China is considering legislation to better regulate
organizations involved in charities, a senior civil affairs
official said.
"The ministry is preparing the draft of a charity law," Li
Liguo, vice-minister of civil affairs, was quoted as saying on
Tuesday.
"Regulations on disaster-relief donations will also be amended
to eradicate illegal and messy fundraising activities."
Li made the remarks during a group discussion with several
National People's Congress deputies and political advisers.
According to Li, several regulations are being considered to
boost charitable causes, including a new corporate tax policy to be
implemented next year, which would raise the tax deduction level
for donations to charity to 20 percent of a company's yearly
profit.
"But administrative obstacles still make these policies
difficult to implement," Li said. He called for better coordination
among government sectors and the simplification of tax deduction
procedures.
Millions of people in China suffer from disasters every year and
are in need of financial aid, he said.
Official statistics show that the per capita donation in China
hovers around one yuan every year. The majority of donations come
from overseas.
Li called for the setting up of a national charity network for
donations.
He said the country is studying the feasibility of using the
services of non-governmental organizations to establish a central
budget.
Sociologists hailed the ministry's decision.
"More Chinese are giving to charity, and the legal environment
toward charity has also become more favorable with several laws
being amended in the past two years," said Wang Ming, professor in
NGO studies with Tsinghua University.
Wang said the government is recognizing the role that
non-governmental organizations play in enhancing social services,
and their joint efforts in several pilot schemes.
(China Daily May 25, 2007)