On March 20, China's Ministry of Civil Affairs and 22 other departments jointly issued the "Notice on Eliminating the Breeding Soil of Illegal Social Organizations and Purifying the Ecological Space of Social Organizations". The Ministry called this "an important milestone in the history of the development of social organizations in China". It said the "determination to prevent and curb the growth and spread of illegal social organizations" will help encourage civil entities and help "mobilize all sectors of society to unite resisting illegal social organizations". Acknowledging that their total number has almost doubled since the 18th Party Congress, it disclosed "there are over 900,000 registered social organizations nationwide" spread across all industries and fields. It said while many have "played a positive role in improving the socialist market economy system, innovating social governance, and stimulating social vitality", "the chaos of illegal social organizations that fish in troubled waters, use fakes, chaos, and profiteering" have infringed on the legitimate rights and interests of the people and endangered social stability and economic development.
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