‘Let nature take its course’: secret China donor gives US$2.3 million over 25 years to fund education, help destitute families

Remittance documents have been sent to the charity every year – always in November or early December – routinely from a non-existent return address in the accompanying letter, according to the report.

Many separate remittance certificates were used for each large donation in order to maintain the donor’s anonymity. Mainland banking rules stipulate that anyone who remits 10,000 yuan (US$1,400) or more must provide a real name.

The donor first sent 50,000 yuan to the charity at the end of 1999 and increased the annual donations to hundreds of thousands of yuan as time went on.

Over the past decade, about one million yuan has been donated each year.

According to the charity, the donor’s identity could potentially be traced by using clues in the letters, but they have not done so to respect the person’s wish for anonymity.

“He sent us a letter. I remember he said in it, ‘I will not do bad things and will also not speak about the good things I did. Just let nature take its course’,” Gao Peng, secretary-general of the Ningbo charity, was quoted as saying.

“So we respected his wish and did not try to find him. We also followed his request of using his donations for education.”

The charity said the donations had been used to help build school facilities and financially aid poor students in Zhejiang and further afield.

The mystery donor has become an online sensation, with many people moved by the kindness and persistence shown in giving to the charity.

“It’s really difficult to donate for 25 years! I wish shun qi zi ran can go smoothly in everything and live to a ripe old age,” one person said.

“This world does have good-hearted people,” said another.

Stories about anonymous donations often trend in China.

In October, a woman representing her older brother, whose alias is “old friend”, donated 155,000 yuan to a charity in central Hubei province.

The man has donated 875,000 yuan (US$122,000) in total over the past six years and requires his donations to be used to help senior citizens in need.