Watchdog set up for Red Cross China

Earlier this week, the Red Cross Society of China held a press conference explaining efforts to set up a special committee to supervise operation of the organization.

It's time to get everything out in the open. 16 committee members, including experts covering law, finance, medicine, mass communication, and social management, will serve on strengthening public oversight as well as satisfying public expectations through greater transparency.

Zhao Baige, executive vice president of Red Cross Society of China, said, "The supervisory committee works in conjunction with the Red Cross Society. The two are supervisor and supervisee. The Committee is an independent organization. It reflects the demand of the public."

With the assistance of the members' expertise, the committee will watch over the management on projects, properties, and donations of the Red Cross. Moreover, it will collect and and then pass on public opinions to the Red Cross.

Yao Lixin, spokesman of Red Cross Society of China, said, "The Red Cross are planning to set up a mechanism to respond to every opinion brought up by the committee. And we'll make sure the public gets our feedback on questions that may rise."

The plan of putting the Red Cross of China under supervision was generated after a series of financial scandals that have badly hindered the credibility of the charity organization. Yet there are concerns among committee members over the supervision mechanism.

Committee member Wang Zhenyao, professor of public policies in Beijing Normal University, has raised concerns about supervision execution given the fact that the committee is independent. There are also concerns about the source of operation finances of the committee. Also the precise job description of the committee members has yet to be settled. On China's microblogs, criticism and rumours about the red cross still abound. Indeed, rebuilding credibility may take a lot more than setting up a supervisory committee.