On Tuesday, Longyan’s city government education bureau said that Zhang Yiming, founder of multinational internet technology company ByteDance, will donate $77.35 million to the southeastern Chinese city for education.
Zhang Yiming’s move is part of a wider trend by Chinese tech billionaires, who are keenly making donations, especially in education, amid a sudden and unprecedented crackdown on the tech sector by the country’s government. The $77.35 million donation will establish the Meifang Foundation. The foundation will help teachers with advanced education and support vocational education, primarily focusing on the region’s rural areas.
Last month, Yiming announced he would step down from his role of CEO at ByteDance by the end of 2021. He said he would instead focus on the long-term strategies of the company, as well as its social responsibilities. Back in 2019, Yiming made a $10 million donation to Californian-based Minerva Schools and donated a further $14 million to Nankai University’s Innovation Fund.
