Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management

This paper explores the power dynamics and stakeholder effects in the legislative process of philanthropic law-making in China. Based on participant observation when the first author worked as a project assistant, semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders of law-making, and content analysis of different versions of drafts, this paper argues that the scale of power in the legislative process was neither uniform nor one directional. Power was constructed among a limited scope of stakeholders, then was distributed to all stakeholders and finally was concentrated to a particular one. In terms of the power range, committees of the National People’s Congress took the lead throughout the whole legislative process and produced crucial effects on the philanthropic legislation. While particular stakeholders, such as those working in renowned academic institutionswith specialties in philanthropic studies, seemed to be marginal, they actually deployed more power than those with apparent authority in the philanthropic legislation. Throughout the legislative process, stakeholders mainly have exerted two kinds of effects, namely on the representation of legal contexts (e.g. chapter of charitable trusts) and the regulation on specific affairs (e.g. online fundraising). Effects of their action depended on their professionalism in philanthropic research or practices and political authority. This study will provide insights for comprehending the power dynamics of Chinese legislative processes and shed light on nuances of transforming Chinese civil society in terms of philanthropy.