国内英语新闻:China to improve transparency of Red Cross Society

BEIJING, July 31 (Xinhua) -- The State Council, or China's cabinet, has pledged to encourage the Red Cross Society of China (RCSC) to boost its transparency in a guideline issued Tuesday.

The RCSC and its branches should, as required, disclose information regarding fundraising, expenses, public bidding and other finance-related areas, according to a guideline on the the development of RCSC.

The RCSC should also improve the work of its spokespersons so as to respond to public concerns promptly and thoroughly, the document said.

The RCSC came under fire last year after a woman calling herself "Guo Meimei" wrote microblog posts in which she claimed to work for an organization under the RCSC. Her posts also depicted her lavish lifestyle, leading some netizens to believe she was engaging in embezzlement.

Although the organization "Guo" claimed to work for was later found to be nonexistent, the incident had a negative impact on the RCSC and triggered calls for greater scrutiny over charitable organizations.

The guideline called for the creation of a comprehensive supervision system for the RCSC. Government supervision and auditing agencies will supervise the organization, it said, adding that a special committee should be created by the RCSC to monitor the management of its donations.

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.

According to the guideline, the government will help the RCSC expand the national bone marrow bank and its branches, as well as found provincial organ donation foundations that can sponsor donations and transplants.

The government promised to increase the budget for the RCSC's programs and arrange for the group to receive more funding from lottery revenues, according to the guideline.

The guideline also said the government will help the RCSC take an active part in the international Red Cross movement and other overseas humanitarian programs.