In recent years, China's rapid economic development has attracted worldwide attention and its international status has been rising. At the same time, in the process of China's transition to a market economy, there have been many social contradictions and problems, such as the disparity between the rich and the poor, the imperfect social security, the deterioration of the environment and the unbalanced economic development in various regions. In order to solve these problems, the Fourth Plenary Session of the 16th CPC Central Committee clearly put forward the long-term development goal of building a harmonious society in an all-round way. Charity is an important part of this goal, as the Central Committee's Decision on Strengthening the Construction of the Party's Ruling Ability points out: To build a harmonious socialist society, we must "improve the social security system that integrates social insurance, social assistance, social welfare and charity." Therefore, vigorously developing charity in China should be an important task and work content at present.

However, at present, the development of philanthropy in China is seriously lagging behind, which is extremely disproportionate to China's economic and social development and China's international status and influence. According to statistics, in 2002, Chinese mainland's per capita donation (mainly to major government-run charities) was RMB 0.92, totaling about 654.38 billion, accounting for only one tenth of the GDP of that year (654.38+002.398 trillion), while in 2003, the per capita private donation in the United States was US$ 828.7, totaling 2,465.438+00. After considering the difference in per capita income between China and the United States, the difference in per capita charitable donations between China and the United States is still more than 7300 times. According to the latest data, in 2005, China's civil affairs departments received donations of 2.9 billion yuan, and some private charities will receive donations of 3-4 billion yuan, but compared with the GDP of 2005/kloc-0.8 trillion yuan, the proportion is still very low.

Investigate its reason, mainly have the following factors:

First, charity laws and regulations are seriously lacking, and the current laws and regulations have a low degree of legalization:

Up to now, the only existing laws on charity in China are the Donation Law of People's Republic of China (PRC) for Public Welfare (1999) and the Law of the People's Republic of China on the Red Cross (1993). In addition, there are some administrative regulations and rules of the competent departments. This situation makes it difficult for charity to develop in such a legal environment and conditions.

Second, the subject of charity is not clear, and the system and management of charity are backward:

1. At present, legal charities do not have independent legal personality. Registration should be linked to a competent business unit, which is basically a government department or an organization authorized by the government. This makes the level of philanthropy in the legal and administrative system not high. The government still plays a major role in charity, and the phenomenon of government-run charity is widespread. This not only greatly hinders the establishment and access of charities, but also makes the number of charities far from meeting the needs of charitable assistance; Moreover, it causes unclear rights and responsibilities of charities and low efficiency.

2. Due to the long-term influence of the planned economy system, many existing charities are generally outdated, lack of specialization in management mode and capital operation, and are far from foreign charities, making it difficult to play their due role.

Third, the social donation mechanism is not perfect, the channels are not smooth, and the donation information is opaque:

1. Lack of universal incentive mechanism: At present, only five charities, including china charity federation and China Red Cross, grant full tax exemption to donations from charities. To some extent, it has dampened the donation enthusiasm of most small and medium-sized charities and the public.

2. There is no effective supervision and information inquiry system for the distribution and use of donations. Information such as the source, use and destination of donations is opaque, which leads to the lack of credibility of charities and donation activities.

Judging from the actual situation of social donation in recent years, the public in China has shown great enthusiasm and strong will for charity and social donation activities. However, the above problems have affected the development of folk charity in China. Fortunately, however, many government departments are beginning to realize the seriousness and urgency of these problems. Therefore, whether it is official or private, more and more people demand that charity be legislated as soon as possible.

In this regard, I suggest that the NPC Law Committee and the Ministry of Civil Affairs carry out and promote the legislative drafting of the above issues as soon as possible, so as to vigorously promote the development of charity in China. The main points are as follows:

1. Formulate a complete charity law as soon as possible to give legal protection and supervision to charity and social donation activities.

2. The government should change its role in charity, gradually fade out as the market subject of donation, and mainly undertake the functions of legislation, supervision, inspection, evaluation, auditing and law enforcement. Instead of being both a referee and an athlete.

3. Give the charity an independent legal person status, cancel the requirement that the registration of charity should be linked to a business competent unit, and clearly define the nature, mission, operation and management mode of charity.

4. Expand the tax-free treatment of charitable donations, improve the publicity of charitable donations, expand donation channels in various ways, establish a strict review and supervision mechanism for fundraising donations, announce the source and flow of donations at any time, and establish a completely transparent public inquiry system.

Immature holder

The hope project has been staring at us for more than ten years, which makes people feel that donating money for education has become a common practice. Every natural disaster, the civil affairs department can always respond in time. Ordinary people realize that they are already participating in charity from the donation sharing of the unit-even they are among them. China is so big that everyone has to take part.

However, in fact, the philanthropy in China is still very immature.

At present, there are more than 20 million poor people in cities and towns, tens of millions in rural areas, about 60 million disabled people in the country, and nearly 2 million floating children drop out of school. The task is not serious.

However, the absolute number of charities in China is very small. At present, there are 280,000 non-profit NGOs registered in China-many of them are official and semi-official, not real NGOs, and even less related to charity. In the United States, as early as 1990, there were more than1400,000 non-profit NGOs.

In China, the definition of "charity" is still confusing. Different from international practice, many organizations and activities in the category of "public welfare" such as environmental protection, cultural protection and spiritual civilization construction are not included in the concept of "charity" except for traditional charitable projects such as poverty alleviation, disaster relief and student aid. The influence of charity is too narrow.

Corresponding to the small number of charities, the fundraising ability and execution ability of charities in China are weak. In 2004, 395 charitable associations raised 654.38+0.69 billion yuan and spent 654.38+0.2 billion yuan. In Beijing, one of the richest cities in China, the Beijing Charity Association has made a list of personal donations in the past two years. People who donated 654.38 million yuan have actually ranked in the top four.

A survey of charitable organizations shows that more than100000 registered enterprises have registered for business and industry, and less than100000 have donated, that is, 99% of enterprises have never participated in donation; Many citizens believe that charity is a relief act of the government and has little to do with individuals. Donations are mainly passive donations from units, schools and streets, and the number of "regular active donations" is very small; From 65438 to 0998, the per capita charitable donation in China was only $65438 +0. By 2000, the per capita charitable donation actually fell to less than 1 RMB. In some countries, such as the United States, more than 70% of families donate to charity to some extent, with an average annual donation of $900 per family, accounting for 2.2% of the total family income.

In many developed countries, charity is also the connector of social wealth redistribution, which supports the rich to give back to society from taxation, publicity and morality. However, in China, 20% of urban wealthy families occupy 50% of social wealth, but their spending on donations is pitiful.

It can be said that the charity in China is supported by the love of ordinary people with a huge base on the one hand, and overseas donations on the other.

Encounter a crisis of confidence

In China, charities are responsible for raising funds and materials on the one hand and distributing them on the other. There is no professional division of labor between fundraising and execution, and the publicity and supervision mechanism is established late, which makes the credibility and efficiency of charities often questioned.

In 2002, Mr. Zhang, an ordinary citizen, sponsored a girl from a western rural area to go to school. The two sides exchanged addresses and names to facilitate contact. Three years later, the child graduated from primary school and wrote him a thank-you letter. He even called her "aunt" from the beginning, and the signature was no longer named by charity.

Another miss Li, introduced by a charity, paired up with a local child to help her go to school. The children and parents called her and advised her never to remit the money to the school. In that case, the money would be skinned and not completely in their hands. Miss Li believed them, but after half a year, the school told her that the money she got at home was not used for her children, and the children were still dropping out of school. Miss Li said that now I don't know which side to believe, so I simply don't continue to donate.

People who want to track donations have more or less encountered similar doubts. Trust is a wall in front of most people, so that when they decide to help others, they would rather find a visible person than give it to any organization.

Volunteers and Legal Dilemma

Volunteers are also an important indicator to measure a country's charity. Compared with payment, voluntary service reflects citizens' enthusiasm for society. In China, many volunteers can be recruited for large-scale activities and local celebrations, but there are few volunteers for public welfare activities and community activities on weekdays. Youth volunteer activities have flourished in recent years, mostly relying on the strength of college students.

There are also bottlenecks in the management of charity in China. At present, there are only three laws and regulations concerning charity: People's Republic of China (PRC) Public Welfare Donation Law, Regulations on the Registration of Social Organizations and Regulations on the Management of Foundations, which can no longer meet the needs of the rapid development of charity.

There is no law to refer to the identification, registration, management and supervision of charities, as well as the actual problems such as property rights, financing and investment, and the transfer of public welfare undertakings. Activities widely carried out in the society, such as welfare performances and private donations, are only supervised one by one, not in a procedural way. In the civil affairs department, non-profit organizations and profit-making associations are registered in one place, and other non-profit enterprises are not allowed to register in the civil affairs department.

There is no name, no receipt, and no publicity qualification, which makes many grassroots public welfare projects unable to obtain more living space.

Overseas Chinese are the main force of charity.

If philanthropy has developed rapidly in the past 20 years, then the two biggest forces are government-led civil affairs departments, overseas Chinese and international organizations.

The experience of overseas Chinese Yang Yingrui is quite representative. After he adopted a child himself, he felt that life became more meaningful, so he hoped to donate to build an orphanage in China.

Yes 1999. There is no precedent for foreign investors to build welfare homes in China, and there is no law to follow. From the moment he had this idea, Yang Yingrui spent five years in contact with the civil affairs department of China.

During this period, the civil affairs department sent an investigation team to the United States to inspect the funeral cause. Because of the traditional taboo concept of China people, no one in China is willing to accept it. After hearing the news, Yang Yingrui immediately arranged his own company to help solve this troublesome problem, so that officials understood the sincerity and ability of this person who wanted to do good deeds.

It was through similar in-depth understanding and repeated opening-up that Yang Yingrui finally found a suitable way and jointly established the "Prince of Peace Children's Welfare Institute" with Tianjin wuqing district Civil Affairs Bureau. Yang also introduced an international organization with rich experience in the management of welfare institutions to China to preside over the daily work of welfare institutions. After investigation, the latter also decided to invest in a tripartite joint venture company, with a total investment of more than10 million.

There are not a few overseas Chinese like Yang Yingrui. It can be said that most of the activists on the list of almost every grassroots charity organization are overseas Chinese registered because of blood relationship, region or project cooperation.

However, we must also see that most China people who participate in charitable activities in Chinese mainland are the older generation who have emigrated overseas for a long time. Although many young overseas generations live a beautiful life, it is rare for them to give generously to mainland charities or even do it themselves.

Busy figure of international organizations

At present, there are more and more overseas charitable organizations active in China, with the longest qualification of more than ten years. From donations from major natural disasters to intensive cultivation in the community, there are overseas organizations in various charitable fields, including local organizations in Hong Kong and Taiwan, mainly overseas Chinese, and international organizations that help China in the spirit of internationalism.

Lions International began to provide services and funds to China in the 1990s. Up to now, it has invested about US$ 20 million and set up a branch in Shenzhen. Tzu Chi Charity Foundation of Taiwan Province Province began to provide relief for the catastrophic floods in Chinese mainland from 199 1; Oxfam Hong Kong has been carrying out poverty alleviation projects in southwest China since 1980s. World Vision donated HK$ 4 million to the "Tomorrow Plan" of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, which is the largest social donation received by the plan at present. Since 1982, orbis has helped more than 3,500 patients with eye diseases to recover their sight ... Besides, major overseas organizations active in China include UNICEF, Save the Children UK, Mé decins Sans Frontiè res and Hong Kong Tung Wah Group of Hospitals.

The benign influence of these international organizations on charity in China is not limited to the figures in bank accounts. They brought the internationally accepted industry norms: respect for knowledge, efficient management, organic assistance, voluntary service, and emphasis on promotion. These ideas set an example for China's fledgling charity at the end of last century. For example, Save the Children UK proposed to block the source of children's wandering society from the aspect of preventing abuse, replace institutional care with small family units, and allow children to participate in the plan to express their opinions, all of which put forward new ideas for previous children's rescue work.

However, there are still some restrictions on the activities of international organizations in China, and many projects must be carried out with designated partners. How to give full play to their positive role more effectively, learn more from them, cooperate more with them, and train more local charity professionals is a topic worthy of discussion.