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The Governance of Charities in China
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 07 December 2021
Abstract
The passage of the Charity Law signals the beginning of a new era in the legal regulation of charities in China. Its provisions reflect the increasing autonomy of charitable actors in exercising their management rights and the reduced control of the government over the use of charity resources. The shift of the state's attitude towards its relationship with the charitable sector brings new insights into the governance of charities in China. This article highlights the public-private law hybrid nature of the new legislative arrangement for charities and outlines the policy dynamics underlying its operation and development. It argues that the hybrid nature of the Charity Law was intentionally created by legislators, and the design of the governance framework for charities should therefore be responsive to this new legislative arrangement. Following on this reasoning, the article explores the implications that analysis of the hybrid nature of the Charity Law has for the governance of charities in China. It identifies the parties relevant to charity governance, the way in which they interact, and the governance principles that can be applied to charities.
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- Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the National University of Singapore
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Assistant Professor, School of Law, City University of Hong Kong.
References
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2 中华人民共和国慈善法 [Charity Law of the People's Republic of China], adopted 16 Mar 2016 by the National People's Congress.
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4 See Section A of Part III below.
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11 The term ‘sound’ used in this provision of Charity Law is ‘jianquan 健全’: Charity Law, art 12.
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31 See Section A of Part II above.
32 ‘Responsible persons’ here refer to individuals who are responsible for managing a charity. They can be members of a charity's governing body (including committee members or directors) or trustees (including insolvency administrators).
33 Given that the United Kingdom has three legal systems: English law, applying in England and Wales, Northern Irish law, applying in Northern Ireland, and Scots law, applying in Scotland. When English law is referred to in the article, it particularly means the law of England and Wales.
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40 Charity Law, art 58.
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42 Charity Law, arts 71–74.
43 ibid art 98.
44 GE Dal Pont & Stefan Petrow, Law of Charity (LexisNexis Butterworths 2010) para 13.2; Ofrex (George Drexler) Foundation (Trustees) v IRC (1965) 3 All ER 529, 530.
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46 Pont and Petrow (n 44) [3.29].
47 Garton (n 35) [6.08].
48 Charity Law, art 40.
49 ibid art 42.
50 慈善信托管理办法 [Administrative Measures for Charitable Trusts] (issued 10 Jul 2017 by China Banking Regulatory Commission and Ministry of Civil Affairs, People's Republic of China), art 38.
51 ibid.
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53 Charity Law, art 31.
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59 ibid art 6.
60 See generally, ibid.
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73 Spires (n 69) 9.
74 See Section B of Part III above.
75 See Section B of Part III above.
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77 Charity Law, art 54.
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82 The Charity Law prescribes three scenarios under which a person cannot work as the responsible person: see Charity Law, art 16.
83 See Part V.
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100 See, eg, 长沙市慈善事业促进条例 [Regulations of Charity Promotion in Changsha City] (issued 1 Sep 2012 by Standing Committee of the People's Congress of Changsha City); 江苏省慈善事业促进条例 [Regulations of Charity Promotion in Jiangsu Province] (issued 1 May 2010 by Standing Committee of the People's Congress of Jiangsu Province); 宁波市慈善事业促进条例 [Regulations of Charity Promotion in Ningbo City] (issued 1 Oct 2011 by Standing Committee of the People's Congress of Ningbo City); 浙江省实施<中华人民共和国慈善法>办法 [Measures for the Implementation of the Chinese Charity Law in Zhejiang Province] (issued 30 Nov 2018 by Standing Committee of Zhejiang Provincial People's Congress).