The Ministry of Civil Affairs (MCA)?issued a program, the
first of its kind, to further the development of charity activities
in China over the next five years, at the China Charity Conference
in Beijing on Sunday.
The program reads: "With China's economic, cultural and social
conditions improving in recent years, charity is playing an
increasingly vital role ... as charity could help to balance the
difference between the rich and poor, so as to maintain social
stability."
Charity activities should be aimed at helping those with basic
living difficulties, and raising their living standards, the
program notes.
The program sets forth general requirements and major targets
for the development of charity activities in the next five years
from 2006 to 2010, and elaborates the guidelines on the principles,
basic policies and related measures for charity organizations.
Since China's reform and opening-up in the late 1970s, great
improvements have been achieved in the country's charitable
undertakings.
Fan Baojun, chair of China Charity Federation (CCF), said
at the conference that China now has approximately 280,000
non-governmental charity organizations registered in MCA by the end
of 2004. And CCF's membership has increased to 168 in the past 11
years since its founding in 1994. However, the concept of the
volunteer charity association is still in its infancy and there are
few such foundations in China that are influential. It is required
that more charity organizations should be set up across the country
to make the charity network more comprehensive.
Since the 1990s, laws and regulations relating to donations,
taxation, and charity management have been passed, including the
Donation Law on Public Welfare, Registration Regulations for Social
Organizations, and Regulations for Foundations. But there are no
specific laws or regulations governing the procedure, financing,
evaluation and supervision of charity activities, which should be
established as soon as possible to ensure smooth operations.
The China Charity Conference, sponsored by MCA and CCF,
attracted more than 700 participants.
(Xinhua News Agency, China.org.cn November 21, 2005)
