GUO MEIMEI, the woman who embarrassed the Red Cross Society of China (RCSC) by flaunting her lavish lifestyle online, said all her luxury possessions were gifts from an entrepreneur and her mother who had no links with the charity group.

    The 20-year-old unemployed woman who posted photos of her collection of Hermes bags and a Maserati car on her microblog, said, during “Larry Lang Live” — a Chinese Business News television program Wednesday, that only two of the Hermes bags she showed were authentic — one was a gift from her mother and the other was from Wang Jun, a real estate developer in Shenzhen.

    Guo said Wang once told her he planned to invest in a company which had some ties with the RCSC and joked he could get her a manager’s position. Guo said she then changed her identity on her microblog from “actress-singer” to “General Manager of Red Cross Commerce” to show off to her friends.

    She never expected this would ignite anger online with many Internet users claiming she must have used public donations to fund her lifestyle and that she landed the position through her relationship with a deputy head of RCSC, whose name was also Wang Jun.

    Guo said Wang, the real estate developer, later withdrew his investment from the China Red Cross Bo’an Asset Management Co. after the scandal broke in June.

    “I was deeply sorry,” said Guo.

    Guo’s mother, Guo Dengfeng, who also appeared on the show, saying she had raised her daughter alone after a divorce. They had an affluent life due to successful stock market investments.

    Before her daughter was born, Guo Dengfeng was already a millionaire and owned two properties in Shenzhen bought with money made on the stock market. (SD-Agencies)