"Our stance is clear, we will not give the money to you and we will make the vote fail today," said Hong Kong Legislative Council (LegCo) member Wong Yuk-man during a debate on whether to provide aid to people in the earthquake-stricken area of Ya'an, Sichuan Province.

The 7.0-magnitude quake claimed more than 190 lives, prompting Hong Kong Chief Executive CY Leung to propose donating HK$100 million ($12.89 million) in public funds to the Sichuan Provincial government.

Although the proposal was opposed by more than 90 percent of locals, according to an online poll by Hong Kong-based newspaper the South China Morning Post, it was passed on Friday with 37 out of 60 votes.

According to a video published online of Wong's LegCo speech, he angrily accused the Red Cross Society of China (RCSC) of corruption, stating that he feared the money would end up lining the pockets of local officials.

Wong's speech prompted a strong reaction among Web users on the Chinese mainland. While some Web users were offended, many, already outraged at the government charity over a series of long-standing scandals, agreed with him and praised him for speaking the truth.

Wong, a key member of Hong Kong's pro-democracy party People Power, gave the speech at the first meeting of the financial committee of the LegCo on April 24.

Public opinion unleashed

The video of Wong's speech opposing the donations has been forwarded more than 80,000 times by Web users on Weibo, and the clip on youku.com has seen over two million clicks. Nearly 90 percent of viewers clicked the "thumbs up" button under the video.

"What we need is someone like Wong who could help us deliver the public's opinion to policy makers," Kong Zhiyong, a Guangdong entrepreneur and avid fan of Wong, told the Global Times.

In the first meeting of the LegCo financial committee on April 24, the donation proposal wasn't voted on because lawmakers were divided on the issue.

Another Hong Kong lawmaker, Wong Kwok-hing, said he supported the Hong Kong government's actions to donate money to Sichuan. He said that "blood is thicker than water," and that Hong Kong residents should consider their compatriots on the Chinese mainland and give emergency help.

Mo Man-ching, another lawmaker, who spoke out against the donations, said she was surprised and also touched that many Chinese mainland residents have the same feelings as her, since she assumed that Chinese mainland people would blame her for not being "patriotic" or not showing compassion to earthquake victims.

 She told the Global Times that no matter whether it's the mainland or Hong Kong, people want to make their voices heard.

When it comes to donations, not everyone can choose the organizations they donate to. A Beijing journalist surnamed Li, 25, told the Global Times that the media agency he works for encourages all staff, particularly members of the Communist Party of China (CPC), to donate to the RCSC.

"We can say we don't trust the RCSC on Weibo, but not at a government-owned organization and there's no way for us to make our voices become a topic of public discussion for lawmakers," Li told the Global Times.

"Many of those Web users know about Wong Yuk-man, who has been very radical and sometimes emotional, but many still agreed with what he said and admired his attitude," said Li.

Even Wong admits having a "radical" stance, as he labeled himself a "mad dog" in the wake of the speech. Despite this, his outburst was appreciated by many Web users, due to its outspokenness.

On April 30, Wong Yuk-man was convicted of organizing an unlawful assembly in 2011 and is likely to lose his seat on the LegCo.

Some also focused on the fact that LegCo still voted to donate funds. Others showed their approval for the meeting process itself, as it at least allowed free expression.

"Although we knew the proposal would pass eventually, lawmakers like Wong tried their best to hold back the decision," Lui Ping-kuen, senior lecturer at the Hong Kong Baptist University, told the Global Times, adding that many Chinese mainlanders also want their voices to be heard.

Zhu Lijia, a professor of public management at the Chinese Academy of Governance, told the Global Times that the issue should not be politicized and that the RCSC and the government were two distinct things. "In this case, the public should target the RCSC. It's only a State-supported social organization, and shouldn't be equated to a government department," he said.

"If there is any problem with the government, it's the lack of supervision over the governance of the RCSC."

A charity under siege

Although there have in recent years been many instances when Hong Kong residents and mainlanders have clashed over political issues, sometimes resulting in heated rhetoric being flung both ways, on this occasion both sides were in agreement.

The reputation of the RCSC, China's largest government-backed charity organization, has been in tatters after a series of corruption scandals.

A poll launched by the Changsha-based Xiaoxiang Morning Herald showed that only 10 percent of the 6,000 mainland respondents trust charities with government backgrounds.

"Nevertheless, the RCSC is irreplaceable because government charities have access to much more in terms of financial and logistical resources and so we need to improve," Deng Guosheng, a member of the independent committee supervising the RCSC told the Global Times, adding that in the past a significant amount of donations were raised through administrative measures, but the system has been changing.

Mo said that the government lacks honesty rather than money. She also said she hopes the Hong Kong government will not misuse local taxpayers' money, as giving funds like this would just benefit corrupt authorities.

"I still don't know whether Hong Kong has the right to monitor how the funds we donate to the mainland are used," she said.

Recently, the RCSC admitted that a donation it received from over 100 artists was not used as the donors had stipulated.

However, it claimed all the money was used generally in accordance with the donors' will.