BEIJING, Jan. 28 -- Deputies attending the Third Session of the 10th Guangdong Provincial People's Congress proposed setting up a monitoring system to safeguard Guangdong's charity causes, a Guangzhou Chinese language newspaper reported Thursday.

    The proposal was raised after a series of crimes emerged during the collection of donations for the tsunami-savaged South Asian countries. A fraudulent Web site purporting to belong to the China Charity Federation was recently discovered calling for public donations for the tsunamis survivors.

    Some people were also reported to have received mobile phone text messages asking for donations to be paid into personal accounts in the name of the Red Cross Society of China.

    The public was becoming more and more indifferent to welfare activities and was reluctant to give donations, for fear of being cheated or the money being embezzled, said the deputies.

    A woman who refused to be identified said she and her friends seldom gave money because they didn't want their money being embezzled.

    The woman gave 1,000 yuan (US$121) for the tsunami survivors only because many local media had been closely following the donations to guard against irregularities, the report said.

    Transparency should be introduced into the charity system, said a deputy from Guangzhou.

    Legal regulations monitoring social welfare organizations and charity groups should be set up, the deputy said.

    (Source: Shenzhen Daily)