On January 8, 2018, China's Ministry of Civil Affairs issued "The Opinion on Ministry of Civil Affairs' Fostering and Developing Community Social Organizations".
The Opinion says that every urban community should have no fewer than ten social organizations and every rural community at least five by 2020, arousing attention from Chinese Christians.
It adds that the administration system of community social organization will be developed as a strong support for new forms of grass-roots social governance in the next five to ten years.
The document gives a definition, role, and function of community social organizations.
Initiated by community residents, this kind of social organization carries out public service, charities, neighborhood assistance, recreation, and production and technical services in rural areas.
Fostering community social organizations plays an important role in strengthening the construction of community governance, shifting the focus of social governance to the community level, and establishing a social governance model based on collaboration, participation, and common interests.
The social organizations play a part in providing community service, raising resident involvement, fostering community culture, and promoting community harmony.
The text also puts forward measures to breed and expand community social organizations, including the registration that can be directly filed by qualified community social organizations, the promotion of the development of community social organizations providing life services, charities, and neighborhood assistance, a focus on fostering such organizations targeted to serve special groups like the elderly, women, children, the disabled, the unemployed, and delinquent teenagers. As the Chinese government has changed its function from "management" to "governance" in recent years, the market demand for social services and social organizations has begun to increase.
A Christian stated that the government is giving much support to develop social organizations at present. How Christians would engage in social service deserves consideration.
- Translated by Karen Luo
