Jiangsu province ratified the first provincial regulations to standardize the implementation of the Charity Law during the 33rd meeting of the 12th Standing Committee of the People’s Congress of Jiangsu, on December 2, 2017.
The official WeChat account of the Ministry of Civil Affairs published an article identifying five main points from within the regulations. The first one is that governmental responsibilities are further clarified, as the regulations implement a coordination mechanism for all the charity work that involves state organs, people’s organizations and charitable organizations.
For individuals who seek help, the regulations specify the channels and the process. Help-seekers should reveal their genuine identities when they distribute information, and all the information needs to be verified before publication.
With the specification of rules for charitable trusts, the new piece of legislation also encourages urban and rural community organizations/units to carry out charitable activities via the setting up of charitable trusts.
Additionally, more measures can be adopted to drive philanthropy. For instance, local governments are now required to provide financial support and capacity building services to new charitable organizations, establish a charitable information platform that offers policy advocacy, training to charitable organizations and other comprehensive services, and improve the welfare, salary, social insurance and personnel management provided to people who work in the field of charity.
Finally, the regulations stress the construction of a culture of charity by specifying sections regarding the incorporation of a culture of charity into the plan of socialist cultural and ethical progress, and enhancing the charitable culture education among youths.
In recent years, Jiangsu Province has seen rapid development in the charity sector. In the third “China City Charity Index”, 31 cities of Jiangsu entered the “Top 100 Cities of Charity in China”. Up until the end of June, 637 foundations were registered under the local Ministries of Civil Affairs, with charitable foundations established at the provincial, municipal and county levels.
