Soong Ching-ling at China Welfare Institute

The China Welfare Institute (CWI) (中国福利会) was founded by Soong Ching Ling, Honorary President of the People's Republic of China and wife of Sun Yat-sen, in

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...

on June 14, 1938. It is one of the oldest and most influential NGOs nationwide in China. CWI was originally named the China defense League (CDL). In December 1941, CDL was moved to Chongqing, and it fully rallied support for the War of Chinese People against Japanese Aggression. In November 1945, it was renamed the China Welfare Found (CWF) with its headquarters moved to

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flowin ...

to support the great cause of liberation of the Chinese people. Meanwhile, it was active in promoting children welfare through cultural and educational programs. In August 1950, the name was changed to the China Welfare Institute (CWI), with its guidelines set to run experimental and demonstrative projects in women and children's health care and children's culture, education and welfare, enhance scientific researches, and continue international exchanges and cooperation. Soong Ching Ling personally initiated many cultural, educational and healthcare institutions for women and children, including the CWI Children's Art Theatre, the CWI International Peace Maternity and Child Health Hospital, the CWI Children's Palace, the CWI Nursery, the CWI Kindergarten, the CWI Children's Epoch Publishing House, and the Children's Art Playhouse. This has made her a paragon of commitment to the welfare of children in China after 1949. In the past 80 years, CWI has received great support and encouragement from many CPC and national government leaders, including

Mao Zedong Mao Zedong pronounced ; also romanised traditionally as Mao Tse-tung. (26 December 1893 – 9 September 1976), also known as Chairman Mao, was a Chinese communist revolutionary who was the founder of the People's Republic of China (PRC) ...

, Zhou Enlai,

Zhu De Zhu De (; ; also Chu Teh; 1 December 1886 – 6 July 1976) was a Chinese general, military strategist, politician and revolutionary in the Chinese Communist Party. Born into poverty in 1886 in Sichuan, he was adopted by a wealthy uncle at ...

, Liu Shaoqi, Deng Xiaoping, Jiang Zemin, Hu Jintao and Xi Jinping. CWI was successively chaired by Soong Ching Ling,

Liao Chengzhi Liao Chengzhi (; 25 September 1908 – 10 June 1983) was a Chinese politician. He joined the Communist Party of China in 1928, and rose to the position of director of the Xinhua News Agency; after 1949, he worked in various positions related to ...

, Kang Keqing,

Huang Hua Huang Hua (; ; January 25, 1913 – November 24, 2010) was a senior Communist Chinese revolutionary, politician, and diplomat. He served as Foreign Minister of China from 1976 to 1982, and concurrently as Vice Premier from 1980 to 1982. He was i ...

, and Hu Qili, followed by

Wang Jiarui Wang Jiarui (; born September 1949) is a Chinese politician and senior diplomat, currently serving as the Vice Chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. He served as director of the International Liaison Department of t ...

who has taken over the office since 2017. All CWI chairmen or chairwomen are the Party and State Leaders of China. Its executive board consists of members from departments of the CPC Central Committee, ministries under the State Council, departments of the CPC Shanghai Committee and the municipal government, as well as other NGOs. Currently, CWI runs many institutions specialized in areas of 1) maternal and child health, 2) school education, 3) out-of- school education, 3) children's play, 4) children's book publication, 5) senior citizen welfare, and 6) social welfare fund. Committed to the mandate of "being experimental and demonstrative" proposed by Soong Ching Ling and Premier Zhou Enlai, CWI has carried forward Soong's initiative to be fully dedicated to the welfare of women and children. Based in Shanghai with a vow of serving the whole nation and the world, it has made outstanding achievements in the process of institute development and has been widely recognized by the society. CWI has now become important organization working for the welfare of women and children.

External links

China Welfare Institute website (English)China Welfare Institute website - Archive (English)
Social welfare charities Medical and health organizations based in China Education in China