In celebration of the birth of their daughter, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Dr. Priscilla Chan announced a plan to donate 99 percent of their Facebook shares – currently worth around US$45 billion – to a new foundation called the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. According to the couple’s open letter, the foundation’s purpose is:
[…] to join people across the world to advance human potential and promote equality for all children in the next generation. Our initial areas of focus will be personalized learning, curing disease, connecting people and building strong communities.
It’s a noble goal, to be certain, and it comes in what many have called a heartfelt and beautifully-written letter. On China’s web, the prevailing sentiment seems to be that he’s a generous man and a caring father. But philanthropy is always a hot topic on China’s web, and there are several other strong undercurrents in the comments on Zuckerberg’s move, too:
It’s a PR move: Some net users have expressed cynicism about Zuckerberg’s intentions, though they admit that his action is still quite noble. “Is this letter really written for his daughter, or is it written for the rest of us?” wrote a Shenzhen-based commenter on Sina Tech. “Really it’s just a way of getting into the history books.”
It’s a selfish tax dodge: Others were even more blunt in their cynicism. “He’s just doing this as a legal method of tax evasion,” wrote a Fujian-based commenter. “The money is basically all going to his foundation.”
“It’s so easy to write something like this,” wrote a Beijing commenter. “You avoid taxes and give everyone something to look at.”
For what it’s worth, the tax implications of Zuckerberg’s move aren’t clear, but he may not be giving himself much of a tax break. The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative is a for-profit LLC rather than a non-profit organization, and typically only non-profits can recieve tax-deductible charitable donations.
It says something about China: Perhaps the strongest undercurrent in the comments is cynicism not about Zuckerberg, but about China’s wealthy elites and politicians. “This is the difference between the West’s elite and China’s elite,” wrote a Sina Tech commenter, “I’m laughing and crying.”
“If China’s elites could reach Zuckerberg’s level of consciousness, then China’s current social problems could at least be improved upon a bit,” wrote a Zhejiang-based commenter.
Some see Zuckerberg’s donation as an example China’s political figures should follow, too. “That’s the right sort of energy! So who’s going to recruit Zuckerberg as a [Chinese Communist] Party member?” joked a Guangdong-based commenter. “This is what a Party member should be,” wrote another.
What do you think of Chan and Zuckerberg’s announcement?
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