Quotable

"If we cannot change the public image of the Red Cross Society in two to three years, I'll resign."

Zhao Baige, executive vice-president of the Red Cross Society of China, saying that the organization will take steps to make its activities more credible and transparent. The credibility of the organization in China took a beating in 2011, after Guo Meimei, a young woman, said that she had used Red Cross funds to support her luxurious lifestyle.

"The Chinese volleyball team needs a coach who can inspire, innovate and lead. As an active player and former member of the national team, I think I should take up the responsibility."

Jenny Lang Ping, former volleyball star, commenting on her appointment as coach of the Chinese women's volleyball team. The 53-year-old former head coach of both the Chinese and US national volleyball teams was the clear favorite in the short-list of four candidates.

"Those who advocate that China's economy should rely on consumption are, in fact, pushing the country to a crisis. I've never seen any country that falls into crisis because of over-investment. "

Justin Yifu Lin, an economist and former World Bank chief economist, disagreeing with the suggestion that China should change its mode of economic growth from investment to consumption. Lin says that China, a developing country, needs more innovation to move up the value chain and this can be realized only through additional investment.

(China Daily 05/03/2013 page2)