China's top legislature has decided to postpone the review of the draft charity law until next year, due to the lack of practical experience of charity work and difficulties in balancing the interests of different groups, a leading legislator said.

"The draft charity law has been listed on this year's legislative agenda, but it has been put off as further discussions and research are still necessary," Chen Sixi, member of the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee and deputy director of the NPC Internal and Judicial Affairs Committee, told China Daily.

Chen made the remarks while attending a recent forum held by the Law School of Renmin University of China as part of the activities to celebrate the school's 60th anniversary.

The comments came in the wake of a charity dinner jointly held by Warren Buffett and Bill Gates in Beijing in September, which has provoked nationwide discussion of charity work as media reported half of Chinese rich people invited were not willing to attend the dinner for fear of being asked to donate half of their assets to charity.

Many Chinese entrepreneurs and experts argue that the lack of a charity law and proper policies hinders philanthropic development.

In the past few years, charity donations in China have been increasing quickly. According to the Hurun philanthropy list, the top 50 donors in China gave an average of US$25 million last year, eight times more than in 2004.

However, obstacles still remain, especially for the establishment and operation of private foundations in China. Special Coverage: Charitable China

"One obstacle has been systemic - reflected in the lack of laws and regulations that can promote the sector in an effective way. Private foundations cannot publicly raise funds, for example," Shawn Shieh, a visiting professor at Beijing Foreign Studies University was quoted by media as saying.

Chen said the legislative process of the social law system should be speeded up to help tackle relevant problems confronting the country.

"And that includes the law on charity, volunteer work and housing security among others," he said.

Chen said the NPC Standing Committee is to review the draft social assistance law later this year.

"The government's effort to curb the housing price is limited due to regional protectionism and the fact that most of the measures being taken are too limited and do not address the wider issues," he said.

"Hence a systematic and well-planned law on housing security is needed to fundamentally solve the housing problem," he said.

"The socialist legal system with Chinese characteristics should reflect the core value of the society, which is public integrity, democracy and legality, and the protection of human rights," Chen said.

(China Daily November 3, 2010)