中国即将出台首部慈善法律

 

"Charitable programs are indispensable for the fight against poverty. Formulating³ a charity law helps nongovernmental sources work together in taking targeted measures to eliminate poverty and contribute to achieving the goal of building a moderately prosperous society," said Li Jianguo, vice⁴ chairman of the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing⁵ Committee, when introducing the bill to NPC deputies at the NPC annual session.

 

Annual donations to registered charities in China soared from 10 billion yuan to 100 billion yuan in the past decade. But both the public and authorities are wary⁶ of corruption⁷ and mismanagement in the charity sector⁸. A number of scandals have suggested they have good reason to be wary of.

 

Many charities have weak internal management and are not operating under established protocols⁹, while the sector as a whole "has not developed a self-discipline mechanism," according to Li.

 

Although several existing laws and government regulations regulate charitable activities to some degree, they are out of date and inadequate¹⁰ given the growth of the sector, he said.

 

Since 2008, national lawmakers have tabled dozens of motions and proposals for enacting¹¹ a charity law. The draft was submitted for the first reading at the bi-monthly session of the NPC Standing Committee in October and for a second reading two months later.

 

The law provides stipulations on how charities should be registered, giving approved charities more freedom in their operations than is currently the case. It also promises tax benefits for charitable activities.

 

China is aiming to ensure that all its rural residents are living above the poverty line by 2020. As of the end of 2015, 55.75 million rural Chinese were living below the line, meaning they had a per capita net income of less than 2,800 yuan (430 US dollars) a year.

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