After the reform and opening up, under the guidance of the idea of "emancipating the mind and seeking truth from facts", people's ideas began to make new breakthroughs. 198 1 1 When an earthquake with a magnitude of 6.9 occurred in daofu county, Sichuan, the China Red Cross Society received a telex from the International Federation of the Red Cross asking if it needed help. Wang Xiaohua told the International Herald Tribune: "At that time, we asked for more than a dozen tents. This is the first time we have received disaster relief assistance. As a result, people sent it the next day. "
Subsequently, on the Sino-Vietnamese border, the staff of the China Red Cross Society once again received assistance from the International Federation when resettling 270,000 Indo-Chinese refugees. "At that time, the scale was relatively large, with medical equipment, materials worth millions of yuan, and donations." Wang Xiaohua said.
Although China has always passively accepted international aid during this period, compared with the Tangshan earthquake, it has changed from total rejection to limited and prudent acceptance. In Wang Xiaohua's view, this is a qualitative leap.