政策简读 （一） (2012年1月)：慈善法和国家层面的其他立法状况
谢世宏（Shawn Shieh）中国发展简报英文主编
编者注：从2012年1月起，我们将每月从中国发展简报英文网站（www.chinadevelopmentbrief.cn）的“政策观察”栏目中选取所转发的媒体报道，予以总结和解读并发布月度观察评论。其目的在于针对官方政策和意见中有关中国公民社会发展的重要模式和趋势性变化的情况进行简明扼要的分析。希望能对您有所助益。
在地方政策出现重大推进的情况下，国家层面的立法却似乎仍然停滞不前。期盼已久的规范社会组织注册管理的相关条例修订以及慈善法草案审议工作双双延迟，尽管对它们出台的传言早已四起。由于2011年慈善界出现的笼罩基金会的多起丑闻的影响，慈善法的出台尤其受到了推动。其中一个例子是与中国红十字会牵连的郭美美事件，爆出中国慈善业透明度和问责缺失的现实。这些丑闻促使政府领导人以及全社会认识到通过慈善立法去规范慈善和筹款行为的迫切需要。
2011年末传出了慈善法已被纳入11届全国人大会议2011年立法计划的通告。有报道说全国人大原则上同意民政部提交的立法草案，要求国务院法制办审议后提交给全国人大。基于慈善法已经在2010年纳入立法计划，而且进入国务院程序已有时日，很难判断这次发布通告是否意味着慈善法的立法进程已取得重大进展。可以确定的是，针对去年发生的公益丑闻所引发的日益高涨的公众关注和讨论，给立法者批准慈善法施加了更大的压力。然而，鉴于国务院在慈善立法上所处的停滞状态，也很难预料慈善法何时能够得到审议并提交给全国人大批准。
POLICY BRIEF NO. 1 (JANUARY 2012): The Fate of the Charity Law and Other National-level Legislation
EDITOR’S NOTE: Beginning with this January 2012 Policy Brief, we will be providing monthly briefs that summarize and contextualize the media reports chosen for that month for our column, A View From the Top. The aim of these briefs is to provide a succinct analysis of important patterns and trends in official thinking and policy concerning China’s civil society sector. We hope you find it useful.
While local legislation has been making significant headway, national-level legislation appears to be on hold. The long-awaited revisions to the regulations governing the registration and management of social organizations, and the Charity Law, have both been delayed, despite rumors that their passage is imminent. The Charity Law, in particular, received a boost in 2011 due to a series of scandals that enveloped the charitable foundation sector. One example was the Guo Meimei incident that implicated the Chinese Red Cross and exemplified the lack of transparency and accountability in China’s philanthropy sector. These scandals raised awareness among both government leaders and society of the pressing need for a Charity Law to regulate philanthropy and fundraising.
Late in 2011, it was announced that the Charity Law was been included on the legislative plan for the 11th National People’s Congress (NPC) Standing Committee for 2011. The reports note that the NPC generally agrees with the content of the Ministry of Civil Affairs draft legislation and asks the State Council Legal Affairs Office (the State Council is the highest executive body in the Chinese government) to review the legislation and submit it to the NPC for consideration. Given that the Charity Law was also included on the 2010 legislative plan, and has been with the State Council for some time, it is difficult to know whether this announcement represents any significant progress in the Charity Law’s passage. Certainly, the significantly increased public scrutiny and discussion over this last year of problems and scandals in the philanthropic sector has placed more pressure on lawmakers to get the Charity Law approved. But given the legislative logjam in the State Council, it is difficult to know when the Charity Law will be reviewed and sent to the NPC for approval.
For summaries of all these news articles, see China Development Brief’s A View from the Top.
