Red Cross sees no dip in donations
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China.org.cn, December 8, 2011
The Red Cross Society of China reported no significant drops in public fundraising despite widespread scandals this year that resulted in losses of personal donations.
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Guo Meimei, who claimed to be the general manager of a company called Red Cross Commerce, boasted online about her luxurious lifestyle, showing off pictures of her with Maserati and Lamborghini cars, expensive handbags and a palatial villa. [File Photo] |
The donations collected stood at nearly 4.2 billion yuan (US$660 million) this year and so far about 3.95 billion has been spent, according to the statistics released by the organization on Wednesday.
But online scandals have been one of the leading factors that have contributed to a fall in personal donations.
In June, 20-year-old Guo Meimei, claiming to have close connections to the China Red Cross, bragged about her luxurious life on her micro blog. The incident ignited widespread public distrust and the organization was accused of donation abuse.
"Despite an investigation and auditing that have proved the society's innocence, such 'online incidents' have demonstrated the RCSC does have loopholes in its system, publicity and crisis management," said Zhao Baige, executive vice-president of the society, "The scandal did cause an impace."
For instance, private donations have become smaller this year, both in terms of the number of donors and the amounts donated, she said, adding that they were still analyzing detailed data on that.
Zhao pledged to make RCSC's management more transparent and standardized and "establish smooth channels that bridge communication between the RCSC and the public."
To improve the situation, the organization actively initiated charity programs like supporting poor students in Guizhou province, and inviting the media to track and report the entire process.
President of the organization Hua Jianmin vowed to deepen reform, enforce strict management and embrace transparency in order to safeguard the RCSC's credibility.
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