Shanghai will experiment with direct registration and management of social organizations

The Shanghai Municipal Civil Affairs Bureau announced that it will experiment this year with direct registration and management of social organizations. This announcement follows on the heels of a similar announcement by Guangdong provincial Civil Affairs officials, though Shanghai officials did not elaborate on what they meant by direct registration. Shanghai is also planning to increase the number of social work agencies in the city, and to set aside 100 million yuan in its Public Welfare Fund to purchase services from social organizations.