Party papers remark on Hong Kong quake donation furore

Pan-democrats are quoted approvingly in attacks on credibility of mainland charities

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Wong Yuk-man's words at the Legco's Finance Committee meeting had attracted more than two million views on Chinese video portal youku.com. Photo: Felix Wong

Published: 12:00am, 7 May 2013Updated: 3:50pm, 11 Jun 2015

Two Communist Party mouthpieces yesterday reported the controversy in Hong Kong over the HK$100 million donation to earthquake victims in Sichuan - pointing the finger at the Red Cross Society of China.

The articles, in and the English edition of , came after the Legislative Council passed the government's funding request on Friday - a vote that saw 23 pan-democratic lawmakers oppose it.

The story quoted radical legislator Wong Yuk-man's criticisms of the donation, saying that many Hongkongers agreed with him. Last Wednesday, the overseas edition of said "only a minority of Hong Kong people" were against the donation.

The mainland edition of the same newspaper said it was "worth thinking about" the lack of trust in mainland charities that the 23 votes reflected. Meanwhile, its sister newspaper, devoted a full page of its English edition to the topic.

It said the reputation of the Red Cross Society, China's largest government-backed charity, was "in tatters after a series of corruption scandals".

The donation has been attacked online in Hong Kong, including on sites mainlanders use. Over the past week, People Power lawmaker Wong's words at the Legislative Council's Finance Committee meeting had attracted more than two million views on the YouTube-like video portal youku.com.