China mulls inspections on social organizations

BEIJING -- The Ministry of Civil Affairs has drafted provisional measures on social organization inspections, to help support the strategic and functional direction.

Social organizations in China include community groups, trust foundations, industry organizations and non-profit organizations.

At least three percent of all registered social organizations should be inspected, according to the draft document. The inspections will focus on annual reports, information disclosure, management, and finances.

The draft outlined that there would be two types of inspection - "regular" and "irregular" - with the latter focusing on certain sectors or fields.

All expenses related to inspections will be paid by the registration and supervisory organs, according to the document, which underscored that no fees will be collected from social organizations in this regard.

Problems found during the inspections should be made public and penalties meted out in accordance with the law.

The inspection results will be used during appraisals, government procurement of services and tax incentives, according to the ministry.

The provisional measures have been posted on the ministry's website (www.mca.gov.cn) to solicit suggestions.

China had about 675,000 registered social organizations by the third quarter of 2016, according to the ministry.