Law and Politics in China's Private Sector

截至2009年，正式登记的社会组织达到431,069个(包括237,847个社会团体，190,479个私营非企业单位，1843个基金会)。然而，还有更多法律地位岌岌可危的未注册组织在暗中活动。这一问题的背景是，在设立过程中，主管部门办理的许可手续和民政部门的登记形成了双重管理制度，从而提高了登记的门槛。关于结社自由，实际情况是，实行了禁止一切不允许的原则，违反宪法规定的禁止结社成为一项原则。目前，关于社会组织立法的争论正在进行中。然而，如何既搞活社会组织，又保持严密的政治控制，防止社会组织引发异议，这是一个自相矛盾的问题，不是一个具体的制度可以轻易回答的。在恶劣的法制环境下，在共产党的统治下，社会组织在市场经济中实现了日益多元化的利益调节功能、社会自我调节功能、难以管理的服务提供功能、(某种)“政治参与”功能以及公益功能，从而对缺乏政治民主的中国的紧张情绪缓解起到了一定的作用。

Up to 2009, the number of formally registered social organizations has reached 431,069 (including 237,847 social groups, 190,479 private non-enterprise units, and 1843 foundations). However, there are far more unregistered organizations with precarious legal status that are active in the dark. The background of this issue is that during establishment, the permit procedures carried out by the competent authorities and the registrations made by the civil affairs departments have formed a dual administrative system, by which the hurdle of registration has been raised. About the freedom of association, the actual situation is that the principle that 'everything which is not allowed isforbidden' has been applied, and 'prohibition of association' which is contrary to the provisions of the constitution has become a principle. Currently, the debate about the legislation of social organizations is being carried on. However, how to invigorate social organizations, while maintaining a tight political control in order to prevent them from causing dissent, is a self-contradictory question that cannot be easily answered by a concrete system. In a bad legal environment, and under the rule of the Communist Party, social organizations have achieved the function of adjustment of interests which have become more and more pluralistic in Market Economy, the function of social self-adjustment, the function of service delivery which is difficult for the administration, the function of (some sort of) "political participation', as well as the function of public welfare, and thus have some kind of effects on tension relief in China, which lacks political democracy.