Charity group transparency up in 2013

Chinese people are increasingly satisfied with the information transparency of the country's charity groups, according to a 2013 charity report on Sunday.

However, nearly half of over 1,000 people surveyed remain dissatisfied, said Liu Youping, vice-director of the China Charity and Donation Information Center (CCDIC).

The report, released by the CCDIC, carried out research on 1,000 non-profit philanthropic groups nationwide to assess their information transparency. The average score for the groups was 43.11 (out of 100). representing growth of 33.1 percent over 2012 satisfaction levels.

Charity groups with satisfaction scores of 60 and above grew from 20.4 percent in 2012 to 29.6 percent in 2013, and a total of 70 charity groups scored 90 or above, while only two reached 90 last year, said the report.

Philanthropic foundations, especially private foundations, have been labeled the most transparent, and charity societies rank second, said the report.

According to the report, more than 70 percent of people surveyed said that charity information transparency has improved with growing public queries, government urging and self-discipline by charity groups.

The CCDIC, a non-governmental organization, has researched charity donations and issued annual reports for five consecutive years.