With China’s first ever charity law coming into effect this month, the issue of transparency in the charity sector has taken the limelight. The charity law prescribes that charitable organisations are supposed to disclose their accounts and fundraising information on specified platforms, so as to ensure more clearness and transparency.
In a recent survey carried out in Shenzhen on the factors impacting people’s participation in charity, 61% of respondents claimed that it is the low transparency levels in fund management that keeps them from donating. 60% of respondents also claimed that disclosing every detail of how the funds are used timely is the key point, and it is necessary to invite a professional organisation to audit accounts and release financial reports including all the relevant information.
Last week, China’s first IT charity alliance was established in Shenzhen. The real force behind the league’s creation appears to be the Chinese high-tech giant Tencent, which is committed to promoting the cooperation between the IT and charity industries and has appealed for more enterprises to join in. A Tencent representative explained that this kind of cooperation between IT and charity is of vital importance, since the charity law clearly specifies that aid solicitations published online should be confined to public offerings.
