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Former Executive Vice-President of the Shanghai branch of the Chinese Red Cross*
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 20 January 2016
In this issue, the Review wanted to give a voice to different perspectives on the principles guiding humanitarian action. The Chinese Red Cross is an interesting example of a member of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement operating according not only to the seven Fundamental Principles of the Movement, but also to three additional values (or “spirits”), namely humanity, fraternity and dedication. Whereas the Fundamental Principles serve as institutional rules and provide operational guidance, the three spirits serve as an ideology for members of the Chinese Red Cross. In addition, over the last few years, the Chinese Red Cross has become more and more involved in disaster response operations abroad (for instance, in the response to Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines in 2013 and the earthquake in Nepal in 2015), as well as in China. It is expected that Chinese disaster response organizations will be increasingly involved in future international crises. The Review spoke to Mr Ma Qiang, former Executive Vice-President of the Shanghai branch of the Chinese Red Cross, the oldest Red Cross branch in China, to find out more about how he sees the evolution of the humanitarian sector and the challenges to principled humanitarian action in today's world.
This interview was conducted in Shanghai on 30 January 2015 by Vincent Bernard, Editor-in-Chief of the International Review of the Red Cross, Nicole Martins-Maag (ICRC Geneva) and Wen Zhou (ICRC Beijing).
1 Ma Qiang and Chi Zihua (eds), Red Cross in Shanghai 1904–1949, China Publishing Group, Shanghai, 2014.
2 Sun Gan (孙淦) was a Shanghai businessman and patriotic overseas Chinese citizen, doing business in Japan for a long time. He joined the Red Cross during his stay in Japan, and later came up with the idea of establishing a Red Cross National Society in China. In 1897, he submitted a letter to the Chinese ambassador to Japan calling for the establishment of a Red Cross National Society in China.
3 Sun Yat-sen (孙中山) (1866–1925) was the first president and founding father of the Republic of China. Sun played an instrumental role in the overthrow of the Qing dynasty, and co-founded the Kuomintang, serving as its first leader. He was also a medical practitioner, and he translated a Red Cross handbook of first aid into Chinese in 1897.
4 Shen Dunhe (沈敦和) (1866–1920) was a well-known Chinese social activist and philanthropist. In his early years, he studied at the University of Cambridge. In 1904, he established the Shanghai Wan Guo Red Cross Society with other merchants and gentlemen in Shanghai. From 1907, he served as vice-chairman of the Red Cross Society of China.
5 Article 40 of the Statutes of the Red Cross Society of China (revised in 2015) states:
The Red Cross organizations established in townships, streets (communities), corporations, enterprises, schools, medical institutions and other organizations are Grass-roots units.
The main responsibilities of the Red Cross Grass-roots units are: to disseminate knowledge about the Red Cross, carry out humanitarian relief activities, organize primary first-aid training, disseminate knowledge about public health, and other activities consistent with the goals of the Red Cross.
6 According to its statistics, as of the end of September 2014, the SHRC at all levels had 4,048 grass-roots organizations, 1,278 group members, 325 full-time staff and 3,186 part-time staff. Among them, three industries (steel, fire-fighting and railway) and thirteen economic development zones have established Red Cross units. Seventeen districts (or counties) and 209 street neighbourhoods (or townships) have established 4,727 Red Cross service stations in residential and public places. There are 1,390 Red Cross clubs in schools, and sixty-four Red Cross medical institutions. There are 1,115,200 Red Cross members, 1,278 group members and 244,100 volunteers. Volunteers, including first-aiders and disaster-monitor volunteers, cover virtually all neighbourhoods, townships and villages in Shanghai.
7 According to Jean Pictet's commentaries on the Fundamental Principles of the Movement, the principles of unity, universality and voluntary service are considered to be organizational principles. Jean Pictet, The Fundamental Principles of the Red Cross: Commentary, ICRC, Geneva, 1979, available at: www.icrc.org/eng/resources/documents/misc/fundamental-principles-commentary-010179.htm.
8 The Sichuan earthquake, which measured 8.0 in magnitude and occurred on 12 May 2008 in the Sichuan province of China, left 69,197 dead and 374,176 injured, with 18,222 listed as missing. It was the deadliest earthquake to hit China since the 1976 Tangshan earthquake. The Red Cross Society of China raised donations of around 4.29 billion yuan (US$680 million) in total.
9 From 18 to 22 December 1978, the 3rd Plenary Session of the 11th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China was held in Beijing. This conference marked the beginning of the “Reform and Opening Up” policy. It was a decisive turning point in post-1949 Chinese history, marking the beginning of the wholesale repudiation of Mao's Cultural Revolution policies, and set China on course for nationwide economic reforms.