Practical, effective and practical

outline：“I’ve lived for 70 years, and this is the first time anyone has ever taken a photo with me.” After finally fulfilling his 70-year-old dream of having his picture taken, Chen Jia, an elderly resident living alone at the Mojiang County Central Senior Care Home, grasped the hand of Liu Tianwei, Chairman of Xishuangbanna Petrochemical Group Co., Ltd., tears of emotion welling up in his eyes. On February 1, this philanthropist who runs his business with integrity...

 

“I’ve lived for 70 years, and this is the first time anyone has taken a photo with me.”

After finally fulfilling his 70-year-old dream of having his photograph taken, Chen Jia, an elderly resident of the Mojiang County Central Nursing Home for the Lonely and Disabled, grasped the hand of Liu Tianwei, Chairman of Xishuangbanna Petrochemical Group Co., Ltd., tears of emotion welling up in his eyes. On February 1, Liu Tianwei, a philanthropist who runs his business with integrity, once again performed a charitable act: he donated a total of RMB 130,000 to the Mojiang County Central Nursing Home and the Tongguan Town Nursing Home, and presented each of the 107 residents at the two facilities with a Spring Festival condolence payment of RMB 200.

 

 

Remembering Our Roots and Giving Back to Our Hometown Comrades

 

Liu Tianwei, a figure shrouded in legend, was born in Tongguan Town, Mojiang County. In 1979, he ventured alone to Xishuangbanna with only 5 yuan in his pocket, determined to make his mark. By 1993, he had successfully founded Xishuangbanna Petrochemical Group Co., Ltd. He dared to pursue opportunities others hesitated to explore: securing a national oil-import quota, obtaining approvals from Laos, Myanmar, and Thailand for international oil transportation, and spearheading the “vegetables-for-oil” initiative between China and Thailand. As a result, his company became the first Chinese private enterprise to receive an oil-import quota, the first to be authorized to build a bonded warehouse for refined petroleum products, and the first to secure approval from China, Laos, Myanmar, and Thailand to transport refined oil along the Lancang–Mekong River. After years of relentless effort, Liu Tianwei rose to become the wealthiest individual in Xishuangbanna; yet he seldom frequents luxury hotels and resorts, believing that spending should be purposeful. To this end, he has devoted himself to helping those in need, donating more than RMB 30 million over the past 13 years as a way of giving back to society.

 

On February 1, after learning that the Central Nursing Home in Mojiang County and the Tongguan Town Nursing Home were poorly equipped and that many lonely, elderly residents faced significant daily inconveniences, Liu Tianwei, accompanied by his wife Zhang Yanhong, drove from Xishuangbanna to Tongguan Town in Mojiang County. There, they donated RMB 80,000 to the town’s nursing home to fund the construction of a drinking-water system and improve water-supply conditions. Later that afternoon, they continued on to the Central Nursing Home in Mojiang County, where they donated RMB 50,000 to help upgrade the facility’s cultural and recreational amenities and enrich the cultural and leisure activities available to the elderly residents.

 

Warmhearted Care Helps Elder Fulfill 70-Year Photography Dream

 

While donating funds to the nursing homes, Mr. and Mrs. Liu Tianwei also personally handed over more than RMB 30,000 in cash, distributing a Spring Festival condolence payment of RMB 200 to each of the 157 elderly residents at the two facilities.

 

“Respecting the elderly and caring for the young, as well as donating to education, are time-honored virtues of the Chinese nation,” Liu Tianwei told reporters. He emphasized that, as his enterprise continues to grow and thrive, he will always keep firmly in mind the principle of “remembering the source when drinking water and striving for progress even after becoming prosperous,” and that he is committed to giving back to the hometown folks who once nurtured him. Earlier, on November 29, 2009, on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the establishment of the Mojiang Hani Autonomous County, Liu Tianwei donated RMB 300,000 to the Tongguan Town Primary School to improve its teaching facilities. Subsequently, he contributed an additional RMB 210,000 to help build a cement road leading into Longdongchong Village in Tongguan Town—a small mountain village where he was born.

During a donation and condolence visit to the Central Senior Care Home in Mojiang County, Liu Tianwei learned that a 70-year-old lonely elderly resident had never had a photograph taken. He immediately posed for a group photo with the elder and then arranged for a reporter to take a full-body portrait of the senior. This act of charitable kindness filled the otherwise quiet care home with warmth.

Chief Reporter: Dai Zhenhua, Photo Report, February 2, 2015