Cancer survivor lives for the joy of charity

Philanthropist Zhang Yidong triumphed cancer thanks largely to donations from kind-hearted strangers when he was 16 years old. Ever since, he has wanted to help others. Now 32, Zhang runs a small hotel that welcomes the homeless and says he has donated more than 1 million yuan (HK$1.26 million) in raised funds. But his charity work has been at times overshadowed by controversy over his decision to undergo plastic surgery to look like his role model, Lei Feng , a selfless People's Liberation Army soldier who posthumously became the icon in Mao Zedong's "model citizen" propaganda campaign in the 1960s.

Lei Feng has been my idol since I was a child, especially after I received donations for treatment that helped me overcome bone cancer at age 16. It was my dream to look like Lei Feng, and now that I look like him, it motivates me to help more people. Even though I have recovered from cancer, I have developed a chronic blood disease in recent years. I never thought I would live long, so why should I care about what other people say when they look at me? This is a separate issue from what I do. I don't think the Lei Feng resemblance will make charity work any easier or harder for me. I am just glad that my dream to look like him has finally come true.

There is a lot of criticism in today's society, especially when you are a public figure. It will not affect how I do things. I don't think criticism is helpful. For example, it has been reported that people will not help the elderly and children who meet with accidents on the streets because they are afraid it may be a scam. If there is more publicity about people willing to help others … people might become more willing to do the same.