Illustration: Lu Ting/GT

It is always touching to read news stories of people showing their kindness by donating to charity or children developing a sense of social responsibility at an early age. We also appreciate organizers' efforts to raise money for the needy. But a report carried by the local news portal xinmin.cn about a recent school charity auction doesn't sound like a moving story.

The charity auction was held at Tianshan No.1 Primary School in Changning district last month. Seventeen students' paintings were auctioned to a select group of students' parents.

Before the auction, every student at the school was given a form listing all the paintings to be auctioned. Parents were required to write down the amount they were willing to bid for the paintings. The teachers then selected the five parents offering the highest prices from each class to attend the auction on September 27.

The auction appeared rather professional with teachers and painters introducing the art works before the auction started. There was even a professional auctioneer present.

It all sounds reasonable so far. But according to a parent interviewed, the minimum price for each painting was set at 1,000 yuan ($164) and bidders could only increase the price with minimum increments of 100 yuan. In the end, the 17 paintings were sold for a total of 28,000 yuan, with the highest-selling work fetching 5,400 yuan. The school announced the money collected would be divided between the young painters and the school's foundation.

There is no doubt that a charity auction is a commendable event. But auctions should be held among people who volunteer to bid for the items. The form sent to every student made taking part in the auction a mandatory activity.

While the value of any work of art, not just paintings by 7 to 12 year olds, is open to debate, it's hard not to raise an eyebrow at the 1,000-yuan starting price. The questionnaire asking parents how much they were willing to pay sounds as if the school was testing parents to see how much they could afford. Only the wealthiest parents who could afford the highest prices were invited to the auction since teachers selected the top five parents from every class according to their answers to the questionnaire.

A real charity event should welcome all kind-hearted people to attend, no matter how much they can offer. There shouldn't have been a minimum amount to bid.

Usually painters donate their works for a charity auction. But the school decided to distribute the event's proceeds evenly between the little painters and the school's "Future Learning Center" foundation. The auction was held in the name of charity but it remains to be seen how many needy students benefited from the event.

If the money collected could directly go to help those in need rather than be shared with primary school children, that would sound more credible.

Rather than a charity auction, the entire process seems more like a scheme to collect money from wealthy families to benefit the school itself.