China's political advisors think the upcoming charity law is a historic landmark that will help regulate this important area which relates to everyone.

Sun Ping, a top Chinese Peking Opera artist who is attending the annual session of the 12th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) in Beijing, said she is the most vocal advocate of the charity law.

"There is too much chaos and scandal, as I'm involved in many projects and see things through my own eyes," she said to China.org.cn. "Embezzlement, corruption, money laundering, cheating and interest swapping… these problems and more still exist in the current charity industry, which has triggered the universal crisis of confidence in all of society."

What she saw and experienced prompted her to submit a proposal last year, asking to speed up the progress of legislation. China previously didn't have a particular or general law for charity, and government departments could even fight each other when some incidents apply to different laws and regulations.

The legislation process was started as early as in 2006, as the National People's Congress initiated study and research. Eight years has passed, and Guo Meimei scandal became the symbolic event that rocked the Chinese charity world.

China has more than 600,000 social organizations and 65 million registered volunteers. In 2014, direct donations totaled more than 100 billion yuan (US$15 billion), overshadowing the 10 billion yuan donated in 2004. The government is aiming at standardizing the sector. In October of last year, the first draft of the new law was submitted to the National People's Congress, the nation's top legislative body, and the second draft was open for public consultation until Jan. 31.

Ma Weihua, former president of China Merchants Bank and a member of the National Committee of the CPPCC, said the draft has 4 highlights.

"First, it goes beyond the previous concept of charity, which was mainly about poverty alleviation. It confirms the modern concepts, which are connected to environmental protection, education, and cultural sectors. This provides a vast development space and can help Chinese charity causes to dock with the international community. Second, the law establishes a direct registry system, which requires no administrative departments' approval. This is good for the establishment of charity organizations."

In the past, if one wanted to launch a charity organization, this person not only needed to register in China's civil affairs department, but also needed to find a government department as its administrator.

"Third, there is specific content and regulation regarding the charity trust, which has much to do with many tax and other national policies. Fourth, it establishes a system for charity information to become public, which is very important for charity organizations to develop."

Sun Yinhuan, a member of the standing committee of the CPPCC National Committee and vice president of the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce, is a longtime philanthropist who has participated in many charity causes in past decades while heading the Yida Group. "I'm so excited for the charity law," he said. "Charity is about helping each other and this is our great tradition. The law will help Chinese charity causes to develop faster and better."

He said: "The law and the system it shapes will form a culture which we need to promote. Our ultimate ideal is to help everyone enjoy the benefits of social development and progress. Charity, including poverty alleviation, will help our country and people reach the goal of a moderately prosperous society."

China is aiming to ensure that all its rural residents are living above the poverty line by 2020. At the end of 2015, 55.75 million rural Chinese were living below the line.

The National People's Congress deputies will vote on the final draft of the charity law on March 16, the last day of this year's NPC and CPPCC sessions.

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