Making a Difference

　　With the bulk of its territory located in theNorth Temperate Zone， China sees millions of migrantbirds flying south over its vast land mass in autumn andheading back north in spring. Of the eight major channelsfor migrant birds worldwide， three traverse China.

　　However， owing to illegal hunting， the number ofmigrant birds flying over China has dropped dramaticallyin recent years. According to figures released byChina Central Television， in the 1970s， more than 1.6million wild birds made up of more than 300 speciesflew over China through the channel from Russia’sSiberia to Australia and New Zealand； in 2012， thenumber through the same channel was less than500，000.

　　“This [hunting of migrant birds] is illegal in Chinaand the government has taken severe measures tocrack down on this behavior. But many people stilltake the risk of hunting migrant birds and sell themto restaurants for profit，” said Deng Fei， Dean of theJournalist Department of Hong Kong-based PhoenixWeekly and an activist promoting public welfare andenvironmental justice.

　　Stopping the hunt

　　Deng said that apart from the government’s efforts，more individuals and social organizations should bestanding up to stop the illegal hunting.Deng was born near Dongting Lake in HunanProvince. “Every winter， thousands of migrant birdsflew to the lake. They were my good friends inmy childhood. I hate [the thought of] peoplehunting and eating them，” Deng told ChinAfrica.In October 2012， Deng saw pictures online ofpeople in Hunan selling migrant birds at local fairs.Some of the birds in the pictures were bleeding.“I was quite upset by a picture of a sellercarrying a swan and a mallard with a poleon his shoulder. These birds flew from thenorth to Hunan in the hope of survivingthe chilly weather， but they failed，” Dengsaid.

　　Deng decided to help the birds. In late2012， Deng joined hands with the ChinaSocial Assistance Foundation and establishedChina’s first public welfare programaddressing the plight of migratory birds，called Let the Migrant Birds Fly. Sincethat time 50 city newspapers have joinedDeng’s call to protect migrant birds.“Thanks to all these media outlets and our nationwidenetwork， we can pass on our information of protectingmigrant birds throughout China，” Deng said.

　　The program raises funds via the Internet andfinancially assists volunteers working in places wheremigrant birds gather every year， such as DongtingLake in Hunan Province， Poyang Lake in JiangxiProvince and locations around Bohai Bay. Deng’sgroup persuades people not to eat migrant birds byspreading related information and also alerts thepolice when they come across people hunting ornetting birds.

　　Walking the walk

　　Before launching Let the Migrant Birds Fly program，Deng had become a famous public welfare activist. Today，his name is connected to seven nationwide publicwelfare programs， five related to helping children andtwo related to protecting nature.

　　“By launching these public welfare organizations，I have changed from a talker to a walker，” Dengsaid. “That’s what I want to be. To changesomething， we need people to do something，instead of solely criticizing.”

　　Born in 1978 in Yuanjiang of Hunan Province，he worked as an investigative journalist from2001 to 2011， first in Hunan-based WomenToday weekly and later at the Phoenix Weekly.During those 10 years， he wrote more than160 investigative features.

　　Through his investigations， he uncoveredmany social problems. “Some of theproblems really shocked me. But as a journalist，I could only record these problemsand call people to follow and solve theseproblems，” Deng said.

　　But Deng soon found that merely talkingabout the problems was not enough， so heset his eyes on publicwelfare programs.

　　In early 2011when conductinginterviews in animpoverished areain Qianxi County，Guizhou Province，he learned thatmany primary schoolstudents could notafford to have lunchat school. Many ofthem stayed hungryat noon. He decidedto do something tochange the situation.As the father ofa primary schooldaughter himself，Deng was well awareof the need for childrento have lunch atschool. In April 2011，Deng launched hisfirst public welfare program by raising funds onlineand providing free lunch to primary school studentsin impoverished areas.

　　“When the Free Lunch for Children program grewbigger， I knew it was impossible for me to return tobeing an investigative journalist； so I shifted my concentrationto public welfare programs，” Deng said.

　　Later， he went on to launch seven public welfareprograms， including Let the Migrant Birds Fly.

　　Deng also said that managing the seven projectsis an arduous task for him. Still， he is able to overcomethe difficulty. “When I feel tired， I will stay withmy family. Then I can relax. I am very glad that mywife and my daughter support me，” he said.

　　Honors Deng has won numerous awards for his work. “I valuethese honors very much and am very happy to getthem as they can further publicize our public welfareprograms and attract more people to join us，” Dengsaid， adding that the awards also increase the pressureon him and his colleagues to succeed.

　　On October 17， Deng was awarded the China PovertyEradication Awards Innovation Award by WangYang， Vice Premier of the State Council. Prior to that，in April 2012， then Vice Premier Li Keqiang conferredon him the China Charity Award for his work in theFree Lunch for Children program.

　　“Though given to me， they also show the government’saffirmation of the work of non-governmentalpublic welfare organizations，” Deng said. He is proudof what he and his team have done and is determinedto continue pursuing his dream of helpingothers.

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