Ten years ago, on the eve of the traditional Buddhist Ullambana Festival, Lingyin Temple in Hangzhou initiated the first filial piety and gratitude tea gathering in the Chinese Buddhist community. In 2016, the event was officially upgraded to the Chinese Filial Piety Culture Festival, which selects figures of filial piety from around the world. An increasing number of compatriots from Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, and overseas Chinese have become torchbearers for the inheritance and continuation of excellent traditional Chinese culture around the globe.
This year, the event organizers have actively reached out to Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan through online recruitment, collecting, selecting, and honoring the 2024 figures/groups of filial piety from both domestic and overseas communities. Among them are:
· Zhang Jie, a Hong Kong compatriot from Zhejiang, who has dedicated over 40 years to promoting education in his hometown;
· Dong Shuzhen, a Taiwanese compatriot in the UK, who established the “Dong Mama Fund” to help over 18,000 underprivileged students realize their dreams of education;
· You Duanyang, the principal of Macau Hou Kong Middle School, who continuously promotes patriotic education and cultivates students’ national pride;
· The public welfare project “Free Lunches”, which aims to ensure that rural children receive sufficient nutrition and balanced meals;
· The “Blue Vest Action”, which strives to bridge the digital divide and enhance the quality of life for the elderly;
· The “Nanjing Elderly Service Mutual Assistance Platform”, which promotes the concept of mutual assistance in elderly care;
· The Federation of Chinese Associations Malaysia, which helps pass on Chinese culture in Malaysia;
· The public welfare project “Friendly Campus”, which promotes an equal educational environment and reduces incidents of bullying in schools;
· The Tianjin Shizilin Bridge Diving Team, which showcases the vitality of the elderly and conveys a positive attitude toward life.
As the event organizer, Lingyin Temple in Hangzhou released the “Lingyin Temple Annual Social Responsibility Report”, providing a detailed interpretation of its public welfare projects promoted throughout the year, the positive social energy generated, and the positive impact on society.
The event also featured a high-level dialogue on filial piety care, inviting experts from home and abroad to discuss popular social topics such as “Elderly Care at Silver Age” and “Universal Elderly Care”. Additionally, the charitable public transport project “Take My Parents On A Tour To Lingyin” was launched to encourage the public to accompany their elders on trips.
