Do-gooder blasted for selling canned air
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E-mail Shanghai Daily, August 13, 2012
China's most high-profile philanthropist, Chen Guangbiao, made another splash over the weekend by announcing he will set up mobile boutiques in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou to sell canned fresh air starting September 17.
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Chen Guangbiao |
Chen said he specially chose to sell the air before the World Car-Free Day, which is September 22, to heighten public awareness on environmental protection and the importance of clean air.
The first batch of 100,000 cans of "Chen Guangbiao Good Man" air will be sold at 4 yuan (63 US cents) to 5 yuan each, according to China National Radio. He said he would donate 0.10 yuan to charity for every can sold.
Many people, however, wrote Internet posts questioning the ownership of air and Chen's right to sell it.
According to Chen, the CEO of a resource recycling company, each can of fresh air collected from provinces and regions with little pollution, such as Qinghai, Sichuan, Yunnan and Tibet in southwest and northwest China.
He said he is confident about its marketing prospects, since people in big cities inhale air mixed with vehicle exhaust every day and the fresh canned air is good for people's health, he said over the weekend in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province at an event promoting environmental protection.
