Watchdog not to probe Red Cross scandal

Supervisors of the Red Cross Society of China hold a press conference in Beijing on June 14, 2013. [Photo/Xinhua]

BEIJING -- Supervisors of the Red Cross Society of China (RCSC) have rejected a proposal to reprobe the "Guo Meimei" controversy that stoked public suspicion over the charity's credibility two years ago.

The RCSC social supervision committee made the announcement at a press conference on Friday, citing voting results from a recent committee meeting.

The RCSC, a major charity in China, has been battling public mistrust after Guo Meimei, a young woman who claimed to be a chief of an organization with RCSC links, posted photographs online flaunting her wealth in mid-2011.

The issue triggered concern over how donations are used by the country's state-run charitable organizations, though an official investigation later that year ruled out any link between Guo or her wealth with the RCSC.

Jin Jinping, a committee member, said on Friday some members did raise the reinvestigation proposal and that the charity previously publicized a formal report on the incident after police-led investigations two years ago.

However, the committee, an independent panel that was created in December last year as a third-party body to supervise the charity, has no legal power to open such investigations or summon any of those concerned as a witness, she said.

"So during the vote, we believe that the committee should advise the RCSC to coordinate with authorities concerned to probe the incident when new evidence is available," Jin said.