Lawmakers call for including non-governmental groups in social assistance

BEIJING, Oct. 25 (Xinhua) -- Lawmakers urged the government to encourage and support non-governmental organizations' efforts to offer social assistance at a panel discussion held Thursday.

The government should be more flexible in terms of including non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in social assistance programs and offering supportive policies, said Yan Yixin, a member of the Standing Committee of National People's Congress (NPC), at a panel discussion of a report on social assistance delivered by Civil Affairs Minister Li Liguo on Wednesday at the committee's bi-monthly session.

Regulation- and policy-related barriers are preventing NGOs from engaging in charity work, Yan said.

Pan Xuehong, a NPC deputy from south China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, said the government and NGOs can work together to help needy people.

"Cooperation can be realized through government purchases of services from NGOs," she said. "In some areas, NGOs can greatly supplement the government's work."

The lawmakers said the participation of NGOs will also help to increase investment in social assistance.

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