Rules detailed for social organizations

Under the central government's new guidelines for social organizations that were released on Sunday, China will lower the threshold and simplify registration procedures for such groups, with the goal of promoting their "healthy and orderly" development.

The guideline was issued by the general offices of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the State Council.

Under the guideline, social organizations will file registration applications with the Ministry of Civil Affairs, which will review applications in light of opinions of knowledgeable government officials and experts.

"The guideline lowers the threshold for social organizations and simplifies registration procedures for qualified ones," said Liao Hong, deputy director of the ministry's Bureau for Management of Nongovernmental Organizations.

Under previous regulations, social organizations file their registrations with various administrative organizations. For example, local social organizations were registered with the local government; national ones were registered with the State Council; and scientific social organizations were registered with science and technology authorities.

Zheng Gongcheng, an economics professor at Renmin University of China, applauded the changes.

"I support the simplified registration procedure and the standardized development of social organizations, which have been longed for by many social organizations and individuals," he said.

The guideline says that China's social organizations have contributed to economic and social development in the past, but problems remain - such as an unclear management system and a lack of governance.

In June, the ministry released the names of 137 unqualified social organizations.

"It is very important for the ministry to publicize the blacklist. If groups cheat or lie to make a profit, it will jeopardize the healthy development of social organizations. Thus, standardizing social organization is a precondition for social organizations' proper development," Zheng said.

China has 664,800 registered social organizations, according to the ministry.

Xinhua contributed to this story.