Yunnan marks World Red Cross Day

The Red Cross Society of Yunnan Province, a multi-ethnic area in southwest China, marked its 90th anniversary Saturday on the World Red Cross Day as the China Red Cross Society celebrated its 100th.

With the rapid social and economic development, the Yunnan branch received donations and relief funds worth 220 million yuan (26 million US dollars) over the last decade and provided humanitarian assistance to 400,000 disaster victims and needy people each year, according to an official of the provincial Red Cross Society.

To mark the anniversary, local Red Cross experts offered consulting services, and the Ping An Life Insurance Co. presented a one-year policy worth 350,000 yuan to each hemopoietic stem cell donor.

Statistics show some 2 million people in Yunnan, a poor border region inhabited by 26 ethnic groups, still live under the poverty line. Frequent disasters such as landslides and earthquakes affect the lives of 20 million people annually.

There are 3,800 grassroots Red Cross societies with a total membership of 520,000 across the province. Apart from assisting the locals, they have also joined hands with the Red Cross Society in Australia in publicizing AIDS prevention knowledge among 600,000 young people.

The provincial Red Cross also has established cooperative ties with Red Cross societies and humanitarian organizations in over 20countries and regions.

Source: Xinhua