????去年,，沃倫?巴菲特和比爾?蓋茨造訪北京，他們本以為此行絕對(duì)不會(huì)引發(fā)爭(zhēng)議,。兩人和一群富有而成功的中國(guó)商界人士共進(jìn)私人晚宴,，探討了一個(gè)看似安全無(wú)害的話題：慈善。中國(guó)博客界聞風(fēng)而動(dòng),，議論紛紛,。彼得?巴菲特承認(rèn)，“并非所有的評(píng)價(jià)都是正面的,?！薄?/p>

????這樣說(shuō)還算是客氣的,。富人向慈善事業(yè)捐款這一話題在美國(guó)或許不會(huì)產(chǎn)生爭(zhēng)議,，但在中國(guó)卻不是這么回事。事實(shí)上,，巴菲特說(shuō),，每次他到中國(guó)表演，與學(xué)生和青年才俊對(duì)話時(shí),，“富二代這個(gè)話題總是會(huì)冒出來(lái),。他們對(duì)這個(gè)問(wèn)題樂(lè)此不疲?！?/p>

????慈善在中國(guó)引發(fā)公眾不滿原因有二,。其一是在中國(guó)，有相當(dāng)一部分富人認(rèn)為,，散財(cái)有違于中國(guó)式價(jià)值觀——中國(guó)式價(jià)值觀將家庭置于首位,。因此，有些中國(guó)人(誤)聽(tīng)說(shuō)巴菲特和蓋茨來(lái)中國(guó)是為了勸說(shuō)中國(guó)富人們把錢(qián)捐給慈善事業(yè),，因此感到不舒服,。很多中國(guó)的年輕人聽(tīng)說(shuō)巴菲特要把大部分個(gè)人財(cái)富捐給蓋茨基金會(huì)(Gates Foundation)時(shí)都感到非常震驚,。

????中國(guó)富裕階層一向不熱衷于慈善捐款，今年尤其如此,，這背后的第二個(gè)原因就不那么明顯了：中國(guó)的慈善基金會(huì)總是難逃腐敗之嫌,，有時(shí)甚至更糟。中國(guó)的慈善錢(qián)款管理費(fèi)往往高達(dá)捐款總額的10%,，而西方僅為3%左右,。今年早些時(shí)候，微博認(rèn)證身份為“中國(guó)紅十字會(huì)（the Red Cross in China）商業(yè)總經(jīng)理”的一位年輕女子發(fā)布的照片在網(wǎng)上炸開(kāi)了鍋,。為什么,？因?yàn)檎掌@示，她開(kāi)著豪車,，挎著愛(ài)馬仕的手包,。

????紅十字會(huì)堅(jiān)稱照片中的女子事實(shí)上并非中國(guó)紅十字會(huì)工作人員。(紅十字會(huì)含糊其辭,，聲稱這名女子是其為“商業(yè)合作伙伴”的女友,。)這套說(shuō)辭并未奏效。2011年中國(guó)紅十字會(huì)收到的捐款額銳減,，而且據(jù)一些中國(guó)媒體報(bào)道,，整個(gè)慈善行業(yè)收到的捐款也顯著放緩。

????這一事件直指中國(guó)慈善行業(yè)的信用缺失問(wèn)題,。中國(guó)幾位著名商界人士和慈善家目前公開(kāi)表態(tài),，堅(jiān)持要求接受了他們捐款的國(guó)內(nèi)慈善基金會(huì)必須提高透明度，降低成本,，其中以擁有中國(guó)最大的玻璃制造企業(yè)之一的曹德旺為首,。“這跟西方還是中國(guó)的價(jià)值觀無(wú)關(guān),，”曹德旺說(shuō),，“在中國(guó)發(fā)展慈善是一個(gè)信用問(wèn)題?！?/p>

????Last year Warren Buffett and Bill Gates visited Beijing for what they thought would be the least controversial of reasons. They had arranged to have a private dinner with a group of rich, successful Chinese businessmen, and to talk with them about a subject that seems innocuous: philanthropy. The Chinese blogosphere caught wind of the dinner and erupted in chatter. "And not all of it," acknowledges Peter Buffett, "was positive."

????That's putting it mildly. The subject of rich folks giving away their money to charity might be uncontroversial in the U.S., but in China it's not. In fact, Peter says, when he comes to China to perform and speak to groups of students and young professionals, "the subject of second-generation wealth always comes up. They always want to talk about it."

????There are two reasons philanthropy gets people riled up in China. First, a fair number of rich folks there believe giving it away is antithetical to Chinese values -- which stress family above all. It's why some Chinese were upset when they heard (mistakenly) that Buffett and Gates were coming to tell rich Chinese how to give away their wealth. Many young Chinese were stunned when Buffett said he was giving most of his wealth to the Gates Foundation.

????But the second reason wealthy Chinese haven't been racing to donate more of their money, particularly this year, is less obvious: Charitable foundations in China are dogged by the whiff -- and sometimes more than that -- of corruption. Management fees for charities in China are often up to 10% of donations collected, compared with around 3% in the West. Earlier this year, the mere photograph on the web of a young woman identified as a manager of the Red Cross in China sent the blogosphere into a frenzy. The reason? The photo showed her driving a fancy car and carrying a Hermès purse.

????The agency insisted that the woman in question did not, in fact, work for the Red Cross in China. (She was the girlfriend of what the agency murkily called a "business partner.") The denials didn't matter. Donations to RCIC in the first half of 2011 plummeted and, according to some Chinese press reports, slowed considerably to the charitable sector as a whole.

????That pointed to the lack of trust that exists in the charitable sector in China. Several prominent Chinese businessmen and philanthropists -- led by Cao Dewang, owner of one of the largest glassmaking companies in China -- have now publicly insisted that the domestic charities they donate to have to become more transparent and costeffective. "This doesn't have anything to do with values, Western or Chinese," Cao has said. "To increase charity now in China is a matter of trust."