Red Cross hit by new claims

BEIJING / Jinan - The Red Cross Society of China is under new scrutiny after reports that some of its local organizations are collecting mandatory membership fees from primary and middle school students.

A woman surnamed Zhang in Lixia district of Jinan, capital of East China's Shandong province, paid two yuan (30 cents) last week when her 9-year-old son came home with teachers' instructions to make the donation to the China Red Cross.

She was concerned that her son did not know what the donation was for and that a normally voluntary act should be made compulsory. Her concern intensified when she recalled a spate of credibility and corruption scandals that had recently plagued the charity organization.