The Construction And Transition Of Legal System Of Modern Chinese Associations

The rise of association is an important feature of the evolution of modern social organization.As a social unit,the association has the function of reorganizing and integrating for the social structure,and the improvement of the legal system of association has become an important means of modern Chinese government to realize social control and reshape social order.Through the longitudinal inspection of modern association legal system and the analysis of the construction of the system,it is helpful to interpret the intention and effect of social governance in modern China development evolution.In traditional China society,associations were developed on the basis of the "four people" system—scholar,farmer,artisan and merchant.They were treated differently in the dynasty system.Political associations were harshly repressed but economic and cultural ones got permissive attitude on the premise of public security.Traditional social organizations began to collapse since the late Qing dynasty and modern social organizations gradually grew up to become the new social force.Qing government brought social organizations into political system by way of legal institution and this finally determined the basic framework for the legal system of modern social organizations.After Xinhai Revolution,Beijing government of the Republic of China expanded the scale of the legal system of social organizations.The freedom of association became constitutionally accepted.Meanwhile,professional associations were guided under the legal regulations in larger scope.But Beijing government had such historical inertia of autocracy to suppress association behaviors even though it admitted the freedom of association.Thus,it created the conflict between the theory and practice of law.Because of political unrest and governance incapacity,government's legal authority was challenged by those social organizations.It usually ended up with the compromise from government.At the time that Beijing government deliberately suppressed public association,KMT regime in Guangdong led by Sun Yat-sen launched National Revolution with the power of mass organizations.With the theoretical direction of party-governing,KMT set out its laws and regulations of social organizations,attempting to organize people by active intervention to realize public control.Such organizations played a great role in National Revolution but they became out of control along with the revolution progress.Legal institution collapsed and was involved into disorder.KMT involuntarily stopped public organizations activities,adjusted its policy toward social organizations and rebuilt their legal institution.The framework of legal institution of social organizations formed new system under the control of KMT government.The Nanjing National Government had a integrated design for the mass organizations.It had formed a coverall systematic framework of legal institution through long practice.This dual-track system provided with possibility of social reorganization,allowing KMT to attempt to build a high social cohesion country by using the power of social organizations.But since the founding of Nanking KMT Government,it had been facing complex and dangerous situations at home and abroad.Government had to maximize the civil society strength to deal with them.Such political purpose caused instability of legal institution.With the changes of domestic and international situations,the legal institution even became military during the anti-Japanese war period.KMT tried to bring it back after the war but failed.The course of the establishment of legal institution system of modern social organizations has reflected the new pattern of country and social horizon.In the global competition,traditional simple governance is incompetent.In order to cope with powerful opponents,the modern states have to gather together and mobilize civilian power through social reorganization.Different political power in modern China have their own intention and purpose toward social organizations.Government have brought abundant social resources into its governance system through the establishment of the legal institution system of social organizations.This caused the inequality between the state and society.Development and control are contradictory in nature.The development of civil organizations will press them to separate themselves from government control.Although the legal institution of modern social organizations already became history along with the political demise of the Nanjing National Government.Yet,as the integrated social power in modern China,it had been facing international competition to make useful attempt.Its historic process of establishment and transition still has pioneering significance.