The channel is not open, but the solid ice has already broken

At the beginning of the new year 2011, just before the national "Two Sessions" were about to convene, the Beijing municipal government launched a social reform "new policy".
A headline in a Beijing newspaper on February 26 read "Social organization registration no longer needs to find a 'host'", with a subheading stating "This year, social organizations in the city no longer need to find a competent authority for registration and can register directly with the civil affairs department."

The channel has not yet been opened

As everyone knows, our country's dual management system for social organizations originated from the departmental management system of the planned economy era. According to the current "Regulations on the Registration and Administration of Social Organizations" in China, any civil organization must first find a government department to act as its competent authority before it can register with the civil affairs department, meaning it must find a 'host'. This not only greatly suppresses grassroots vitality and seriously wastes social resources but also causes serious social injustice.
Under the constraints of the dual management system, on one hand, some social organizations blur the line between government and society, becoming de facto "second governments" or fraudulently operating under the banner of government departments, damaging the government's image and affecting the reputation of most other social organizations; on the other hand, many social organizations cannot legally register with the civil affairs department because they cannot find a competent authority, resulting in widespread illegal activities among grassroots organizations. Fair competition is out of the question, rent-seeking persists, and this is extremely detrimental to the development of civil society and the realization of the scientific outlook on development.
According to statistics and estimates from relevant departments: currently, the ratio of grassroots organizations registered with the civil affairs department to those that exist in fact, whether publicly known or not, is about 1:4. In other words, nearly 80% of grassroots organizations involved in industrial and commercial economy, public welfare and charity, social welfare, and social services should be registered but are not; associations and societies that should be established cannot be formed. This is undoubtedly a major shortcoming and deficiency in the development and management of grassroots organizations in our country.

Thoughts before the reform

This social reform "new policy" in Beijing also reminded me of some reflections I had on industry association reform seven or eight years ago. It can be said that it also pointed out the direction for reforming the social organization management system. The background at that time was: on June 27, 2003, Huang Shu, deputy director of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, proposed the "six inevitables" that industry association reform would face during an inspection of the China Procurement and Logistics Association. Because I resonated with the understanding of industry association reform, I made the following interpretation:
The first inevitable is the shift from "affiliation" to "autonomy," which is the overarching and key principle among the six inevitables. The shift from "affiliation" to "autonomy" has two meanings: on one hand, associations will no longer be affiliated with any government department; on the other hand, associations can face all government departments and accept work entrusted by all government departments. They can also reflect the industry's demands and enterprises' voices to all government departments.
The second inevitable is the shift from "dual" responsibility to "single" responsibility, mainly meaning that association work should gradually eliminate dual management and prevent multiple authorities issuing orders. The essence of this inevitability is to further weaken the current government competent authorities and "loosen the shackles" on associations from the system. It takes great courage to say this, as it targets the department one belongs to as the object of reform.
The third inevitable is the shift from "government-led" to "enterprise-initiated," meaning that future industry associations should be established primarily at the initiative of enterprises rather than by competent departments. This is because future new industry associations will not be derived from government departments but will spontaneously arise from the development laws of the "market economy." At the same time, this is both a work requirement for newly established industry associations and a call for reform and innovation of existing associations.
The fourth inevitable is the shift from "government officials" to "leading enterprises," meaning that association leaders (presidents) should gradually be taken over by enterprise heads. This has two meanings: first, associations are non-profit organizations that need support from large entrepreneurs and industrialists to reduce the pressure on full-time staff to generate income and focus on service work; second, government officials as association leaders are a product of the transition from a planned economy to a market economy, a temporary measure rather than a long-term solution. At the same time, this is a reform of the traditional "promotion and wealth" concept. In the future, industry association leaders should "take office with a pay cut," aligning with international standards and contributing to the industry. Of course, under certain conditions, some highly respected individuals in the industry may temporarily serve as association leaders during the transition, but the development direction must inevitably shift to enterprise leaders.
The fifth inevitable is the shift from "guidance-oriented" to "service-oriented," mainly about how associations should face the market and provide good service. Shifting from guidance-oriented to service-oriented is easier said than done. Guidance-oriented work is relatively easier to change; in the past, due to information blockage and blurred government-enterprise boundaries, some industry associations often acted as "second governments." In the future, with industry information and government openness, guidance work will naturally disappear. To do good service work, real skills and capabilities are required. These skills and capabilities depend on each association's profession and specific situation, but the premise of good service work is the professionalization of association staff and the rationalization of association organizational structures. That is, with most presidents, executive directors, and directors being entrepreneurs, the association's full-time staff should mainly be divided into strategic and executive parts for training and improvement. Full-time staff should be publicly recruited from society, and key business personnel mainly cultivated internally.
The sixth inevitable is the shift from "affiliated" to "independent," which is consistent with the previous five inevitables, with the theme of association "independence" running throughout. The difference is that the sixth inevitable speaks not only to associations but also to the government, warning the government not to treat industry associations as "affiliated" organizations of departments. Within the framework and scope allowed by laws and policies, industry associations should do what governments and enterprises cannot do, and the government must not interfere.

The ice has been broken

It can be said that this "new policy" by the Beijing municipal government is a "daring pioneer" among large cities following the successful pilot reforms in Shenzhen and Qingdao. Being a directly governed municipality and the capital of the country, its demonstration and guiding effect cannot be underestimated. I believe if Beijing can do it, why can't Shanghai, Tianjin, and Chongqing? I also believe that Beijing's "new policy" will soon be widely emulated nationwide because it makes more sense and aligns better with the constitution and public opinion than so-called pilot reforms like the "property tax."
It should not be an exaggeration to predict: this "new policy" indicates that the "ice has been broken" for the development of social organizations. Nationwide, although the "channel has not yet been opened," as long as the direction is correct and efforts persist, the goals of reform and development of social organizations in our country will surely be achieved soon.
The Beijing Municipal Government's "new policy" implementation is nothing less than a "spring thunder" across China, which will bring unexpected surprises to the management and innovation of social organizations in our country, the establishment and development of civil society, the advancement of economic mechanism reforms, and political system reforms! As the saying goes, "A thousand sails pass by the side of a sunken ship, and before a sick tree, thousands of trees bloom in spring."