On September 13, the 10th "China Charity Award" commendation conference was hosted by the Ministry of Civil Affairs in Great Hall of the People, Beijing. Hui Ka Yan, Board Chairman and Party Secretary of Evergrande Group, received the highest state honor in charity.

As a winner of "China Charity Award" for eight years running, Hui Ka Yan delivered a speech as the representative at the conference. In his speech, Hui Ka Yan looked back his past poverty and growth stories, and expressed his gratitude towards the Party, the state, and the whole society. "But for the resumption of university entrance examination, I would have stayed in countryside; but for the RMB 14 each month of student subsidies offered by the state, it would be impossible for me to graduate from college; but for the policy of reform and opening up, it would be impossible for Evergrande Group to achieve what it has achieved. So all I have and all that Evergrande Group has achieved were endowed by the Party, the state, and the whole society. That is why we have to give back to society, shoulder more social responsibility, and help others in need. ”

Hui Ka Yan delivers a speech as the representative at the commendation conference

It is learned that over the 22 years since Evergrande Group was founded, it has paid taxes more than RMB 185 billion, donated over RMB 10 billion, and offered jobs to more than 2.6 million people. Since December 2015, Evergrande Group has provided partner assistance to Bijie City, Guizhou Province. The company has sent a poverty relief team of 2,108 people to station in Wumeng Mountain and invested RMB 11 billion. The objective is to lift 1.03 million poor people of the county out of poverty by 2020.

According to data, Hui Ka Yan has become a philanthropist with the highest amount of cash donation and the largest number of "China Charity Award". He has been rated as a top Chinese charitarian by Forbes for many years.

Scene of the 10th "China Charity Award" commendation conference

His speech is as follows:

Honorable leaders and philanthropists,

Good afternoon. It is a great honor for me to receive the "China Charity Award" and give a speech as a representative. "China Charity Award" is the highest state award to commend philanthropic acts and promote charity culture. The honor is a great praise for us, and it encourages everyone to pass on the positive energy of charity.

I myself have a deep understanding of poverty. I was born in a poor area in east Henan Province. When I was one year and three month, my mother died of disease since we had no money to seek medical treatment. As a result, I became a half-orphan. Since young, I was feed with sweet potato and flour of sweet potato. All my bedding and clothes were covered with patches. In my primary school years, our classrooms were several thatched cottages that could barely keep out wind and rain. Our desks were made of clay. Whenever it rained, the rainwater would leak in. In my middle school years, I studied in a school far away from home. Each week, I would carry a basket of steamed corn breads and a bottle of salt to the school. For each meal in a day, I ate one sweet potato and one steamed corn bread, and drank a bowl of salt water. In summer, the steamed corn breads would go mouldy after half a day. I would wash them and eat as usual. After graduating from high school, I wanted to work as a worker moving bricks, a job offering RMB 10 each month. Yet, I failed.Back then, I was anxious to be helped by others, and was eager to land a job, leave countrywide forever and eat wheat flour. That was when the state resumed university entrance examination, and I was admitted by a college. Since I had no money for study and living, I received RMB 14 each month from the state as student subsidies. Then I finished college study. After graduation, I had worked in an SOE for 10 years and private enterprise for five years. Evergrande Group was founded in 1996, thanks to the policy of reform and opening up. From a company with 7-8 people, Evergrande Group has grown into a Fortune Global 500 enterprise with 140 thousand employees.

But for the resumption of university entrance examination, I would have stayed in countryside; but for the RMB 14 each month of student subsidies offered by the state, it would be impossible for me to graduate from college; but for the policy of reform and opening up, it would be impossible for Evergrande Group to achieve what it has achieved. So all I have and all that Evergrande Group has achieved were endowed by the Party, the state, and the whole society. That is why we have to give back to society, shoulder more social responsibility, and help others in need.

Currently, poverty alleviation is a national priority. Like all other enterprises in the country, Evergrande Group is making active efforts in poverty alleviation. In December 2015, Evergrande Group provided partner assistance to Bijie City, Guizhou Province. We selected 2,108 people to form a poverty relief team, which has stationed in Wumeng Mountain for years. We have donated RMB 11 billion, built 50 new villages and 12 migrant communities, and helped 52 thousand poor households move out of mountain areas and 221.8 thousand people out of mountains. We have built more than 60 thousand vegetable greenhouses, more than 900 thousand mu of medical herbs, economic fruit forest, and vegetable, melon and fruit bases for poor people in seven counties and three districts of Bijie City. We have built 447 beef cattle breeding bases and improved more than 600 thousand cows. We have introduced 79 leading enterprises of upstream and downstream to many industries, offered jobs to more than 80 thousand local people. We have built the largest vegetable, melon and fruit bases and beef cattle breeding bases in southwestern China. We will help governments of Bijie City at all levels and work to lift 1.03 million poor people out of poverty by 2020 under the strong leadership of Party committees at all levels in Bijie City.

Over the 22 years since Evergrande Group was founded, it has grown from strength to strength and has paid taxes more than RMB 185 billion, donated over RMB 10 billion, and offered jobs to more than 2.6 million people each year. Over these years, I have always believed that a private enterprise should ensure compliance and be down-to-earth in growing itself in both size and strength. That is how it creates more wealth for the society, pays more taxes to the country, and offers more jobs to the people. This, I believe, is the best way we pay back to society.

Charity has always been a fine tradition of Chinese nation, and eliminating poverty and achieving common prosperity are the common responsibility of the whole society. We will continue to work with other charitable enterprises and people to push for the progress of charity program, and contribute our due share to the effort of building a moderately prosperous society.

Thank you.