Huang Jianxing, an official with the Wenzhou Municipal Publicity Department, said the measure is a good start, and exists solely to help those in desperate need: "The purpose of establishing such a fund is to save people's lives and to ease social conflict that might be caused by a lack of money for medical treatment."

He said money will be raised through all available channels, including funds allocated by the provincial government, by fining vehicle owners who fail to buy insurance, and through corporate donations.

"The fund won't add much financial pressure on the government. Most of the money will be raised via other channels. However, it's the government's responsibility to monitor the way the fund is operated, so we've established a team to run it and ensure that the money is used to help those who really need it," Huang said.

Contact the authors at zhanglei@chinadaily.com.cn and yanyiqi@chinadaily.com.cn