I often give to the disabled guy begging on the street.

after living here for 3 years i've learned that the beggars on the street are not needy. i've also learned that foreigners should not intervene in china. so i have stopped giving. 

but why should expats give when chinese are against such acts?

Donate a percentage? Charities are quite unusual here. Why would you give a percentage to a charity? To help the boss buy a car for one of his girlfriends? Even the beggars are often not needy, and, from what I've heard, the cripples are working for someone else.

open my eyes ....  naive as hell ....  them cripples are working for somebody?? silly me

suppose that is not a real surprise ... money grubbing fools are everywhere.

I might throw them a kuai every now and again.  Usually only to the performing types though.  There were a couple young girls with a small baby and one of those portable karaoke machines making their way through the Shanghai subway last time I used it.  They sang pretty ok!

the best way to help these people on the street is to give them food. Money will go to someone else, but if you give them a cup of take-out soup or a 10rmb noodle dish, then at least you know they will not go hungry. 

Be very conservative where you throw your money in China, even the small change.  As others have said, begging is also a business around here and a well-established one.  I practice local charity -- meaning I get to know my neighbors and my neighborhood and then I learn whose is having a rough time, etc., etc., and try to help out in my own way.

I give a little loose change to those elderly ladies you sometimes see and to people who are crippled. That's about it. Used to be a fella with no legs who would be lying there on cardboard at the entrance to the pedestrian overpass. looked to be in his 40's and otherwise healthy I guess. Every time I walked past him, it really helped put my own petty problems into perspective. Yeah, I gave him a coupla coins,,, hope it helped him some.

let me get this straight. foreigners should not talk about china's problem but we should pay for them??? 

  I used to give a lot but a sick girl I knew who is dead now stopped me once and said "She has arms, she has legs, she can work." Bit cold but true of most beggers. Now I just give to buskers, no matter how shit they are.

survival of the fittest is not an old story ..it is true today ...  so mArtiAN is in my sights, because I suspect he s a competitive survivor......  and I will do what ever I have to, to survive and make babies with my genes

obviously the percentage shit is gone on this question......I did work with a guy in canada that donated money to his church..........  10% every cheque........  he's broke and an idiot today .....   religion sucks .............  but I am wondering about Buddha, cause I have a belly just like him

I only give money to those who are old enough.

gave some to a couple young girls tonite. con or not, and I don't believe it was, I think it is the right thing to do.

something about being in their shoes.....

Find an orphanage in your area. Bring them things they need like toothpaste, towels, toilet paper, food, toys and games...

Donating money in China is a bad idea. It goes to buy Audis and BMWs and only a small percentage, if any, goes to what it's actually supposed to be used for.

No.

I only donate to organised charities with guarantees of 100% of donations going to the cause, i.e. no admin charges.

I was in Glasgow a few years back and a 'beggar' came up to me and my Uncle and said (in a broad Glaswegian accent) "Can ye gimme 10p for a cup o tea?" My Uncle told him if he could show him where to get a cup of tea for 10p he'd buy him a pint. That same afternoon once we'd finished our business we went into a bar for a pint, guess who we saw in that bar?

In Xi\an,there is the ,Yellow Soup Kitchen,this guy deserves support,I haven\t yet given mine,but I will

You got fired again, didn't you? I don't give. You still owe me 20.

Not as much as I should.