Chinese non-profit organizations have come under scrutiny for a lack of transparency. According to a Peking University Center study, only 8 out of 93 Chinese charitable organizations were labeled as transparent. They study ranked a variety of factors, most regarding donation and spending protocols, on how transparent they were on a zero to 100 scale. The average score for these organizations was 35.9, with several scoring 0.
This scrutiny comes as Chinese officials are cracking down on corruption within government ranks. Recently, government officials have been criticized for extravagance and corruption.
Charitable organizations came under scrutiny after several photos of Red Cross officials were seen posing in expensive clothes in front of sports cars. After this, giving to organizations plummeted. In addition, it became much harder for organizations to receive the proper licensing to run as a non-profit.
Many people in the past couple years have fought for improvements in charities. Philanthropists initiated the China Foundation Center to improve regulations and guidelines for charities to help improve their image. Also, many individuals have seen the need for charities and have set up philanthropic trusts that work differently than these corrupt charities. This movement falls in line with a general societal movement of eliminating corruption.
Source: http://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2015/04/01/nine-out-of-10-chinese-charities-fail-transparency-test-report-finds/
Because many non-profit organizations and charities are not only subsidized by the government but also citizens, I believe there should be all the more thorough surveillance over the fund management. Also, policies to track down pseudo philanthropic organizations that finance individuals or corrupt officials should be strengthened.
Corruption and bribery is a staple in Chinese business and government interactions. If China wants to decrease corruption in its not-for-profit organizations, it must crack down on corruption across the board. China makes it extremely difficult for international not-for-profits to operate in China. If they decreased the barriers for these organizations, than international not-for-profits can keep a closer eye on their branches in China.
China faces the problem of having a culture of corruption across the board. However, with the country’s current crackdown on government corruption, it will eventually inspire officials to crackdown on corruption on private institutions as well.