Red Cross Society vows to improve transparency

 BEIJING, Aug. 2 (Xinhua) -- The Red Cross Society of China (RCSC) has vowed¹ to establish an efficient, transparent² and normative system of management, information and supervision³ in three to five years.

Zhao Baige, executive vice⁴ president of the RCSC, said at a press conference on Thursday that the Red Cross Society is aligned⁵ with China's socialist⁶ market system as well as international humanitarian⁷ principles.

"We have finished the design and public tender for both the software and hardware of the RCSC's information system," Zhao said, adding that the system's basic functions, especially those related to monetary⁸ donations, will be put into operation at the end of December.

The RCSC came under fire in 2011 after a woman calling herself "Guo Meimei" wrote microblog posts claiming that she worked for an organization under the RCSC. Her posts also detailed⁹ her lavish¹⁰ lifestyle, leading some netizens to believe she was embezzling¹¹ funds.

Although it was later found that the organization "Guo" claimed to work for did not exist, the incident had a negative impact on the RCSC and triggered calls for greater scrutiny¹² over charitable organizations.

On Tuesday, the State Council, China's Cabinet, issued a guideline to encourage the RCSC to boost its transparency.

Zhao said the RCSC will carry out the requirements specified¹³ in the guideline, and it plans to expand the use of the information system to 80 percent of the provincial¹⁴ branches of the RCSC by the end of 2013. It will also extend the system to more than 50 percent of the Red Cross outlets¹⁵ at the county level by the end of 2014.

"The system will help the RCSC improve its transparency through fundraising management, publicizing the use of funds, and risk warning in material management," Zhao said.

According to the guideline issued on Tuesday, organizations of all levels of the Red Cross must adhere to the rules of information disclosure, make transparent the information on funds-raising, financial management, bidding and procurement¹⁶, and funds allocation, and respect the rights of donors¹⁷.

The guideline also urged the RCSC to build a comprehensive supervision system to integrate self-monitoring with governmental and civil watchdogs, and improve the work of its spokespersons so to respond to public concerns promptly¹⁸ and thoroughly¹⁹.

Zhao said the information on fundraising, expenses, public bidding and other financial related-areas should be made public through the information platform and the RCSC will rigorously implement²⁰ the rules of information disclosure.

Zhao also vowed to safeguard the donators and people's rights to know, participate and to supervise the operation of the RCSC.

According to Zhao, small-sum donations through cell phone text messages had facilitated 240 million yuan (37.65 million U.S. dollars) in donations since the RCSC launched the donation channel in 2006. The RCSC saw a surge of 7.36 percent of donations in 2011 via text messages although the society was affected²¹ by "the microblog incident."

"Since last year, the RCSC has set up open days to invite volunteers, donors, Internet users and journalists to visit the Red Cross Society and know about its work," Zhao added.

In response to a question at the conference, Zhao said that Chinese people's living standards have been lifted during 30 years of development, adding that the development of a nation does not only depend on materials but also improvements in various fields including the economy, politics, society, cultural and ecology.

"Not only the RCSC but also the whole society including the media, citizens, and government have met difficulties during the procedure of development," said Zhao when addressing the urgency of the reform of the RCSC.

Since China restored its seat in the International Federation²² of Red Cross (IFRC) in 1952, as one of the 187 members, the RCSC has worked hard to become one of the strongest the Red Cross societies, Zhao said.

In 2014, China will hold the international meeting for the members of the IFRC in the Asian region.

As the government guideline promised, it will help the RCSC take an active part in the international Red Cross movement and other overseas humanitarian programs.

Zhao also thanked the international community for its help and resources it provided and stressed that it was time for China to reward the world.

"The RCSC is now planning to cooperate with countries in Africa and Asia as well as regions neighboring China," Zhao said.

China is also willing to share experiences and lessons with countries around the world, and further implement the international humanitarian principles to carry out foreign aid, which plays an important role in public diplomacy²³.

The RCSC is the only national Red Cross Society in the People's Republic of China. It has about 27 million members and 2.16 million volunteers.

The RCSC's humanitarian efforts in China include disaster relief, first aid training and charity programs. The organization also handles blood and human organ donations.

1 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。

2 transparent   

adj.明显的，无疑的；透明的

参考例句：

• The water is so transparent that we can see the fishes swimming.水清澈透明，可以看到鱼儿游来游去。
• The window glass is transparent.窗玻璃是透明的。

3 supervision   

n.监督，管理

参考例句：

• The work was done under my supervision.这项工作是在我的监督之下完成的。
• The old man's will was executed under the personal supervision of the lawyer.老人的遗嘱是在律师的亲自监督下执行的。

4 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

5 aligned   

adj.对齐的，均衡的

参考例句：

• Make sure the shelf is aligned with the top of the cupboard.务必使搁架与橱柜顶端对齐。

6 socialist   

n.社会主义者；adj.社会主义的

参考例句：

• China is a socialist country,and a developing country as well.中国是一个社会主义国家，也是一个发展中国家。
• His father was an ardent socialist.他父亲是一个热情的社会主义者。

7 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

8 monetary   

adj.货币的，钱的；通货的；金融的；财政的

参考例句：

• The monetary system of some countries used to be based on gold.过去有些国家的货币制度是金本位制的。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

9 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

10 lavish   

adj.无节制的；浪费的；vt.慷慨地给予，挥霍

参考例句：

• He despised people who were lavish with their praises.他看不起那些阿谀奉承的人。
• The sets and costumes are lavish.布景和服装极尽奢华。

11 embezzling   

v.贪污，盗用（公款）( embezzle的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Accordingly, object embezzling waste to be carried temporarily the schedule of administration. 因此，反对贪污浪费就提上了临时中央政府的议事日程。 来自互联网
• Some were sentenced for taking bribes, others executed for embezzling funds. 有的因受贿而被判刑，有的因侵吞公款而被判处死刑。 来自互联网

12 scrutiny   

n.详细检查，仔细观察

参考例句：

• His work looks all right,but it will not bear scrutiny.他的工作似乎很好，但是经不起仔细检查。
• Few wives in their forties can weather such a scrutiny.很少年过四十的妻子经得起这么仔细的观察。

13 specified   

adj.特定的

参考例句：

• The architect specified oak for the wood trim. 那位建筑师指定用橡木做木饰条。
• It is generated by some specified means. 这是由某些未加说明的方法产生的。

14 provincial   

adj.省的，地方的；n．外省人，乡下人

参考例句：

• City dwellers think country folk have provincial attitudes.城里人以为乡下人思想迂腐。
• Two leading cadres came down from the provincial capital yesterday.昨天从省里下来了两位领导干部。

15 outlets   

n.出口( outlet的名词复数 )；经销店；插座；廉价经销店

参考例句：

• The dumping of foreign cotton blocked outlets for locally grown cotton. 外国棉花的倾销阻滞了当地生产的棉花的销路。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They must find outlets for their products. 他们必须为自己的产品寻找出路。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

16 procurement   

n.采购；获得

参考例句：

• He is in charge of the procurement of materials.他负责物资的采购。
• More and more,human food procurement came to have a dominant effect on their evolution.人类获取食物愈来愈显著地影响到人类的进化。

17 donors   

n.捐赠者( donor的名词复数 )；献血者；捐血者；器官捐献者

参考例句：

• Please email us to be removed from our active list of blood donors. 假如你想把自己的名字从献血联系人名单中删去，请给我们发电子邮件。
• About half this amount comes from individual donors and bequests. 这笔钱大约有一半来自个人捐赠及遗赠。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 promptly   

adv.及时地，敏捷地

参考例句：

• He paid the money back promptly.他立即还了钱。
• She promptly seized the opportunity his absence gave her.她立即抓住了因他不在场给她创造的机会。

19 thoroughly   

adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地

参考例句：

• The soil must be thoroughly turned over before planting.一定要先把土地深翻一遍再下种。
• The soldiers have been thoroughly instructed in the care of their weapons.士兵们都系统地接受过保护武器的训练。

20 implement   

n.(pl.)工具，器具；vt.实行，实施，执行

参考例句：

• Don't undertake a project unless you can implement it.不要承担一项计划，除非你能完成这项计划。
• The best implement for digging a garden is a spade.在花园里挖土的最好工具是铁锹。

21 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

22 federation   

n.同盟，联邦，联合，联盟，联合会

参考例句：

• It is a federation of 10 regional unions.它是由十个地方工会结合成的联合会。
• Mr.Putin was inaugurated as the President of the Russian Federation.普京正式就任俄罗斯联邦总统。

23 diplomacy   

n.外交；外交手腕，交际手腕

参考例句：

• The talks have now gone into a stage of quiet diplomacy.会谈现在已经进入了“温和外交”阶段。
• This was done through the skill in diplomacy. 这是通过外交手腕才做到的。