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Red Cross under fire over support for Smile Angel

By Li Qian (Shanghai Daily)    09:01, January 08, 2014
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The China Red Cross Foundation was under fire yesterday for having championed the Smile Angel Foundation, a charity an online columnist said he suspected of misusing donations.

Freelance journalist Zhou Xiaoyun said on Weibo.com that audit reports showed that between 2006 and 2012, China Red Cross had earned 5.4 million yuan (US$892,000) in management fees from Smile Angel established by actor Li Yapeng and pop diva Faye Wong, his former wife.

“No wonder China Red Cross was so active in backing Smile Angel,” Zhou said.

The couple launched the foundation in 2006 to help children with cleft lips and palates, six months after their daughter had been born with the condition.

On Monday, Zhou said he contacted the Beijing Civil Affairs Bureau after he found that Smile Angel might have misused at least 41.38 million yuan in donations.

Audit reports from certified public accountants showed that the foundation had received 130 million yuan in donations in the 6-year period, he said.

In the same period, it spent 115 million yuan — 85.5 million yuan on helping children, 17 million on promotional activities and 5.5 million yuan on management, the reports showed.

By the end of 2012, the foundation had helped 8,525 children, which meant every child cost the foundation an average of almost 10,000 yuan, Zhou wrote.

However, the China Red Cross website said a child needed around 5,000 yuan for surgery. Two other bodies, Smile Train and Operation Smile, confirmed the cost, Zhou wrote.

Based on these figures, Smile Angel should have spent just 43.62 million yuan, 41.38 million yuan less than the actual expenditure, Zhou added.

Zhou also said that among eight hospitals involved in Smile Angel surgeries, four were privately owned hospitals. Three were Evercare facilities in Beijing, Qingdao and Jinan, and the other was owned by Sichuan-based SheSays.

Zhou said the four hospitals were good at breast enlargement according to their ads rather than cleft lip repair. And SheSays had been asked to stop providing some services in 2007, Zhou claimed.

Both Smile Train and Operation Smile only cooperated with state-owned and reputable hospitals, Zhou said.

In June 2012, Smile Angel said it had ceased cooperation with six of the eight hospitals, including the four privately owned facilities. This was because Li and Evercare opened a hospital specializing in treating children with cleft lips. The new hospital started operation in July 2012, Zhou wrote.

“I can only conclude one possibility — interests are involved,” Zhou added.

On Monday, China Red Cross, Smile Angel and Li all made statements rejecting Zhou’s accusations.

“We never found any violations in last seven years,” the Red Cross said, and pointed out that in 2007, Smile Angel was given the nation’s top China Charity award.

“A single case cost us just 4,398 yuan. But we also pay for their further treatment, transportation fees and physiological counseling,” a Smile Angel Foundation statement said. “We welcome the public to visit us to clarify the facts.”

Li addressed Zhou on Weibo — “Before authorities give official responses, your allegations severely hurt my foundation and myself as well. If you really care about my foundation, I invite you and new agencies to pay a visit. If you just mean to create an online sensation, we will guard our rights by law.”

(Editor:SunZhao、Zhang Qian)

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