The 2012 Research Report on Chinese Children's Need for Charity (hereafter referred to as "the report") was officially released in Beijing on October 20. The report was based on a survey jointly conducted by China Children and Teenagers' Fund and the Research Center of Philanthropy and Social Enterprise in the School of Development and Public Policy of Beijing Normal University. The survey, administered during May-October 2012, covered 45 children-related organizations in 13 provinces and municipalities across China.

    At the press conference, Zhao Donghua, Vice Chair of All-China Women's Federation and Deputy Director General of China Children and Teenager's Fund, said that charity for children is an important part of children's affairs; to provide quality service to children, charitable organizations should first precisely identify children's needs, so as to maximize the benefits and improve charitable projects for children.

    The report said that identifying children's needs is not easy. According to data collected during the sixth census, children accounted for 16.6 percent of China's population. Surveying more than 200 million children in the country on their needs is virtually beyond imagination. Take vulnerable children as an example, their needs are constantly changing.

    The report said that usually, we tend to believe children know their needs best. Yet in fact children can only describe some of their needs. Because of their limited personal experience, children are not aware of many needs.