By KARLA W. SIMON

Creating an environment for China’s civil society organizations (“CSOs”)2 that will be more empowering has never been unimportant, but is especially so now—after the Paralympic Games in September, the Olympic Games in August, and the Sichuan Earthquake in May.3   The questions of what legal/regulatory changes would be beneficial for such organizations, those who volunteer for them, and those who donate to them are especially significant after the Sichuan Earthquake of May 12, 2008.   Problems with the harnessing of human and financial resources for disaster relief once again attracted the attention of millions of Chinese citizens and its increasingly aware “netizens” at the time of the earthquake.4    Issues about volunteers and the regulations that govern them also have resonance in  connection with the Olympics and Paralympics, which brought thousands of volunteers from all over China to Beijing.  Legal questions around the status of CSOs and their relationship with the party-state must be dealt with if China is going to be able to address the social and economic needs of its people in the twenty-first Century.  While the state has increasingly viewed CSOs as important partners in meeting societal needs since the reforms to modernize and downsize government in the 1990s, the relationship must mature in order to achieve more successful outcomes.   This Article proposes an integrated approach to creating more space for civil society in China.  It thus addresses the legal changes that will be necessary to attain Yan Mingfu’s vision of a more cooperative state-civil society relationship within a foreseeable time frame.
…
This Article will address the following topics with regard to the regulation of civil society in China:
•    Making the existing regulations for social organizations (shehui tuanti, “SOs”), nonprofit non- commercial entities (minban fei qiye danwe, “NCEs”), 12   and foundations (jijin hui)13   more user-friendly, including making it possible for de facto networks that provide and coordinate disaster relief to be recognized, perhaps as semi-legal entities for a short period of time.14  …
•    Making public fund-raising easier for small and medium-sized CSOs.  Although the amount donated to charity increased in 2007,16  the new tax rule permitting all certified charities to receive  donations  has  not  been  implemented. 17    In  addition,  the  provision  giving  the government a leading role in fundraising for national emergencies should be removed from the Public Welfare Donations Law (“PWDL”).18
•    Passing the Charity (cishan) Law to coordinate the development of the law governing public benefit organizations and begin the process of privatizing charity in China.   …
•    Relaxing the controls on volunteering. While the current municipal rules may work well with regard to a planned event such as the Olympics, they impede the development of volunteer networks at times of national disasters.

(For the complete paper, please click the link below. See page 60-89.

This essay is from INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CIVIL SOCIETY LAW,  Vol VII Issue II, April 2009.)