Just to be clear, they have homeless in China as well.

As far as "giving a damn" about homeless in China, this recent story was interesting:

American a hero in China after giving homeless woman French fries
LA Times World Now blog, May 9, 2012 | 10:35 am
 
BEIJING -- An American student has shot to Internet fame in China after buying a packet of French fries for a homeless woman in Nanjing.

Photos of her enjoying the food with the student -- a Southern California native named Jason Loose, who is now endearingly known as “American French Fry Brother” by many Chinese Internet users -- have been forwarded hundreds of thousands of times on Sina Weibo, China’s popular micro-blogging service.

The images have set off a new round of soul-searching in China since they were posted Saturday. Many Chinese citizens believe that their country’s blind pursuit of wealth has created a moral vacuum, causing feelings of indifference toward the suffering of strangers.

Loose, who has been studying at Nanjing University for nine months, was caught off-guard by his sudden popularity. “I just gave some food that isn’t really even healthy to an old woman and talked with her for a few minutes,” he said of the McDonald's fries when reached by phone today. “I don’t see much that’s newsworthy about that.”

“There wasn’t much money in her collection bowl, and it was really hot out,” recalled Loose, whose hometown is Thousand Oaks. “I walked past her and thought that maybe she could use some food and some company.”

The two talked about her poor health, her home in rural Anhui province, and the weather. She said she was thirsty, he recalls, so he poured her some spring water. He left after about 10 minutes.

“I asked what's her favorite food to eat?” he said. “Her answer was ‘not French fries.’ ”

Loose did not find out until the following day that an onlooker had photographed the encounter and posted the images online. He opened his own Weibo account soon afterward. Although he has written only 17 posts, he already has over 9,000 followers [....]

Another point: I didn't get a sense that the "rat tribe" photographer was trying to present a social justice message of "ghettoes," more like a non-judgmental anthropological one, presenting what people are willing to do to get in on the Beijing boom, and the subculture he saw among them. (Cavaet: User interpretations may vary, as with all artwork. But a reminder that in past real estate booms,  there have been those stories of emigres to Tokyo or NYC willing to live in bed-sized "apartments," and then there's the space limitations found  in  immigrant "Chinatowns" of the past worldwide.)