On December 4, Beijing Municipality published several provisions on promoting philanthropy which were deliberated and adopted at the 46th executive meeting of the Beijing Municipal People’s Government on September 24, 2019, and came into force on January 1, 2020.
The regulations are divided into five chapters: general provisions, charitable donations and donations, promotional measures, supervision and management, and supplementary provisions. In particular, they clarify that Beijing Municipal and District People’s governments should support and promote the development of philanthropy in their respective administrative areas, incorporate philanthropy into the national economic and social development plan, include the development funds of philanthropy into the government’s annual financial budget, optimize the development environment of philanthropy, and improve the supervision and management system of philanthropy activities.
As for charitable fundraising and donation, several regulations make it clear that charitable organizations should be qualified for public fundraising. The municipal and District People’s governments of Beijing shall, in light of the economic and social development, formulate policies and take measures to promote the development of philanthropy, encourage individuals and organizations to engage in charitable activities in accordance with the law, and support relevant government departments and social organizations to provide guidance, assistance and convenience for the development of charitable activities. Where the municipal or district people’s governments need to purchase services to perform their duties of social assistance, they shall give priority to purchasing services from charitable organizations under the same conditions.
Several regulations put forward that individuals or organizations who have made outstanding contributions to the development of charity in Beijing and have a great social influence shall be commended and rewarded by the municipal or district people’s governments or relevant departments.
With regards to individual help, several provisions make it clear that in order to solve their own or family difficulties, individuals can turn to charity organizations or their own work units, urban and rural community organizations or to the society for help. The person asking for help shall be responsible for the authenticity of the information.
