The Chinese Red Cross and its critics

On The China Beat blog, Caroline Reeves writes:

History of the Chinese Red Cross

The Chinese Red Cross Society, which is the subject of a chapter I contributed to a recent University of Hawaii Press book, was founded over 100 years ago. It was established not by Americans or Britons or even Swiss intent on bringing their humanitarian institutions to China, but by the Chinese themselves. The Chinese Red Cross Society is a profoundly Chinese institution, much as the American Red Cross is deeply American and the Japanese Red Cross is inextricably Japanese. It is one of China’s most enduring social welfare institutions, outlasting diverse governments, changing conceptions of social welfare and dramatic policy swings on international involvement.

Meanwhile, on the Seagull Reference blog:

NetEase Terminated Partnership with China Red Cross

Netease issued an announcement to terminate partnership with China Red Cross in the earthquake relief operation after China Red Cross refused to make the amount of donations available to the public. Effective 22:00 of May 14, 2008, donations made through Netease will be passed to other charities that accept openness. China Red Cross is the original designated beneficiary.

It is not rare to see disaster relief money fail to reach the hands of victims. In a publicized incident after a disaster in 2003, in a RBM 59,060,000 relief grant from the National government, only RMB 500,000 reached hands of victims after two years.