Regulations on the Registration and Administration of Social Groups (Draft Revisions for Soliciting Comments)

So as to ensure citizens' freedom of association, to preserve the lawful rights and interests of Social Groups, to strengthen the registration and management of Social Groups, and to promote the healthy and orderly development of Social Groups; our department has drafted these "Regulations On The Registration And Administration Of Social Groups (herinafter "draft revisions for public comments")" on the foundation of an overview of the experience from practice, throrough investigation and research, wide solicitation of opinions, and repeated research and debate of evidence. In order to widely hear the views of the public and further increase the quality of legislation, the full text of the "draft revisisons for public comment" and their explanatory notes are hereby released, to solicit the views of all aspects of society. If relevant units or persons from any area have comments for the revision of the "draft revisions for public comment", they may submit the feedback through the following methods:

(1) Log-in to the Ministry of Civil Affairs website (http://www.mca.gov.cn), and click on 'interaction' on the top menu bar to enter the "solicitation of Public Comments" panel (or directly click on the solicitation of public comments' panel at the bottom of the home page) and then click on "The Ministry of Civil Affairs Notice of Release of the ""Regulations On The Registration and Administration Of Social Groups " (Draft Revisions for Public Comments)" for public comments, to submit Comments.
(3) Mail comments by letter to: Beijing City, Eastern District, 147 Beihe Avenue, Ministry of Civil Affairs Department of Policy and Regulations, (zipcode 100721), and clearly write "Solicited Comments on the Regulations On The Registration And Administration Of Social Groups" on the envelope.

The deadline for Comments and Feedback is August 21, 2016.

Regulations on the Registration and Administration of Social Groups

(Draft Revisions for Soliciting Comments)

Chapter I: General Provisions

Article 1: These Regulations are formulated so as to safeguard the citizens' freedom of association, to protect Social Groups' lawful rights and interest, to strengthen the management of social group registration, and to facilitate the healthy and orderly development of Social Groups.

Article 2: "Social Groups" as used in these Regulations refer to non-profit social organizations which are established voluntarily by Chinese citizens so as to realize the shared aspirations of their members and which carry out activities in accordance with their charters.

Organizations other than state organs may join social groups as unit members.

Article 3: The establishment of the following Social Groups is directly registered in accordance with the provisions of these Regulations:

(1) Industry associations and chambers of commerce;

(2) Science and technology type Social Groups that engage in academic research and exchange activities in the fields of natural sciences and engineering technology;

(3) Public interest charity type Social Groups providing poverty support, poverty alleviation, support for the elderly, orphan rescue, relief, disability aid, disaster relief, medical aid, and educational support services;

(4) Urban-rural community service type Social Groups that conduct activities within communities so as to meet the demands of the citizens of urban-rural communities.

The formation of Social Groups not provided for in the preceding paragraph and of those national industry associations and chambers of commerce that are required to have professional supervisory units according to laws, administrative regulations and other national provisions, shall be upon the review and approval of their professional supervisory units and registered in accordance with the provisions of these Regulations.

Social Groups shall possess the conditions for legal personhood.

The following social groups are not within the scope of registration provided by these Regulations:

(1) People's organizations participating the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference;

(2) Groups that are authorized by the State Council organizational establishment managing authority and that are exempt from registration as approved by the State Council;

(3) Groups that are established within state organs, groups, enterprises, public institutions, and communities as approved by the respective units or grassroot self-governing mass organizations and that conduct activities within the respective units or communities.

Article 4: Establish Chinese Communist Party organizations within Social Groups, to conduct Party activities and give play to the core political functions of Party organizations in accordance with the provisions of the Charter of the Chinese Communist Party. Social Groups shall provide necessary conditions for Party organizations' activities.

Article 5: Social Groups must obey the Constitution, laws, regulations, rules, and national policies, and must not oppose the basic principles set forth in the Constitution, must not endanger national unity, security or ethnic unity, and must not endanger national interests, the societal public interest, and the lawful rights and interests of other organizations and citizens, and must not go against social morality.

Article 6: The State protects Social Groups carrying out activities in accordance with laws, regulations, rules and their charters, and no organizations or individuals may unlawfully interfere.

Article 7: The Ministry of Civil Affairs under the State Council and departments of civil affairs for all levels of local people's government at the county level and above are the Registration Management Organs for Social Groups at that level of people's government (Hereinafter registration management organs).

The relevant departments under the State Council and the relevant departments of all level of people's government at the county level or above, and organizations authorized by the State Council or all level of people's government at the county level or above, are Professional Supervisory Units for Social Groups (Hereinafter Professional Supervisory Units) within that field, discipline, or operational scope.

Where laws or administrative regulations have other provisions on the supervision and management of Social Groups, follow the relevant laws or administrative regulations for implementation.

Article 8: The State formulates policies to support and encourage the development of Social Groups.

Social Groups and individuals or organizations that give public interest donations to public interest Social Groups, enjoy preferential tax treatment in accordance with relevant laws and administrative regulations.

Social Groups making outstanding contributions to economic and social development will be given commendations or awards in accordance with relevant national regulations.

Chapter II: Jurisdiction

Article 9: The registration management of nationwide Social Groups is the responsibility of the registration management organ under the State Council; the registration management of local Social Groups is the responsibility of the registration management organ of the people's government for their location, of which the registration management of urban-rural community service type Social Groups is the responsibility of the county-level people's government for their location; and the registration management of Social Groups that cross-administrative divisions is the responsibility of the registration management organ of the common upper-level people's government of the administrative divisions crossed.

Article 10: Where the domiciles of registration management organs or professional supervisory units and of the Social Groups under their jurisdiction are at different locations, the registration management organs or professional supervisory units for the domiciles of the Social Groups can be entrusted with the supervision and management work within the scope of entrustment.

Chapter III: Establishment and Registration

Article 11: Founders shall apply to the registration management organs for registering the establishment of Social Groups.

Founders shall be responsible for the legality, truthfulness, validity, and completeness of social group registration materials, and for the pre-registration activities of the Social Groups; activities other than preparations must not be conducted during preparatory period.

The primary founders shall be candidates for responsible party ofthe first board of directors of the Social Group.

Article 12: Establishment of Social Groups shall meet the following conditions:

(1) Have more than 50 personal members or more than 30 unit members; where there is a mix of personal and unit members, the total number of members must not be fewer than 50;

(2) Have more than 10 founders for nationwide Social Groups and more than five founders for Social Groups are local or cross administrative divisions;

(3) Have names, charters, and corresponding organizational structures meeting the requirements of regulations;

(4) Have a fixed domicile;

(5) Have responsible parties that meet the requirements, and specialized working personnel that are appropriate to their professional activities;

(6) Have necessary assets; nation-wide Social Groups have activity funds of more than 10,000 RMB and Social Groups that cross administrative regions are to have activity funds of more than 30,000 RMB;

(7) Have the ability to independently bear civil liability.

The members provided for in the first item of the preceeding paragraph shall have widespread geographical distribution; the founders provided for by the second item shall be representative in social cognition within the activity region and the operational field where the social groups are planned to be established and shall become members of the corresponding social groups.

Article 13: The names of Social Groups shall meet the stipulations of laws, regulations, rules, and national policies, and must not violate social morality.

The names of Social Groups shall be consistent with their operational scope, member distribution, and activity region, and shall accurately reflect their characteristics.

Where the names of Social Groups contains words such as "China," "National," "Zhonghua [中华]," "International," or "World", they shall be approved in accordance with relevant State regulations; the names of local social groups must not contain words such as "China," "National," "Zhonghua [中华]," "International," or "World."

Article 14: When applying to register Social Groups, founders shall submit the following documents to registration management organs:

(1) The written application for registration;

(2) Proof of verified capital and proof of the right to use venues;

(3) Draft charter;

(4) List of members, proposed legally-designated representative and responsible parties;

(5) Basic situations and identification documents of founders and of proposed legally-designated representative and responsible parties;

The draft charter and proposed legally-designated representatives and responsible parties provided for in items 3 and 4 of the previous paragraph are to be passed by more than two-thirds of the members or representatives attending the general assembly or the representative assembly.

Where Social Groups must have the review and consent of professional supervisory units before registration, the founder shall also submit the documents of approval from the professional supervisory unit to the registration management organs.

Article 15: The charters of Social Groups shall include the following matters:

(1) name and domicile;

(2) Purpose, Party building requirement, operational scope, and activity region;

(3) Qualifications for membership and the rights and obligations thereof;

(4) Democratic organizational management system;

(5) Generating procedures and rules of debate for the organizational structure;

(6) Qualifications, andl procedures for creating and removing responsible parties;

(7) Principles for the use and management of assets;

(8) Procedures for revising the charter;

(9) procedures for termination and disposition of assets after termination;

(10) other matters that should be provided for in the Charter.

Article 16: Registration management organs shall issue a decision to approve or decline registration within 60 days of receiving all valid documents set forth in article 14 of these Regulations. Of these, where circumstances are complex for the registration of nationwide Social Groups and a decision cannot be made within 60 days, this may be extended as appropriate upon approval by responsible parties for the registration management organ under the State Council, but the extension period must not be longer than 30 days.

When reviewing the documents submitted by founders, registration management organs can solicit the opinion of relevant sectors or organize experts to conduct evaluations based on actual circumstances, the time required by which is not included in the registration time limit.

Article 17: In any of the following circumstances, the registration management organs will not give approval and will explain the reasons to the applicant in writing:

(1) The purpose or operational scope of the Social Group applying to register is not eligible under article 5 of these Regulations.

(2) Not complying with the requirements set forth in Article 12 of these Regulations;

(3) The operational scope of the national social group for which registration is applied is identical or similar to that of an already registered nationwide Social Group and the establishment is not necessary;

(4) Founders or proposed responsible parties are currently, or were once, subject to a criminal penalty depriving them of political rights, or have limited capacity for civil conduct;

(5) there were misrepresentations or falsehoods at the time of the application to register;

(6) there are other situations prohibited by laws or administrative regulations.

Article 18: Registration management organs will issue "Certificate of Registration as a Social Group Legal Person" to Social Groups whose registrations are approved and will label unified social credit code on registration certificates. Registration matters include:

(1) Name;

(2) Domicile;

(3) Purpose, operational scope and activity region;

(4) Legal representative and responsible parties;

(5) Registered capital.

Where Social Groups need the review and consent of professional supervisory units before registration, registration matters shall also include the professional supervisory unit.

Article 19: The responsible parties as provided by the charter will serve as the legally-designated representative of a Social Group; the legally-designated representative of a Social Group will not serve simultaneously as the legally-designated representative of another Social Group.

Article 20: Those Social Groups that, in accordance with the provisions of law, possess qualifications for legal persons on the day when their establishment is approved, shall submit approval documents to registration management organs and apply for "Certificate of Registration as a Social Group Legal Person" within 60 days of the day when their establishment are approved. Registration management organs are to issue a "Certificate of Registration as a Social Group Legal Person" within 30 days of receiving documents.

Article 21: Social Groups apply for the engraving of seals, open bank accounts, and go through the formalities of tax registration by relying on "Certificates of Registration as a Social Group Legal Person." Social Groups shall file and record their seals with the registration management organs.

Chapter IV: Modification of Registration and Deregistration

Article 22: Where matters in Social Groups' registrations are modified, they shall apply to modify the registration with the registration management organs within 30 days of making the modification decision.

Where Social Groups revise their charters, they shall submit them to the registration management organs for approval within 30 days of making the decision to revise.

Where Social Groups register establishment after being reviewed and approved by professional supervisory units, in matters of applying for modification of registration matters or for approval of revisions to charters, they shall apply for modifications or approval with the registration management organs within 30 days of they day when professional supervisory units review and approve.

Article 23: In any of the following circumstances, Social Groups shall terminate and shall apply to the registration management organs to withdraw their registration:

(1) Where they realize the purposes set forth in the Social Groups' charters;

(1) Where they voluntarily dissolve;

(3) division or merger;

(4) Where they have been deregistered or the "Certificate of Registration as a Social Group Legal Person" is revoked in accordance with law.

(5) Where it is terminated for other reasons.

Where Social Groups register establishment after being reviewed and approved by professional supervisory units, they shall obtain the approval of professional supervisory units before applying to withdraw registration.

Article 24: Within 30 days after conditions for termination provided for in article 23 of these Regulations manifest, Social Groups shall establish liquidation groups and carry out liquidation with the guidance of the professional supervisory unit, registration management organs, and other relevant agencies, and announce this to the public. Where liquidation teams are not set up or do not perform their duties, the professional supervisory unit and registration management organs will apply to the people's courts to designate relevant personnel to form a liquidation team and to conduct liquidation.

During the liquidation period, Social Groups must not carry out activities other than liquidation.

Article 25: Social Groups' residual assets after liquidation shall be disposed of in accordance with the provision of Social Groups' charters; where the charters do not contain such provisions, registration management organs are to direct the transfer of these assets to social groups with identical or similar purposes or to use them for public interest purposes.

Article 26: Social Groups shall submit registration withdrawal applications and liquidation reports to registration management organs within 15 days of the completion of liquidation to process registration withdrawal.

Where Social Groups must have the review and consent of a professional supervisory unit before registration, they shall also submit the professional supervisory unit's review documents to the registration management organs.

Where a registration management organ grants registration withdrawal, it will issue certification of withdrawal document, and retrieve the registration certificate and the seal of this social group; financial documents are to be handled in accordance with relevant State regulations on the management of accounting records.

Article 27: Registration management organs will publicly announce the establishment, deregistration, or modification of registration for Social Groups.

Article 28: Where "Certificates of Registration as a Social Group Legal Person" are lost or are destroyed, social groups shall declare them void in publications designated by the registration management organs, and apply for replacements.

Where registration management organs make decisions of modifying or withdrawing registration in accordance with law, but social groups refuse or are unable to hand over the original "Certificates of Registration as a Social Group Legal Person" or seals, registration management organs will issue public notices declaring such "Certificates of Registration as a Social Group Legal Person" or seals void.

Chapter V: Organizational Structure

Article 29: In accordance with the provisions of law, regulations, rules, and charters, Social Groups shall establish or perfect organization structures, improve internal management mechanisms, and implement democratic election, democratic decision-making, and democratic management, and conduct activities according to law.

Article 30: Social Groups' organizational structures include general assemblies or representative assemblies, board of directors, and supervisors or board of supervisors.

Article 31: The general assembly or the representative assembly is the organ of power of a Social Group, and exercises the power to formulate and revise charters and membership fee standard, to revise measures of electing responsible parties, directors, and supervisors, to deliberate and approve the work report and financial report of the board of directors, and to decide on matters relating to terminating the social group, and other authorities set forth in the charter.

Article 32: The board of directors is the executive body of the general assembly or the representative assembly, exercises authorities provided by the charter, and is responsible to the general assembly or the representative assembly.

Social Groups can establish board of directors standing committees as necessary.

Article 33: General assemblies or representative assemblies, boards of directors, and the standing committees thereof, shall make meeting records of the decisions made on matters discussed. Social Groups shall preserve their meeting records and report to the public.

Article 34: Social Groups establish supervisors. Where there are 3 or more supervisors, a board of supervisors may be established. Supervisors or boards of supervisors exercise authorities to examine the finances of Social Groups and to supervise directors' and standing directors' acts of executing their duties and other authority provided by their charters.

Article 35: Social Groups' responsible parties shall follow the provisions of laws, regulations, rules, and charters, faithfully carrying out their duties, and protect the lawful rights and interests of the Social Groups and the members thereof.

A Social Group's responsible parties must not be close relatives.

Article 36: Persons with any of the following circumstances must not serve as the responsible parties for Social Groups:

(1) Who were once or are currently subject to criminal penalties depriving them of political rights, or have limited capacity for civil conduct;

(2) Who used to serve as responsible parties in social groups for which registration were withdrawn and of which "Certificates of Registration as a Social Group Legal Person" were revoked, and who were personally responsible for illegal conducts of said social groups; or who used to serve as responsible parties in social groups that have been shut down, where it is less than 3 years from the day when the Social Group's registration was withdrawn, the "Certificates of Registration as a Social Group Legal Person" revoked, or the shutting down;

(3) Other situations provided for by law, administrative regulations or rules.

Article 37: The branches or representative offices of a Social Groups are constituent parts of the social group, do not possess qualifications for legal persons, and shall conduct activities and recruit members using proper full names and within the authorized scope by the social group in accordance with the purpose and operational scope provided by the charter of the Social Group to which they belong. The branches of a Social Group must not establish other branches.

Social Groups must not establish regional branches.

Article 38: Vertical administrative relationships must not be established or covertly established between Social Groups.

Chapter VI: Information Disclosure

Article 39: The registration management organs shall disclose the following information to the public:

(1) Social Group registration matters;

(2) Results of conducting inspection or evaluation of Social Groups;

(3) The outcomes of commendations and punishments of Social Groups;

(4) Other information that laws and regulations provide shall be disclosed.

Article 40: Social Groups shall release to the public information on their charters, responsible parties, and organization structures, and situations of receiving and using public donations and other information required to be release by the registration management organ under the State Council. Where there are major changes to the aforementioned information, Social Groups shall promptly release it to the public.

Article 41: Social Groups shall submit work reports for the previous year on registration management organs' unified information platform before May 31 of each year and shall release the reports to the public. Contents of annual work reports include: the Social Groups' situations of following laws, regulations, rules, and State policies, situations of following registration procedures in accordance with these Regulations, situations of conducting activities in accordance with the charters, situations of personnel and organizational changes, and situations of financial management.

Where Social Groups register establishment after being reviewed and approved by professional supervisory units, they shall submit annual work reports for the previous year to the professional supervisory units for review, before submitting them on the registration management organs' unified information platform.

Article 42: Information related to state secrets, commercial secrets, or personal privacy, as well as information such as the names, titles, address, and contact method of donors who do not consent to it being disclosed, must not be made public.

Chapter VII: Supervision and Management

Article 43: The source of Social Groups' assets must be lawful, and must not be appropriated, secretly divided or embezzled by any unit or person.

The assets of social groups must be used in the professional activities as provided in the charters and must not be distributed among the members.

The donations and subsidies accepted by Social Groups must conform to the purpose and operational scope set forth in the charters and must be used in accordance with the time limit, methods, and lawful purposes agreed upon with donors and patrons. Social Groups shall report to their professional supervisory units situations related to the acceptance and use of donations and subsidies.

Social Groups must not accept donations that violate laws or regulations and those that violate social morality.

Article 44: Social Groups must implement the State's uniform accounting system and the financial management system as provided by the State, and accept supervision by finance departments; where the source of assets belong to governmental subsidies or societal donations or subsidies, and shall also accept supervision by auditing organs.

Before term-changing elections and changing legally-designated representatives, Social Groups shall conduct financial auditing.

Social Groups shall include all financial revenues and expenditures in their bank accounts, and must not use the bank accounts of other organizations or individuals.

Article 45: When accepting foreign donations, carrying out foreign cooperation programs, joining international organizations, and conducting other activities, social groups shall abide by relevant State regulations.

Article 46: Registration management organs perform the following duties toward Social Groups:

(1) Responsible for the establishment, modification, and registration withdrawal of Social Groups and the examination and approval of their charters;

(2) Conduct spot checks of how Social Groups carry out activities and manage finances in accordance with these regulations and their charters;

(3) Accept reports made by relevant units and individuals about Social Groups;

(4) Conduct supervision and inspection of problems where Social Groups violate these Regulations, and impose administrative penalties on Social Groups' acts that violate these Regulations;

Article 47: The registration management organs have the right to employ the following measures against Social Groups suspected of having violated these Regulations:

(1) Meet with the Social Group's responsible party;

(2) enter the Social Group's domicile and activity locations to conduct on-site inspections;

(3) Question units and individuals related to the matters being investigated, and request they explain these matters;

(4) Examine and reproduce documents or materials related to the matters being investigated, and seal documents or materials that might be removed, destroyed, concealed or tampered with;

(5) Seal or seize venues, equipment or property related to the matters under investigation;

(6) Carry out financial audits of Social Groups and make inquiries into bank accounts of units or individuals related to the matter being investigated.

Where methods set forth in item 5 of the previous paragraph are set to be taken, they must also be approved by the principal responsible parties of the registration management organs.

No fewer than two employees will conduct on-scene investigations or inspections, and they shall present lawful idetification documents and inspection or investigation notices.

Units and individuals who are being inspected or investigations shall cooperate and shall factually provide relevant documents and materials and must not conceal, refuse or obstruct.

Article 48: Professional supervisory units perform the following duties towards Social Groups:

(1) Responsible for the establishment, amendment, or withdrawal of Social Groups' registration and the pre-approval review of their charters;

(2) Supervise and guide Social Groups' compliance with the Constitution, laws, regulations, rules, and national policies, and to their charters, in carrying out activities;

(3) Responsible for the initial review of Social Groups' annual work reports;

(4) Assisting the registration management organs and other relevant departments in their investigation of Social Groups' violations;

(5) Guide Social Groups' liquidation matters in cooperation with other relevant organs;

(6) Other matters for which professional supervisory units should be responsible.

Article 49: Registration management organs shall establish systems of evaluating social groups and on the credit records of social groups and of their responsible parties and so forth, and share Social Groups' registration management information with other relevant departments.

Article 50: When performing duties provided for by these Regulations, registration management organs, professional supervisory units, and other relevant departments must not collect fees from Social Groups.

Chapter VIII: Legal Responsibility

Article 51: WhereSocial Groups resort to deception and falsification when applying for registration and obtain registration by cheating, or do not conduct activities within one year of obtaining their "Certificates of Registration as a Social Group Legal Person," registration management organs will withdraw their registration.

Article 52: Where Social Groups no longer meet the requirements set forth in Article 12 of these Regulations, registration management organs will order corrections and may order suspension of activities for a certain period; where the circumstances are serious or the Social Groups did not rectify within the prescribed period, revoke their "Certificates of Registration as a Social Group Legal Person."

Article 53: Where Social groups violate the provisions of article 5 of these regulations, and the circumstances are serious, the registration management organs are to revoke their "Certificate of Registration as a Social Group Legal Person"; Where the acts of the directly responsible managers and other directly responsible personnel constitute a violation of public security management, public security administrative sanctions are given in accordance with law; where a crime is constituted, criminal responsibility is pursued in accordance with law.

Article 54: Where Social Groups have any of the following situations, the registration management organs give a warning and order corrections, or temporarily suspend activities, and may also order them to dismiss and replace the persons who are directly in charge; where circumstances are serious, the "Certificate of Registration as a Social Group Legal Person" is revoked; where a violation of public security is consituted, it is to be given a public security administrative sanction; and where a crime is constituted, criminal responsibility is pursued in accordance with law:

(1) Fabricated, altered, leased, or lent out a "Certificate of Registration as a Social Group Legal Person", or leased or lent out a Social Group's seal;

(2) Activities going beyond the purpose and scope of operations provided in the Charter;

(3) The responsible party of the Social Group does not meet the requirements provided in article 36 of these Regulations;

(4) Where supervision and inspections were refused or not accepted as provided for in this law;

(5) Not following regulations for approval procedures in modifying or withdrawing registration, or revising the charter;

(6) Where a branch organization or representative offices were set up in violation of article 37 of these Regulations, or where management of a branch organization or representative offices was neglected and caused serious consequences;

(7) Violations of article 38 of these Regulations;

(8) Where they engaged in for-profit business activities;

(9) Encroaching upon, privately dividing, or misapropriating Social Groups' assets or accepted donations and funding;

(10) Violating relevant national regulations by accepting fees, raising capital, or accepting and using donations or funding;

(11) Violating paragraph 3 of Article 44 of these Regulations;

Where conduct provided for in the preceding paragraph has unlawful income or unlawful gains, they are to be confiscated and a concurrent fine of between 1 and 3 times the value unlawful income, or between 3 and 5 times the value of unlawful gains, may be given.

Article 55: Where Social Groups fail to perform information disclosure obligations in accordance with these Regulations, the registration management organs may enter them into the irregularities list, announce this to the public through the unified information platform, and urge their performance of information disclosure obligations. Where Social Groups fail to perform annual reporting obligations in accordance with these Regulations for two consecutive years, their "Certificate of Registration as a Social Group Legal Person" is revoked by the registration management organs.

Where Social Groups are entered into the irregularities list, the relevant departments are to lawfully cancel any preferential tax treatment they enjoy, and their credentials for government transfer of functions or procurement of services.

Article 56: Where Social Groups' activities violate other laws or regulations, the relevant state organs are to handle it in accordance with law; where the relevant state organs find that a "Certificate of Registration as a Social Group Legal Person" shall be revoked, the registration management organs are to handle it in accordance with law.

Article 57: Where Social Groups conduct activities in violation of the provisions of article 11, item 2 of these Regulations, or conduct activities in the name of social groups without registration, or continue to conduct activities in the name of Social Groups after their registration is withdrawn and "Certificates of Registration as a Social Group Legal Person" revoked, registration management organs are to ban such social groups, confiscate their unlawful properties and unlawful income, and may impose a concurrent fine of between one and fives times value of unlawful income; where there is no unlawful income or the unlawful income is less than 10,000 RMB in value, may impose a fine between 10,000 and 100,000 RMB; where a violation of public security administration is constituted, public security administrative sanctions are given in accordance with law; where a crime is constituted, criminal responsibility is pursued in accordance with law.

Article 58: Where Social Groups are ordered to stop activities for a period of time, the registration management organs are to seal their "Certificate of Registration as a Social Group Legal Person", seals, and financial documents.

Where a Social Group has its registration withdrawn or its "Certificate of Registration as a Social Group Legal Person" revoked, the registration management will seize its "Certificate of Registration as a Social Group Legal Person" and seal. Where Social Groups refuse or are unable to hand over their original "Certificate of Registration as a Social Group Legal Person" or seals, the registration management organs is to announce that the registration is voided.

Article 59: Where personnel of registration management organs, professional supervisory units or other relevant departments abuse their office, use their influence for personnel gain, or neglect their duties, and it constitutes a crime, their criminal responsibility is to be pursued according to law; where it does not constitute a crime, they are to be given administrative sanctions in accordance with law.

Chapter IX: Supplemental Provisions

Article 60: "Responsible Parties" as used in these Regulations refer to Social Groups' Chairpersons of Boards of Directors or Presidents, Vice Chairpersons of Boards of Directors or Vice Presidents, or Secretaries General.

Article 61: The model Social Group charters and sample "Certificate of Registration as a Social Group Legal Person" are to be formulated by the civil affairs department under the State Council.

Article 62: The registration management of the establishment of international Social Groups in mainland China will be conducted with reference to these Regulations; the specific measures of which are to be formulated by the civil affairs department under the State Council.

Article 63: These regulations take effect on XX-XX-XX. The Regulations on the "Registration and Management of Social Groups [organizations]" promulgated by the State Council on October 25, 1998 are abolished at the same time.