SHENZHEN, Guangdong - Shenzhen, the southern city that took the lead in reform and opening-up about two decades ago, will keep spearheading reform in social management.

Eight types of social organizations in Shenzhen may be able to directly apply for registration at the civil affairs bureau without pre-examination by a supervising department, Du Peng, head of the Shenzhen civil affairs bureau, said at a news conference on Tuesday.

A new regulation on social management in Shenzhen, the first of its kind in the country, will take effect from March 1.

According to Wang Suiming, deputy Party secretary of Shenzhen, the regulation is the first one in the country. It covers rules on affairs including civil affairs, social welfare, education, healthcare and social organizations.

In general, a social organization must have a supervising department and pass through its examination before it can apply for registration at the civil affairs bureau, and because the supervising department is not clearly defined, many organizations find it hard to get a legal identity.

Shenzhen has been reforming social organization registration since 2004. In that year, it launched direct registration of industrial associations at the civil affairs bureau. In 2008, the range was expanded to include another three categories of social organizations: economy, social welfare and public welfare.

According to Du, the range is very likely to expand very soon to five more categories including culture, ecology, social service and sports organizations.

With the introduction of the regulations, the city will help develop nonprofit social organizations and set up an online information disclosure platform for them, Du said.

Liao Yanhui, secretary-general of the Shenzhen Autism Society, a social organization for people with autism, told China Daily her organization has benefited a lot from Shenzhen's reform on the registration.

"We started the organization in 2001, and not until 2005 did we find a supervising department and get registered. But after the direct registration was opened to public welfare organizations in 2008, we registered three centers in 2009," she said.

"Having a legal identity is so important to the survival and development of social organizations," she said. "If you don't have one, on one hand you are not allowed to raise money and the public questions you. On the other hand, if you are here today and there tomorrow, you cannot keep the employees and there is no sustainable development."

The founder of another social organization, who prefers to remain anonymous, said it had to register as a company in the industrial and commercial bureau several years ago since it couldn't find a competent department to supervise it.

"People will misunderstand and think you are making money if you are registered as an enterprise," he said.

"I think the government should loosen the registration while tightening the annual examination to encourage the establishment of social organizations while making sure they do their jobs," he said.

Chen Hong contributed to this story.