20世纪70年代以来中国非营利部门的发展

The Development of China Nonprofit Sector from 1970s

本文对20世纪70年代以来以英文发表的中国非营利组织相关研究进行综述与解读。中国出现的这样一个庞大的、多样化的、快速增长的非营利部门,体现出狭义上的“民间社会”特征,但党和国家在非营利部门中发挥主导作用,特别是对注册的非营利组织。结社自由在中国仍然有限,尤其全国性社团几乎都是官办非政府组织;但在地方层级,特别是邻里层面,真正的结社自由虽不完整却普遍存在,远比70年代末之前显著。地方层级存在结社自由的判断依据,是数以百万计的小型的、基本上不受管制的、非官方或未注册的社会组织(USOs),以草根组织(GAs)形式存在。尽管几乎所有的全国性社团都明显地受国家控制,但是大多数非营利组织,包括已经注册的非营利组织,都可以自由地安排其内部治理结构。按照中国法律规定,所有未注册的社会组织都是非法组织,但草根组织具有相当大的社会合法性和相对的行动自由;非营利组织在开展志愿行动、公民参与等方面,其范围也令人惊讶的广泛。上述事实表明,70年代以来中国非营利部门的发展取得巨大进步。

Published research in English is reviewed on the Nonprofit Sector(NPS) in China since 1970s. A large,diverse,and rapidly growing NPS exists. China has civil society in the narrower sense that a substantial civil society sector or NPS exists. However,the party-state in China continues to play a dominating role in regard to the NPS, especially for registered NPOs. Freedom of association is still limited in China,especially for national associations,which are nearly all Government Organized Non-Governmental Organizations( GONGOs). Genuine associational freedom at lower territorial levels, especially the neighborhood level, is widespread though incomplete,but present far more significantly than in the 1970s. Millions of small,largely unregulated, Unofficial or Unregistered Social Organizations( or USOs), as grassroots organizations( grassroots associations/GAs) are important evidence for some significant associational freedom at the local level.Most NPOs,even registered NPOs,can freely structure their internal governance. All the USOs are illegal under Chinese law technically,but they have substantial social legitimacy and relative freedom of action nonetheless. There is also a surprising range of volunteering,voluntary citizen participation,and orderly activism through NPOs,especially at the local level. All the above facts constitute substantial progress for the NPS and NPOs in China since 1970s.