Enough reasons for Charity Law to succeed

China's first Charity Law came into effect on Sept 1. As a Canadian and a charity lawyer working internationally, I was involved in the legislative process for over 10 years.

The National People's Congress, China's top legislature, included the China Charity Promotion Law in its legislative agenda in 2006. I attended the first China Charity Conference in November 2005, when I also met Ministry of Civil Affairs officials who had drafted the legal framework. And since I was one of the three foreign legal experts who helped in the drafting of Russia's first charity law and had also done similar work in other countries, I was asked to assist the drafting committee of China Charity Promotion Law.

Charity laws work well in the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States because they reflect the social, religious, ideological, economic and tax influences which shape citizens' desire to contribute to civil society causes.