Online begging: The new stupid tax

Recently the website of a Chinese "beggar" caught our eye. Titled “Give me one RMB to make me rich”, this site was launched November 8 by an internet user whose real name is Liu Feng.

Donations are separated into three categories: minimum donation for RMB 0.50, standard donation for RMB 1 and generous donation for RMB 10. Donors can donate the money through Zhifu Bao (website in Chinese), an e-business platform, and their names will be listed here in the blog affiliated to the website. (Think of the donor list as a kind of "Hall of Stupidity".) So far the website has collected RMB 205 and the counter has reached around 67,500. After the website launched, Zhang soon had to face a lot of queries from those whop thought he was just another internet crook. They asked for his reasons for starting the site, and he provided a list of answers:

1.没有原因。
2.我们不想说：身残志坚、吃不上饭、没有学费、老家发大水。
3.以现在中国社会的信用体系，第2点中的理由，都很难有足够的证明让人信任。
4.承接第3点，所以我们没有理由。至少在我们的逻辑里，我们没有说理由，也就谈不上欺骗。我们甚至不需要各位以同情的心情来到这里，完全不需要。
5.对于已经施舍给我们的各位施主，如果觉得自己是被骗的，随时跟我们联系，退钱给你当然不会有问题。对于没有施舍的人，我们骗你什么了？

1. No reason.
2. We don’t want to say things like: we are disabled/we can’t afford food/we can’t afford school/natural disaster in my hometown.
3. Based on China's credit system, I know it’s difficult to make anyone realize this isn't fraud.
4. Regarding point No. 3, that’s why we don’t need a reason to put up an online begging site. We are not cheating anyone. We don’t even need your sympathy.
5. If anyone feels deceived by giving us money, please contact us as soon as possible. It’s no problem for us to return the money. As for those who didn’t give us anything, please ask yourself how we cheated you before questioning us.

In this recent report from Sohu (news in Chinese), we learned Liu Feng doesn't lack money at all, as he is actually founder of an IT company in Beijing, but he refused to disclose any details of his company. He said he started the site just for "fun" and claims he won’t use one cent of the money he collected through the website and will donate it out "if" someone needs it. (Hmmm, poor people in China? We wonder if Mr. Liu will be able to find any.)