Jeff Byrne

    VANITY is a word that was first recorded in the 13th century. It is derived from the Latin, vanitat, which translates as vain, empty, valueless, conceited. It is what landed a young woman in the middle of a controversy that has the Red Cross Society of China swiftly backpeddling.

    Calling herself Guo Meimei Baby, the woman posted pictures of herself with a white Maserati and an orange Lamborghini on Weibo, the Chinese equivalent of Twitter. She calls the Maserati her “little horse” and the Lamborghini her “little bull” and lives in a luxury villa.

    But it was not her flaunting of wealth that landed her in hot water. It was her claim that she was the “general manager of the Red Cross Chamber of Commerce,” a breathtaking claim for a 20-year-old.

    The Internet went wild with speculation. In a country where corruption is rife with an ever widening gap between rich and poor, netizens wanted to know how she acquired such wealth. Had she or her boyfriend embezzled funds from the Red Cross to feather their own nest?

    She has, of course, denied this, as she would, saying she was born into a wealthy family. That may well be so, but no evidence of this has yet emerged in spite of the clamor in cyberspace. It was also alleged that she was the girlfriend or mistress of a Shenzhen businessman, Wang Jun, 42, who owns part of Zhonghong Bo’ai Asset Management Co. Ltd., a company linked to the Red Cross. The society has denied any links with Guo along with claims that she was related to the society’s deputy president Guo Changjiang.

    All of this came on the heels of revelations on the Internet that the Shanghai Red Cross had spent almost 10,000 yuan (US$1,538) on a banquet and the State auditor announcing recently that it had found discrepancies in a review of the charity’s 2010 budget. The society’s executive deputy president Wang Wei told a media briefing the society had overspent its budget by 4.2 million yuan because of “technical glitches” or failing to comply with accounting rules. But he denied corruption or misappropriation of funds for personal gain. But credibility took another hit when representatives of only six selected State media organizations were allowed to attend the briefing.

    The second session of the Ninth Council of the Red Cross Society of China was held on Jan. 19 this year. This meeting audited and passed the 2010 financial report. No discrepancies, apparently.

    Income for the society was 3.257 billion yuan with 3.012 billion coming from domestic and foreign organizations and individuals. Total expenditure for the year was 2.546 billion yuan.

    The president of the society, an executive vice president and three vice presidents as well as a secretary general are all government officials.

    With all these government officials being members of the council, one could expect transparency to be a priority. Clearly, it is not.

    The society’s credibility has been seriously tarnished. An online poll conducted by China Daily revealed that 90 percent of those who responded said they would no longer donate money to the Red Cross.

    The society now faces an enormous challenge to restore its reputation.

    (The author is a Shenzhen Daily senior copy editor and writer.)