By ZHAO Meng
Translated by GU Yiwei
One day in early February, XU Peng, a member from Blue Sky Rescue Squad, wrote in his Wechat social media feed “Kiddo, you be good. Daddy is leaving for Wuhan to fight the big monster!”Eleven days later, he died in a traffic accident delivering relief supplies to Wuhan.
More than five hundred members from Blue Sky Rescue Squad have participated in the relief effort during the recent coronavirus outbreak. All of them are unpaid volunteers. Together with thousands of other volunteers working around the clock in various communities in Wuhan, they have played a crucial role in the running of the city during the lockdown.
It is rarely mentioned, however, that these heroes have long suffered from inadequate insurance coverage - if anything happens in action, in most cases, compensations for the surviving family members can only be obtained through public donation or special funds set for nationally recognized heroes.
It is widely agreed among volunteers and advocates that such current case-by-case approaches urgently need to be formalized into standardized policies. This is not only to secure the rights and interests of volunteers, but also to ensure the long-term sustainability of the volunteering sector and volunteering spirit.
To his peers' consolation. Before this mission, Xu Peng bought a special accident insurance, as required by Blue Sky. The policy costs 560 yuan (about 80 USD), and provides a maximum of 800,000 yuan (about 114,150 USD) in death benefit. In addition, China Charity Federation, whose supplies Xu Peng was delivering when the accident happened, provided him a separate insurance coverage. Blue Sky is also applying for a “National Public Hero” recognition for him, which, upon approval, may offer extra compensation.
Volunteers, a.k.a “civic heroes”, playing a bigger role
LI Chen, who co-owned a tattoo studio with Xu Peng, called him on February 5. The two friends agreed to get together after the Lunar New Year holiday. Xu told him over the phone that he was already in Wuhan. Two weeks later, the news came that Xu died on the way delivering epidemic relief supplies, in an accident near Liangshan county, 250 kilometers from Wuhan. The bottle of wine Li Chen kept for him was still unopened.
Li Chen met Xu Peng in college. They formed a band, Xu being the lead singer, Li the drummer. Xu came from Dafeng in Jiangsu province, the hometown of the author of the Ming-Dynasty masterpiece Outlaws of the Marsh. “He was just like those heroes.” as his old friends recall. In Li’s memory, Xu had always been ready to help those in need, but for a long time, he didn’t have “an outlet for his big heart”. “For someone like him, once he finds his gang, he will ‘go all out’”. Li said to Jiemian News.
On a road trip to west China, Xu encountered a Blue Sky unit on a rescue mission. The team was having a hard time getting a batch of relief supplies delivered, which Xu loaded onto the trunk of his jeep. This chance encounter changed the course of Xu Zhipeng’s life.
He joined Blue Sky around 2016, and thrived in this organization. He quickly rose from the most junior “helpmate” to senior “sergeant”, and was soon promoted to the captain of a highly-specialized tactical unit. As Li remembered, Xu used to joke about the vast amount of time and money that volunteering work takes. “A bottomless hole making a billionaire millionaire, a millionaire a poor man.” In spite of this, Xu was devoted.
As a civil organization, Blue Sky has over fifty thousand members nationwide, and depending on their involvement and seniority, the members are called “helpmates”, “trainees”, and “sergeants” within the organization. Regardless of the name, in legal terms, these members are all volunteers, whose rights and interests are defined solely by China’s Regulation on Voluntary Services. There is no binding contractual relationship between these volunteers and Blue Sky.
Xu and Li ran a tattoo studio together, but he rarely had time to take care of its business after he joined Blue Sky. He was always running around, rushing from tornadoes, to boat accidents, to snow storms, and had been dispatched to far away places like Hoh Xil, Myanmar, and Laos.
Blue Sky members like calling themselves “crazy”, since they pay for all the expenses incurred in the rescue effort out of their own pockets, according to CAO Chao, also from Blue Sky. In spite of this, people kept joining. “[We] genuinely enjoy helping other people. It makes us happy.” Cai said.
This is no surprise to JIN Jingping, a researcher at Peking University studying the work of NGOs. According to Jin, those who find the causes they are passionate about tend to “fulfil extreme potentials”. When it comes to civil service, these people may devote themselves full-heartedly to volunteering, sustained solely by the “the spirit of volunteerism” even in the absence of any material reward.
She also explained that voluntary participation of civic services indicates widespread awakening of people’s “sense of citizenship, as well as the pride and sense of duty entailed”. In the past decade, in fact, volunteers have played indispensable roles in various disaster relief efforts, and are widely praised for their adaptable strategies, flexible methods, and closeness to the communities served.
Dangerous work, limited insurance options
Rescue workers voluntarily participate in hazardous activities, and as a result, a conventional insurance policy would not cover the risks incurred in the process. In fact, inadequate insurance coverage has long been a problem for the heroes who are constantly exposed to dangers.
There are two reasons for this, as HUANG Hao, another Blue Sky member, told Jiemian News. Many insurers do not offer such specialized products for rescue workers. And rescue organizations are usually not rigorous in enforcing insurance coverage, due to a shortage of funding or negligence in management. “In our early days, almost all of us were uncovered.”
Huang Hao used to be a journalist. His reporting on the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake changed his life - instead of writing about on-the-ground problems and calling for reforms, it might be more effective sometimes to participate in the front-line effort himself. He joined Blue Sky, still a very young organization then, and became one of its earliest members.
Volunteering rescue work was a new thing back then, and the insurance market didn’t have a product covering this type of activities. Many Blue Sky members could only resort to traditional personal accident insurances for their dispatches, but their claims would be rejected because of their voluntary participation in hazardous activities.
In the next few years, Blue Sky quickly rose to national fame because of its effective relief efforts in a couple natural disasters. With this, the lack of insurance coverage was brought to the public’s attention. In 2013, The Ministry of Civil Affairs issued a series of guidelines on the development of an insurance market for volunteering services, calling for “viable definitions of liability sharing, coverage scope, and compensation mechanism”.
Around 2015, an insurance company launched a low-cost policy specifically designed for rescue workers - it cost three yuan (about 0.4 USD) for each day in the field, provided a maximum of 100,000 yuan (14,270 USD) of death benefit, and could be bought right before the dispatch. The meager compensation “was better than nothing”, as a few Blue Sky members told Jiemian News, and didn’t really bring them any peace of mind. “We could only pray that nothing happens”.
Huang Hao kept raising the issue to the authorities. The officials he talked to invited the local insurance companies and rescue workers to a meeting. The delegates from the insurance companies “promised to add some new products” but eventually, nothing came out of this conversation.
In recent years, in fact, a few insurance products for rescue workers have appeared in the market, but they tend to be expensive, costing thousands per policy. At the beginning of 2019, a company designed a relatively affordable annual policy for Blue Sky - the premium is only 560 yuan per person per year, and the death benefit can be as high as 800,000 yuan. This is exactly the one Xu Peng bought.
Blue Sky requires all its members to purchase insurance coverage for their dispatches, according to ZHANG Yong, the head of the organization. However, each local chapter operates independently, and the national headquarters has no control over local insurance management - each team makes their own decisions on who pays the premiums and the level of coverage.
For example, in the Suzhou chapter of Blue Sky where Xu Peng served, only “sergeants” are required to buy the annual policy mentioned above, at their own expenses, of course. “Trainees” and “volunteers” often are only covered by the minimum coverage at a 3-yuan-per-day premium.
According to Blue Sky policies, during each rescue operation, only “sergeants”, easily recognizable for their blue uniforms, are allowed to take part in the actual rescue. “Trainees” only “partake in assistance work”. “They are essentially under training, but sometimes also go to the scene”. In the case of an accident, with the cheap insurance policy, the compensations are often minimal.
In the summer of 2018, two Shenzhen-based Blue Sky members died on their way to rescue a group of hikers - a stream overflooded and the two lost contact with the big team. Neither of them were covered by the annual insurance, and the policy they bought only gave 100,000 yuan to each family.
“The parents were very reasonable and understanding, thankfully. I can’t imagine what we could reply if they had questioned why Blue Sky had not provided insurance for their children.”
Love and anxiety of community volunteers
Other than specialized forces like Blue Sky, during the coronavirus outbreak, thousands of community volunteers also worked hard around the city of Wuhan, playing key roles in various municipal functions. Barely anyone, however, gave much thoughts to insurance.
On February 23, for example, Wuhan called for volunteers to deliver food and medicines to residents in locked down communities. Five thousand volunteers applied in three days.
LI Bo, a freelancer, was one of the hundreds of volunteers selected in his Longcheng neighborhood. He was tasked with running essential errands for residents in need, and would sometimes patrol the neighborhood and persuade people not to stay out for too long. He had no previous volunteering experience and didn’t know much about the rights and obligations involved. “I just do whatever they ask me to do.”
A community administrator from Longcheng confirmed that there has been no plan so far to insure volunteers. “A volunteer helps other people without asking for rewards. If you have any additional requirements, I would suggest not doing it.” he justified this decision.
In fact, after the outbreak happened, a few insurance companies adjusted their products offerings to cover coronavirus-related incidents, either by launching new policies or by widening existing coverages. Volunteering organizations and individual volunteers, however, have been largely unaware of them, or simply do not see the need for insurance. WANG Zheng, for example, who volunteers for another Wubei city, has not considered getting insured. He has been working for two weeks and is on call 24 hours. “We volunteers do not feel it’s appropriate to ask for anything.” he explained his decision.
Li Bo works a three-shift schedule. He pays for his own room and board, and doesn’t receive any payment for his volunteering work. Unlike many other volunteers, however, he has taken extra precaution by getting himself an accident insurance covering coronavirus-related illnesses. It cost 68 yuan (10 USD), and comes with a maximum compensation of 200,000 yuan (28,500 USD).
Cleaning supplies and protective gears were in severe shortage. At first, Li Bo was only given a mask and a pair of gloves every day, and disinfectant was only provided days later. He had to take safety into his own hands. He prepared two sets of clothes a day, one for outside the house, one for inside. And he washed his hands extremely diligently.
The “Volunteers’ Manual” issued by the municipal government requires them to avoid physical contact with potential carriers of the virus, but there is no way to eradicate the risk. One day, an elderly man cut his hand and needed hospital treatment. “Everyone was trying to avoid hospitals then. It’s a high-risk area, after all”. Li Bo said. After some hesitation, with the help of a few other volunteers, he took the old man to the hospital.
“I was really afraid. You never know if anyone is infected there”. He debated with himself whether to go into the hospital, but eventually accompanied the old man throughout the treatment. The old man didn’t bring his wallet and was about to send for his wife to pay the fees, but that would expose her to the hospital environment. So Li Bo paid the old man’s bill himself.
In another incident, a fellow volunteer suddenly collapsed during a neighborhood patrol. A few colleagues hurried him to the hospital, and fortunately it was just food poisoning. When they left, the doctor reminded Li Bo to clean his nose and ears in addition to washing his hands when he got home. “I didn’t realize until then how dangerous volunteering was.” Li Bo confessed.
The Wuhan government gives out certificates and recognitions for those who have performed extraordinarily in their volunteering work, but Li Bo wasn’t after these. “For freelancers like me, I don’t really care much for recognitions. I just wanted to help my neighbors.” He only hopes that the epidemic would pass soon, and he himself would come out of it safe and sound.
Treating the volunteers well for the future of the civic society
Volunteers, despite being unpaid, are entitled to certain rights, including the right to information, the right to training, and the right to safety, which, in some circumstances may involve insurance coverage provided by the volunteering organization, as Jin Jingping, the NGO scholar from Beijing University, explained in her paper.
These rights are laid out in related laws and regulations, and still need to be specified in the hiring procedures and service contracts of volunteering organizations.
The recent large-scale mobilization of volunteers brought an extra sense of urgency to this matter. On March 5, China’s “National Day of Volunteering”, the Ministry of Civil Service, in partnership with Tencent’s Charity Foundation, launched a “Comprehensive Care Program for Volunteers, Community Workers, and Senior Care Providers.”
Specifically, this new program would provide a special insurance policy covering coronavirus infections for qualified volunteers and social workers. It provides a maximum of 50,000 yuan (7,100USD) for severe cases of infections acquired through volunteering or community service, and a 250,000 yuan (35,600 USD) benefit for any related death. The coverage can be obtained through online application.
This new development was an encouragement for volunteers at the front line of the epidemic relief effort. Some, however, think it’s not enough. Huang Hao, for example, believes that to protect the rights and interests of volunteers, such one-time programs need to be written into laws as standardized procedures, and implemented in all volunteering activities.
In Regulation on Voluntary Services, issued in 2017, it is actually mandated that volunteering organizations “shall provide its service members personal accident insurance coverage for risks that may occur during the process of providing voluntary services.” This means that the responsibility lies with the organizations, which, clearly, is not fulfilled in the current state of affairs.
The volunteering organizations, however, have their own grievances. A non-government organization such as Blue Sky does not have a reliable source of funding - they either get occasional donations from private companies, or generate meager income from training contracts with other organizations. This makes it impossible for an organization to afford insurance for every single member. “If you ask people to buy their own insurance, not everyone would comply.” Huang Hao said.
For XU Xiaohua, Professor at Central University of Finance and Economics who studies the insurance market, it’s the volunteering organizations’ “natural responsibilities” to provide insurance coverage for its members. To solve the current funding shortage, he suggests seeking help from state-owned insurance companies and related government ministries to “come up with a creative solution”.
“Of all the new programs and policies issues after the coronavirus outbreak, which one had a precedence? So we need to think outside the box.” He explained that China has long developed a well-established mechanism for social benefit and rescue programs, and the authorities have funds reserved for related initiatives. Plus, the state-run employee injury insurance has been running at a surplus. “In special times like this, we must dare to think, and make creative use of all of that money.” He even suggested applying the standards of employee injury insurance compensations to volunteering services.
Huang Hao also mentioned that the law requires local municipal governments “to include volunteering service as part of their regular economic and social development planning” and provide “wide, multi-tiered” support for volunteering work. The enforcement, however, varies from place to place. In Jiangxi, for example, the local government subsidizes the insurance purchase for the fifty local Blue Sky members. In other places, volunteers are mostly “left to themselves.”
