Red Cross incident hurts public
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People's Daily, July 1, 2011
A netizen named "Guo Meimei Baby," who identified herself as the general commercial manager of the Red Cross Society of China, recently showed off her luxurious lifestyle on her micro-blog, which has aroused widespread debates. The Red Cross Society of China has issued a statement to refute rumors and has called the police.
Although the Red Cross Society of China has repeatedly affirmed that there is no connection between itself and Guo Meimei, it is hard to stop the spread of rumors. The previous disclosure of tents at whopping prices and 10,000-yuan meal fees in charity organizations has damaged the public image of the Red Cross. In a sense, the "Guo Meimei" event is just the tipping point that triggered many people’s distrust and dissatisfaction toward charity organizations.
Organizations that promote the common good, such as the Red Cross, have no privacy at all. Therefore, issuing "statements" without "proof" and refuting rumors without self-reflection and self-improvement may cause more distrust. After the "Guo Meimei" event, some Internet survey results showed that the vast majority of netizens admitted that their enthusiasm for donating money has been dampened. The charity cause cannot bear any more damage and neither can the public's benevolence.
