A strong legal standing has enabled the Red Cross Society of China to develop quickly in the past eight years, playing an ever-increasing role in helping the Chinese fight disaster and diseases. So said Peng Peiyun, director of the society, on Wednesday's celebration of the eighth anniversary of China's Law on Red Cross Societies.
Peng said the adoption of the law not only establishes Red Cross societies at all levels as respectable relief organizations, but also defines their inner organizing mechanism for the sake of future development.
Several follow-up rules issued by the State Council - such as one on the specific application of the Red Cross sign - help make the societies' activities uniform throughout China.
So far, 20 provincial regions and two cities in China have issued their own regulations in support of the law.
Chen Liying, director of the Yunnan Provincial Red Cross Society, said her society's success was based on the hard work by society members and a well-implemented provincial regulation protecting Red Cross societies in critical moments.
Only since 1995 has the Yunnan Red Cross Society been involved in emergency care, helping collect and distribute disaster-relief materials valued at 150 million yuan (US$18.1 million). Altogether, more than 3 million people have been helped.
Chen's society is among the country's first organizations to take on AIDS-related education and help those infected - working as early as 1994 in co-operation with Australia.
(China Daily November 2, 2001)
