Chinese Tech Community Joins Ice Bucket Challenge

Following Mark Zuckerberg and Bill Gates, Chinese tech gurus are jumping on the bandwagon of the Ice Bucket Challenge, an initiative to help people with ALS disease.

In a short video, Liu Zuohu, founder of mobile phone maker One Plus, poured a bucket of ice water over his head. He introduced himself as the first Chinese participant of the Ice Bucket Challenge, and he went on to nominate three other tech executives to follow him. Qihoo 360's Zhou Hongyi, Smartisan OS' Luo Yonghao, and Huawei's Liu Jiangfeng have all responded to join.

Lei Jun, CEO of the smartphone maker Xiaomi, has also expressed his decision to participate in the Ice Bucket Challenge.

A nominated participant has 24 hours to decide whether he chooses to dump a bucket of ice water on his head, or donate at least US$100 to the ALS Association.

ALS, short for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, is a motor neuron disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord.

As the activity is going viral on the social media, many Internet heavyweights have got themselves drenched with ice water. Among them were Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Microsoft founder Bill Gates, Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, and Twitter CEO Dick Costolo.

The ALS Association announced on August 16 that the Ice Bucket donations have surpassed US$10 million.