Past project
It seems hard to believe now, but back in 2000 few Mainland Chinese had any money and raising money in China for charity was, as the Chinese idiom 铁公鸡 … 一毛不拔 goes, like plucking feathers from an iron rooster. No one in their right mind would give money away to help strangers. Likewise, leisure sport had not taken off yet, and the motivation for joining a sport competition was to win a cash prize.
When Christian and Sun Haibin approached Mainland Chinese individuals and corporates for donations to their charity goal of raising money to send Mainland Chinese students to study at UWC Atlantic in Wales it was very much up hill. When the Chinese learned that Christian was paying out of his pocket to enter a race with no cash prize, yet still wanted to raise money for others, it all seemed too far-fetched. Even if someone had believed them, then he/she/the corporate might not have had any money to donate. So Christian and Sun Haibin never got even one feather from the Mainland iron rooster. However, Hong Kong was a different kettle of fish, and here donations were overwhelming, both from corporates and individuals.
The fundraising took place before on-line donations became mainstream, so to ensure everything happened at arms-length, the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club acted as custodian of all money received, which it then subsequently wired directly to UWC Atlantic.
Likewise, UWC Atlantic was solely responsible for finding and selecting the two Mainland Chinese students, Zhou Jin and Wang Hui, who the adventure ended up sponsoring.
Zhou Jin started at UWC Atlantic in 2001 where he performed exceptionally well and was awarded a scholarship to study Economics at Harvard starting in the fall of 2003. The summer before going to Harvard he organised for a group of 30 UWC Atlantic graduates to teach English in Sichuan Province, China, and through this activity raised money for educating Chinese orphans.
In 2002 Wang Hui started at UWC Atlantic. He was also academically very gifted and contributed significantly to the community service and college life. He has even put on a play for the British Education Minister! Wang Hui also went to Harvard on scholarship to study Biochemistry. It is no doubt that the UWC Atlantic experience had a great impact on the two.
“Though it might not always feel good to be thousands of miles away from home, still I consider it worth it. I have learned things here that I have never learnt before and experienced another way of life, which will be unforgettable in my lifetime”
“I now have friends from more than 60 countries all over the world. For my whole life, I will always remember and appreciate everything in UWC Atlantic, a place to make a difference, both to myself and to the outside world.”
Latest about Wang Hui and Zhou Jin
Sadly Wang Hui was killed in a traffic accident in 2006 whilst at Harvard.
Zhou Jin graduated from Harvard with flying colours and after a stint of corporate life in the US, he is now married and back working in his home town Guangzhou, China.
He works for a Chinese Investment company and focuses on overseas investments, thereby making good use of his international experience and global network.
Within 20 short years China and the Chinese have gone from having no money to buying up companies all over the world. What a transformation!
It seems hard to believe now, but back in 2000 few Mainland Chinese had any money and raising money in China for charity was, as the Chinese idiom 铁公鸡 … 一毛不拔 goes, like plucking feathers from an iron rooster. No one in their right mind would give money away to help strangers. Likewise, leisure sport had not taken off yet, and the motivation for joining a sport competition was to win a cash prize.
When Christian and Sun Haibin approached Mainland Chinese individuals and corporates for donations to their charity goal of raising money to send Mainland Chinese students to study at UWC Atlantic in Wales it was very much up hill. When the Chinese learned that Christian was paying out of his pocket to enter a race with no cash prize, yet still wanted to raise money for others, it all seemed too far-fetched. Even if someone had believed them, then he/she/the corporate might not have had any money to donate. So Christian and Sun Haibin never got even one feather from the Mainland iron rooster. However, Hong Kong was a different kettle of fish, and here donations were overwhelming, both from corporates and individuals.
The fundraising took place before on-line donations became mainstream, so to ensure everything happened at arms-length, the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club acted as custodian of all money received, which it then subsequently wired directly to UWC Atlantic.
Likewise, UWC Atlantic was solely responsible for finding and selecting the two Mainland Chinese students, Zhou Jin and Wang Hui, who the adventure ended up sponsoring.
Zhou Jin started at UWC Atlantic in 2001 where he performed exceptionally well and was awarded a scholarship to study Economics at Harvard starting in the fall of 2003. The summer before going to Harvard he organised for a group of 30 UWC Atlantic graduates to teach English in Sichuan Province, China, and through this activity raised money for educating Chinese orphans.
In 2002 Wang Hui started at UWC Atlantic. He was also academically very gifted and contributed significantly to the community service and college life. He has even put on a play for the British Education Minister! Wang Hui also went to Harvard on scholarship to study Biochemistry. It is no doubt that the UWC Atlantic experience had a great impact on the two.
“I now have friends from more than 60 countries all over the world. For my whole life, I will always remember and appreciate everything in UWC Atlantic, a place to make a difference, both to myself and to the outside world.”
“Though it might not always feel good to be thousands of miles away from home, still I consider it worth it. I have learned things here that I have never learnt before and experienced another way of life, which will be unforgettable in my lifetime”
Latest about Wang Hui and Zhou Jin
Sadly Wang Hui was killed in a traffic accident in 2006 whilst at Harvard.
Zhou Jin graduated from Harvard with flying colours and after a stint of corporate life in the US, he is now married and back working in his home town Guangzhou, China.
He works for a Chinese Investment company and focuses on overseas investments, thereby making good use of his international experience and global network.
Within 20 short years China and the Chinese have gone from having no money to buying up companies all over the world. What a transformation!
It seems hard to believe now, but back in 2000 few Mainland Chinese had any money and raising money in China for charity was, as the Chinese idiom 铁公鸡 … 一毛不拔 goes, like plucking feathers from an iron rooster. No one in their right mind would give money away to help strangers. Likewise, leisure sport had not taken off yet, and the motivation for joining a sport competition was to win a cash prize.
When Christian and Sun Haibin approached Mainland Chinese individuals and corporates for donations to their charity goal of raising money to send Mainland Chinese students to study at UWC Atlantic in Wales it was very much up hill. When the Chinese learned that Christian was paying out of his pocket to enter a race with no cash prize, yet still wanted to raise money for others, it all seemed too far-fetched. Even if someone had believed them, then he/she/the corporate might not have had any money to donate. So Christian and Sun Haibin never got even one feather from the Mainland iron rooster. However, Hong Kong was a different kettle of fish, and here donations were overwhelming, both from corporates and individuals.
The fundraising took place before on-line donations became mainstream, so to ensure everything happened at arms-length, the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club acted as custodian of all money received, which it then subsequently wired directly to UWC Atlantic.
Likewise, UWC Atlantic was solely responsible for finding and selecting the two Mainland Chinese students, Zhou Jin and Wang Hui, who the adventure ended up sponsoring.
Zhou Jin started at UWC Atlantic in 2001 where he performed exceptionally well and was awarded a scholarship to study Economics at Harvard starting in the fall of 2003. The summer before going to Harvard he organised for a group of 30 UWC Atlantic graduates to teach English in Sichuan Province, China, and through this activity raised money for educating Chinese orphans.
In 2002 Wang Hui started at UWC Atlantic. He was also academically very gifted and contributed significantly to the community service and college life. He has even put on a play for the British Education Minister! Wang Hui also went to Harvard on scholarship to study Biochemistry. It is no doubt that the UWC Atlantic experience had a great impact on the two.
I now have friends from more than 60 countries all over the world. For my whole life, I will always remember and appreciate everything in UWC Atlantic, a place to make a difference, both to myself and to the outside world.
Though it might not always feel good to be thousands of miles away from home, still I consider it worth it. I have learned things here that I have never learnt before and experienced another way of life, which will be unforgettable in my lifetime
Latest about Wang Hui and Zhou Jin
Sadly Wang Hui was killed in a traffic accident in 2006 whilst at Harvard.
Zhou Jin graduated from Harvard with flying colours and after a stint of corporate life in the US, he is now married and back working in his home town Guangzhou, China.
He works for a Chinese Investment company and focuses on overseas investments, thereby making good use of his international experience and global network.
Within 20 short years China and the Chinese have gone from having no money to buying up companies all over the world. What a transformation!