Wealthy Chinese do not have a good reputation, a survey by China Youth Daily and Sina.com has found.
 
Wealthy Chinese do not have a good reputation, a survey by China Youth Daily and Sina.com has found.

The poll, conducted last week, showed about 70 percent of 3,990 interviewees believe the well-off are immoral¹ and not worthy² of respect. Only 4 percent thought rich people are good, the survey said.

For the rich to become popular they need to do three things, the survey suggested.

First, they need to have a sense of social responsibility. Second, they need to be self disciplined, and third, they need to have a caring heart.

The number of people who make at least $50,000 a year increases by 15 percent a year and, according to the China Economic Times, the country now has 1.5 million rich people.

The China Youth Daily and Sina.com survey found interviewees questioned how the rich became rich in the first place.

"Some rich people are thought to have accumulated their wealth through illegal means, such as bribery," said a post-graduate student at the Communication University of China.

Even so, the survey found wealthy people who abide³ by the law, have a sense of social responsibility and a caring heart, are respected.

The poll showed about 60 percent thought these kinds of wealthy people were worthy of respect.

The survey suggested many voters were much better disposed toward rich people from Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan and Western economies - rather than the mainland.

Hong Kong property tycoon⁴ Li Ka-shing was most highly regarded, followed by Bill Gates, mainland property tycoon Wang Shi and basketball player Yao Ming.

"Rich people on the mainland invest too little in charity and gain too much," a student from Beijing Sports University said.

Yu Guoming, a professor at Renmin University of China, called on the heads of Chinese companies to think and invest in a long-term way. "Corporate⁵ social responsibility is not only about charity, it also connects the company with the government and the public."

 中国青年报和新浪网联合开展的一项调查发现，中国富人的社会形象较差。

该项于上周开展的民意调查显示，在3990名受访者中，有70%的人认为富人道德低下，不值得尊重。仅有4%的人对富人持正面印象。

调查表明，中国富人身上最缺乏的三大品质是社会责任感、自律精神和爱心。

据《中国经济时报》统计数据，我国年收入至少5万美元的富裕人口数量以每年15%的速度增长，目前已达150万人。

该调查发现，受访者对富人的发家方式最为质疑。

中国传媒大学的一名研究生说：“有些富人是通过受贿等不法手段来积聚财富的。”

即便如此，调查发现，一些合法致富、有社会责任感及有爱心的富豪还是深受人们尊敬的。

调查显示，约60%的人认为具备这些品质的富人值得尊敬。

在投票调查中，港、澳、台地区及国外的富豪得到的票数远多于大陆富豪。

香港房地产大亨李嘉诚最受尊重，其次是比尔•盖茨，大陆房地产大亨王石和篮球巨星姚明。

北京体育大学的一名学生说：“中国大陆的富豪对慈善事业的贡献太少，得到的太多。”

中国人民大学的喻国民教授认为中国企业家们要有长远的眼光和战略投资意识。“企业的社会责任不是单纯的慈善，它还是联系企业、政府和公众的纽带。”

Vocabulary:

abide by : 遵守