high school graduate in Chengdu who had been admitted to a leading university in Beijing but could not afford to go because his father was a laid-off worker and his mother was bed-ridden with disease.

 

"I immediately contacted the city's self-employed workers' association and asked it to give my money to the student and tell him I would support him throughout his studies," Le said.

 

According to Duan Xiaochuan, an official with the Chengdu Federation of Trade Unions, Le has given 50,000 yuan (US$6,579) to the federation each August, one month before freshmen start university. The federation then gives the money to needy students.

 

Two years ago when Sichuan chose its first list of 10 leading philanthropists, Le topped the list.

 

Le, a widower, has one son and three daughters. Only his second oldest daughter, who is unemployed, receives financial support from him. She receives 300 yuan (US$39) a month.

 

"A person must rely on himself to make ends meet rather than rely on parents," Le said.

 

Although few people who have received his financial support have visited him, Le is not disappointed.

 

"I don't need their thanks. I only hope they can be useful to their families and country," he said.

 

Le, who suffers from heart disease, has been rushed to the hospital eight times.

 

Realizing his days are numbered, Le had his will notarized on April 8, stipulating that the Chengdu Federation of Trade Unions set up an education fund in his name after his death.

 

(China Daily July 12, 2007)