The charity organization in Panzhihua, a Southwest Chinese city in Sichuan province, has denied recent online claims that civil servants and teachers were forced to donate a month of their salary to a public fund, Xinhua reports.

On May 10, Panzhihua netizens posted on an online forum that civil servants and teachers were forced to donate money. A government document was also released online stating that in principle,the donation should not be less than one month's base salary. It also stated that the amount of the donation would be published.

An official from the municipal charity organization responded on May 14 that the donations are voluntary. He admitted that the collection work is not dedicated enough in some area, which makes people feel as if they are being forced to donate.

The charity official stated that the donations were to establish a special governmental fund for helping citizens in extreme financial difficulties, not a fund for any commercial purpose. Insisting that public staff donate is due to the belief that it sets a strong example for charity work. The official also claimed that the document released online is a forgery.