On 2 March, The Centre for Research on Governance and Soft Law was inaugurated at Xiamen University. Mr. Luo Haocai, the former vice chair of CPPCC, and the former chair of China Zhi Gong Party, was present at the ceremony and received the letter of appointment as an adviser and a part-time professor of the centre. 

    The term "soft law" refers to quasi-legal instruments which do not have any legally binding force, or whose binding force is somewhat "weaker" than the binding force of traditional law, often contrasted with soft law by being referred to as "hard law". Traditionally, the term "soft law" is associated with international law, although more recently it has been transferred to other branches of domestic law as well.

    "Governance" refers to "all processes of governing, whether undertaken by a government, market or network, whether over a family, tribe, formal or informal organization or territory and whether through laws, norms, power or language." It relates to "the processes of interaction and decision-making among the actors involved in a collective problem that lead to the creation, reinforcement, or reproduction of social norms and institutions.”