Ten urgent issues restricting the survival and development of industry associations need to be resolved
Release Time:
2010-05-26 08:59
Source:
China Laundry
1. The legal status of industry associations is not clearly defined. More than two years have passed since the State Council Office issued Document No. 36 [2007] "Several Opinions on Accelerating the Reform and Development of Industry Associations and Chambers of Commerce," which clearly proposed "accelerating the legislation of industry associations," but implementation has been weak and related work has progressed slowly.
2. Industry associations are independent social legal entities that carry out activities within the scope permitted by the Constitution and laws and regulations. Relevant government departments and any individuals must not interfere with the work of industry associations at any time, place, or by any means. However, the current management system to some extent restricts further reform and development of industry associations. For example, the "unified model" of association "charters" erases the characteristics of different associations; the procedures and methods by which government departments recommend leaders of industry associations effectively render the association "charters" meaningless and weaken the role of the association council.
3. Industry associations are non-profit units, differing from enterprises that pursue maximizing economic benefits. Therefore, most industry associations currently follow the management model of public institutions, but industry associations lack "personnel authority," making their already goal-incentive-deficient work nature even more unstable.
4. Issues such as the lack of coordination, compatibility, and alignment between central and local policies regarding industry associations have led to many matters that should be managed being neglected—for example, Beijing's work residence permits and maternity insurance for female employees are not handled. Meanwhile, matters that should not be managed have multiple authorities issuing policies—for example, the policies of the People's Bank of China and the Ministry of Finance differ regarding the handling of bank accounts for associations; the state provides no funding but requires inclusion in the central budget units.
5. Information work is one of the main functions of industry associations, and their voice plays a crucial role in promoting industry development. However, industry associations are not approved to publish specialized magazines closely related to their industry business. The problem is the lack of approval standards and the "unconstitutionality" of administrative work. The Party Central Committee and the State Council have been emphasizing the development of the service industry in the face of weak domestic demand, but the reality is contrary to this.
6. There is a monopoly in the "admission" of industry associations, and the dual management system by business competent departments and registration departments is very outdated. In recent years, many experts have raised objections in the practice of industry association work; some open-minded officials have also proposed reform suggestions, but for unknown reasons, these correct opinions have not been implemented. Recently, the pilot work of industry associations without business competent units in Dalian City and the "Ministry-City Cooperation Agreement" signed between the Ministry of Civil Affairs and Shenzhen City to "promote comprehensive and coordinated reform of civil affairs" are highlights of reform. The agreement clearly proposes a series of major reform measures such as "reforming the dual management system and exploring the establishment of a direct registration system." This is a significant event in the history of social organization development in China and has important social significance for promoting the reform of the social organization management system.
7. The tax system for industry associations is seriously unreasonable, especially the policy of paying income tax like enterprises, which makes it difficult for industry associations to recuperate and develop, and also discourages the enthusiasm of full-time staff in industry associations.
8. The ownership of industry association assets must be clearly defined: they are neither personal property nor state-owned assets. They should be defined as association assets, and no authority or individual may dispose of them arbitrarily. For example, some industry associations have purchased office buildings through self-development and accumulation in recent years, but when registering with the housing management department, these are registered as "state-owned assets," which is unbelievable.
9. The formulation of management policies for industry associations is arbitrary, and the "Administrative Licensing Law" is poorly enforced. A few years ago, the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission proposed in the report "Research on the Policy Environment of Industry Associations in the Business Field" the policy recommendation that "industry associations cannot be established based on ownership," which was widely recognized by the industry. However, the recent policy granting the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce the qualification of "business competent department for industry associations" is laughable. On one hand, relevant departments are downplaying this dual management system; on the other hand, they are negating themselves. Isn't this a regression in reform? Could this be a "Chinese characteristic" or the result of a momentary confusion of a certain senior leader?
10. For foreign industry associations and other organizations establishing offices, branches, and specialized committees within China, registration should be expedited. Failure to register should be regarded as illegal organizations, and they should not operate within China. The current problem is the lack of registration management methods for such organizations. The direct consequence is that legally registered industry associations and similar organizations are increasingly strictly managed, even to the point of being stifled, while so-called associations, societies, and chambers of commerce without legal registration are not managed at all. How can this be called management? This is an embarrassing issue in the management of civil organizations in China.
The resolution of the above ten major issues is hoped to be achieved with the early enactment of the "Industry Association Law."
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