Work with Red Cross to get boost (2)

Timely aid

After the earthquake in Lushan, Ya'an, Sichuan province, the RCSC gathered the identities of missing people and contact information of their family members. The ICRC created a webpage under its Restoring Family Links website and posted the information in both Chinese and English. It also asked the public with information about the missing people to contact the RCSC.

As another example, Unternahrer cited an orthopedic center the ICRC is jointly running with the RCSC in Kunming, Yunnan province, which was established in 2002 to provide local people with prosthetic limbs.

Maurer praised the RCSC's contributions in promoting international Red Cross exchanges and helping establish platforms for aiding African countries, Xinhua reported.

The RCSC has been target of public criticism in China due to a series of scandals, including one involving a woman who referred to herself as Guo Meimei and posted photos of expensive possessions online, leading some to speculate that she was embezzling from the RCSC, according to previous media reports.

Since the scandal, the RCSC has made efforts to improve its image, such as setting up an independent social supervision committee to audit its charity donations and publish reports on the results of the audit.

It will be a great pity if the RCSC's efforts are blanketed by criticism, said Martin Faller, head of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies East Asia Regional Delegation, adding that the RCSC responded by sending 25 teams and more than 400 workers and volunteers, as well as disaster relief materials, to the quake zone.