05.21.19

How Does My NGO File for a Temporary Activity in Multiple Provinces?

There does not appear to be one set answer to this question, despite the fact that a large number of successful temporary activity filings have taken place in multiple provinces. Different provincial Public Security Bureaus (PSBs) have offered...
05.21.19

Have Any Foreign NGOs Been Denied Registration or Had Their Temporary Activities Shut Down?

The China NGO Project is not aware of any groups who have been explicitly denied registration by the Ministry of Public Security (MPS) or by a provincial Public Security Bureau (PSB). Similarly, we are not aware of any groups who have had their...
03.14.19

Citing Foreign NGO Law Requirements, U.S.-based NGO Opts out of China Summit

Yesterday, the U.S.-based Open Source Hardware Association announced on its website that it had canceled plans to hold its annual summit in Shenzhen, in large part due to difficulties complying with China’s Foreign NGO Law.
08.21.18

18 Months in, What Do We Know about Chinese Partner Units?

Chinese Partner Units (CPUs) are critical players in the temporary activity process. Not only are they often the on-the-ground implementers of a temporary activity, and their organizational structure, location, and capacity affect what activities...
08.21.18

Chinese Partner Units: Who (and Where) Are They?

Jessica Batke
When considering the impact of the Foreign NGO Law, we often think first of the foreign NGOs themselves—who they are, and where they’re able to gain approval to carry out work in China. Yet, for foreign NGOs carrying out temporary activities in...
06.11.18

Greening the Inner Mongolian Desert, Temporary Activities for Eye Health, Shandong PSB Inspection Visits

Today, two Japanese NGOs involved in desert greening in Inner Mongolia became legally registered. In an official ceremony, the Inner Mongolia Public Security Bureau (PSB) Foreign NGO Management Office presented the representative offices of the...
02.09.18

Upgrades to Our Temporary Activity and Representative Office Tables

In response to reader feedback, we’ve made two big changes this week to our tables that contain translated Ministry of Public Security information on representative offices and temporary activities: First, we’ve enabled a filter/search function on...
02.02.18

Chinese Civil Society in 2018: What’s Ahead?

Wang Yongmei, Anthony Saich & more
The impetus for this event is it’s about a year since the new Foreign NGO Law was implemented in China. There was also another law implemented in 2016, the Charity Law, that governs how domestic NGOs function in China. But there’s a lot more going...
11.15.17

The Most Active Chinese Partners for Temporary Activities as of October 2017

Jessica Batke
Though most Chinese Partner Units (CPUs) working with foreign NGOs have only filed for one temporary activity, approximately 18% of CPUs have filed for multiple temporary activities since the beginning of the year. Below, we list the CPUs that have...
11.15.17

A Quick Look at the Most Active Chinese Partner Units

We’ve just published a brief analysis looking at those domestic Chinese organizations that have served as foreign NGOs’ temporary activity partners for four or more temporary activities. Check it out here to see which groups have been most active in...
11.14.17

Guangdong Public Security Bureau Talks Foreign NGOs with Cambodia; Beijing, Jiangxi, Chongqing, Shanghai Meet with Registered Foreign NGOs

Today, Guangdong Public Security Bureau (PSB) Executive Vice Director Li Qingxiong met with Cambodian Member of Parliament Suos Yara, who visited the PSB as part of an inspection team related to the Foreign NGO Law. Li said he hoped Suos’ visit...
11.14.17

After Ten Months, What Do We Still Not Know?

As we approach one year since the Foreign NGO Law went into effect, these are some of the common questions and concerns we’re hearing from legal professionals, scholars, funders, and NGOs themselves—along with any answers we are able to offer. The...
11.01.17

Fact Sheet on China’s Foreign NGO Law

What is the Foreign NGO Law, and why did the P.R.C. create it? The “Law of the People’s Republic of China on Administration of Activities of Overseas Nongovernmental Organizations in the Mainland of China” was adopted by the National People’s...
10.25.17

New Flowchart Comparing Representative Office and Temporary Activity Processes

We’ve just posted a new analysis juxtaposing the process for registering a representative office and for filing a temporary activity. In particular, the flowchart highlights the differing points in the process during which an application or filing...
09.19.17

Poverty Alleviation Office Issues Foreign NGO Guidelines; Guangdong Chats with Hong Kong NGOs

The State Council Leading Group Office of Poverty Alleviation and Development has issued guidelines for NGOs requesting the Office to serve as its Professional Supervisory Unit or as its Chinese Partner Unit for representative offices and temporary...
08.24.17

Professional Supervisory Unit Releases Filing and Application Procedures for Potential Foreign NGO Partners

The State Council Leading Group Office of Poverty Alleviation and Development issued two documents on August 22 outlining the procedures for foreign NGOs seeking to register a representative office or file a temporary activity in conjunction with...
08.09.17

How Many Times Must My NGO File for Temporary Activities for the Same Program Carried out Multiple Times in a Year?

Though the Ministry of Public Security has provided no specific guidance on this point, it appears that foreign NGOs may file one time for a program that will take place on non-contiguous dates during the year. (According to the Foreign NGO Law, no...
07.11.17

Qinghai Public Security Bureau Meets with Foreign NGOs; Guizhou Makes Filing More Convenient; Four Provincial Public Security Bureaus Conduct University Outreach

On June 30, the Beijing Public Security Bureau (PSB) Foreign NGO Management Office granted registration certificates to 15 foreign NGOs: Ford Foundation (United States), Give2Asia (United States), The Asia Foundation (United States), Caterpillar...
06.21.17

Case Study: Temporary Activity Filing Stalled

To complement our post on a successful temporary activity filing, one foreign NGO has agreed to let us present its experience of filing for a temporary activity, in which the filing stalled out in the middle of the process. The problem did not...
06.14.17

An Article Worth Reading

On June 13, South China Morning Post published a thorough report by Nectar Gan that details the experiences of foreign NGOs since the Foreign NGO Law went into effect this year.
05.31.17

Template for Foreign NGO-Chinese Partner Unit Memorandum of Understanding

The Environmental Law Institute has shared a version of the document it recently created to formalize a temporary activity agreement with its Chinese Partner Unit. This template is is available here, so that other foreign NGOs can use it to create...
04.24.17

Foreign NGOs’ Temporary Activities

This sortable table lists the temporary activities that foreign NGOs have filed for since January 2017, and includes foreign NGOs’ activity names, Chinese Partner Units, activity dates, and activity locations. Click on any heading column to sort the...
04.23.17

How Many Organizations Have Carried out Temporary Activities in China?

The Ministry of Public Security’s main NGO website lists temporary activities (in Chinese). The China NGO Project also maintains a sortable chart with English translations, including the area and dates of activity and the name of the Chinese Partner...
04.23.17

What Is the Difference Between a Professional Supervisory Unit and a Chinese Partner Unit?

Unlike Professional Supervisory Unites (PSUs), which are paired with foreign NGO representative offices in China and which must be selected from a list provided by the Ministry of Public Security (MPS), Chinese Partner Units (CPUs) are organizations...