Red Cross accused of faulty reporting
By Zhang Xuanchen |
August 3, 2011, Wednesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
A foundation founded by kung fu star Jet Li said the Red Cross of China seriously underestimated its donations in its report on a newly launched online platform that allows public supervision of the charity in the wake of its credibility crisis.
A spokesperson with the Shenzhen branch of One Foundation told the People's Daily website yesterday that the group contributed relief materials worth more than 2 million yuan (US$ 293,000) to victims of last year's earthquake in Yushu, northwest China's Qinghai Province.
However, the total amount was displayed as 25,430 yuan on the platform the Red Cross opened to the public to track donation information, or almost 100 times smaller than the real donation.
The spokesperson said the error was "serious" and the public should rely on the figures published by One Foundation on its website. An auditing report on the foundation's operation will finish by the end of August and be released to the public.
The online platform was launched by the Red Cross on Sunday in its latest effort to show transparency and rebuild its image in the wake of the scandals of Guo Meimei, a woman who claimed to be a manager of the charity group and flaunted her luxurious lifestyle online.
It was faced with growing skepticism after netizens discovered a great amount of donation information not matching up with those reported earlier.
A list of people who donated money to help the victims of the Yushu earthquake in April 2010 seemed to include amounts given by celebrities even before the disaster took place. But the Red Cross said on Sunday that the database had also included all donations made from January 11, 2010, which caused the confusion.
Also, many people charged that the platform so far only disclosed information on individual donors who contributed at least 100,000 yuan and group donations reaching at least 500,000 yuan.
In response, Wang Rupeng, Red Cross secretary-general, said he was "extremely sad" about the problems and would work harder to gain public trust by improving the platform, China Central Television reported on Monday.
Wang said they will take steps to disclose information on every donation, no matter how small, and provide further details about its fundraising projects.
Wang Zhengyao, chief of Beijing Normal University's One Foundation Community Research Institute, said the Red Cross was obliged to clearly inform the public about its projects and large fundraising programs.
A spokesperson with the Shenzhen branch of One Foundation told the People's Daily website yesterday that the group contributed relief materials worth more than 2 million yuan (US$ 293,000) to victims of last year's earthquake in Yushu, northwest China's Qinghai Province.
However, the total amount was displayed as 25,430 yuan on the platform the Red Cross opened to the public to track donation information, or almost 100 times smaller than the real donation.
The spokesperson said the error was "serious" and the public should rely on the figures published by One Foundation on its website. An auditing report on the foundation's operation will finish by the end of August and be released to the public.
The online platform was launched by the Red Cross on Sunday in its latest effort to show transparency and rebuild its image in the wake of the scandals of Guo Meimei, a woman who claimed to be a manager of the charity group and flaunted her luxurious lifestyle online.
It was faced with growing skepticism after netizens discovered a great amount of donation information not matching up with those reported earlier.
A list of people who donated money to help the victims of the Yushu earthquake in April 2010 seemed to include amounts given by celebrities even before the disaster took place. But the Red Cross said on Sunday that the database had also included all donations made from January 11, 2010, which caused the confusion.
Also, many people charged that the platform so far only disclosed information on individual donors who contributed at least 100,000 yuan and group donations reaching at least 500,000 yuan.
In response, Wang Rupeng, Red Cross secretary-general, said he was "extremely sad" about the problems and would work harder to gain public trust by improving the platform, China Central Television reported on Monday.
Wang said they will take steps to disclose information on every donation, no matter how small, and provide further details about its fundraising projects.
Wang Zhengyao, chief of Beijing Normal University's One Foundation Community Research Institute, said the Red Cross was obliged to clearly inform the public about its projects and large fundraising programs.
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