Charity woes to drive China's social welfare reform(2)

According to sociologist Wang Kaiyu with the Anhui Academy of Social Sciences, China does not have enough charity professionals in government at grass-roots levels to incorporate all public welfare issues into their management.

He stressed the importance of innovation in social management by giving full play to the irreplaceable role of privately charity institutions.

Some innovative measures have already been put into test status in China.

In one case, 11 social institutions have set up offices in the government-run social organizations development center in Wuhu City, Anhui Province, which was put into operation last September.

Lv Zheng, a deputy head of one of the social groups, said the government not only offers office premises and equipment for free, but also provides training and helps them to get registered.

Lv admitted on the other hand that the routine review by the center on them is both a pressure and an spur.

"We could be phased out if we didn't meet the goals," Lv said.

Jia Xijin, deputy director of NGO research center the School of Public Policy and Management with Beijing-based Tsinghua University, said that based on the experiences of developed countries, we can tell that it is a mature and feasible method for the government to buy charity services from non-government institutions.

In his report to the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China held in last November, President Hu Jintao said, "We should improve the way in which the government provides public services...

"Enterprises, public institutions and people's organizations should play a better role in conducting social management and providing related services."