Susan Osman invites guests to talk about domestic and foreign charities operating in China, viewpoints on giving to the poor, and the function of media companies in charity work across the country.

Caitlin Rhodes invites Mr. Wang Liwei, who runs a magazine on charities operating in China, to paint a fuller picture of NGOs operating in the region under the Chinese regulatory system.

Caitlin Rhodes invites Mr. Wang Liwei, who runs a magazine on charities operating in China, to paint a fuller picture of NGOs operating in the region under the Chinese regulatory system.

Corruption at a local government level is a huge problem in China – and a difficult one to stamp out.

Andrew Livingstone investigates an illegal property development that has destroyed one of Dali city’s most picturesque sports.

The 5th National Conference on Tibet held recently in Beijing heard that the central government had invested $45 billion in aid to the region over the past nine years. This figure, it was said, had helped "boost Tibet's leapfrog development" and achieve "lasting stability."

The meeting, which was attended by President Hu Jintao, and other top leaders, also heard that efforts would be made to "greatly improve the living standards" of people in Tibet to national levels by 2020.

However, the outbreak of violent riots in early 2008 - in the Tibet Autonomous Region and other areas with large Tibetan populations - indicated that simply throwing more cash at the region may not be enough. China blamed the Dalai Lama and exiled Tibetan groups for the violence.

He denies any involvement in the unrest and says he supports greater autonomy for Tibet, not independence. And at the recent work meeting, President Hu said that the central government would continue to "prevent and crack down" on separatist activities.

While China’s government has been criticized in the past for censoring its media, they are now taking a very different approach—teaming up with Chinese press to help boost the country’s image abroad. The government will reportedly spend nearly 9 billion dollars between 2009 and 2010 on so-called “external publicity work,” which includes revamping its main state-run media sources like China Central Television and the China Daily newspaper.

The Tibetan Women's Federation recently celebrated its 50th anniversary in a conference that brought together women of all ethnicity from all corners of Tibet.

The conference's delegates and organizers painted it as chance to commemorate the gains women have made in the fifty years since the organizations founding. BON takes a closer look at those delegates, and their claims for women's progress inside Tibet.

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