Pilot sees registered social organizations proliferate

Over 40 national social organizations have been registered with the Ministry of Civil Affairs since a pilot project designed to simplify registration for such groups started a year ago, announced China's civil affairs minister on Thursday.

Speaking at a press conference organized by the State Council Information Office, Li Liguo said organizations had also proliferated at provincial and municipal levels. "A great number of social organizations at local level have been established through direct registration," according to the minister.

Under the pilot, social organizations are allowed to directly hand in applications to civil affairs authorities.

Prior to these measures, regulations stipulated that a social organization must find an administrative body to oversee its activities as a precondition for their registration.

However, many administrative bodies would be reluctant to act as supervisors, as they feared it would mean taking on responsibilities.

As a result, many organizations ended up operating without being registered.

Vice Minister Jiang Li briefed on the development of grass-roots communities, saying there are now over 280,000 community volunteer organizations, mostly presided over by residents.

Jiang said public services cover 23.6 percent of communities across China, including government-provided ones, such as family planning, healthcare and registering residents for social assistance; convenience services, such as day-care centers for the elderly, domestic services and catering to schools.