WEARING a dark-blue cap that slightly concealed his face, megastar Jet Li helped unload boxes of powdered milk, clothing, medicine, tents and other emergency supplies from the back of a lorry.

He was wearing a white T-shirt bearing the logo of One Foundation, the charity organisation he had set up last April. Not looking for star treatment, he was just one of the many extras bringing help to the people of quake-hit Sichuan.

Li, better known by millions of cinema goers for his dazzling gongfu moves, has been named Asian of the Year by the editors of Reader's Digest Asia for his humanitarian efforts to help thousands in disaster-hit areas.

He declined an award ceremony in his honour but plans to donate the US$5,000 (S$7,230) award money to charitable causes.

Said Mr Jim Plouffe, editorin- chief of English magazines for Reader's Digest Asia: "Reader's Digest believes in the fundamental goodness of mankind.

"We celebrate the best in people and the greatness resting within each of us, as well as the universally shared experiences that connect us as a caring global community.

"Li's important work at One Foundation is a manifestation of that."

The Reader's Digest Asian of the Year is selected by the editors of Reader's Digest Asia as the person who best embodies the contemporary expression of Asia's values and traditions.

Li's story will be published in all Asian editions of the Reader's Digest magazine next month.

Watch its podcast interview with Jet Li at www.rdasia.com

For more Reader's Digest stories, click here .

This report appears in the January edition of Reader's Digest Asia and is published in my paper with the permission of the magazine.