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...
05.30.17

Professional Supervisory Unit List Now Available as a Sortable Table

We’ve combined the Ministry of Public Security’s 2017 list of approved Professional Supervisory Units with China Law Translate’s translation of the same, creating a table that you can sort alphabetically by any column. Check out the table here.
05.27.17

Beijing Public Security Bureau Holds Foreign NGO Lecture at Renmin University

Today, Hunan granted approval for its first batch of Foreign NGO representative offices: the Institute for Integrated Rural Development (Hong Kong), the China-Britain Business Council, and Reading Dreams (Hong Kong).
05.23.17

German Political Foundations Register in Beijing

On May 23, the Beijing Public Security Bureau’s Foreign NGO Management Office presented four German organizations with their representative office registration certificates: Konrad-Adenauer Stiftung, Heinrich Böll Foundation, Rosa Luxembourg...
05.19.17

New Rules for Foreign NGO Bank Accounts

On May 19, the People’s Bank of China and the Ministry of Public Security jointly issued the “Notice on Work Related to Foreign NGO Representative Offices’ Renminbi Bank Account Management” (关于做好境外非政府组织代表机构人民币银行账户管理有关工作的通知). According to the...
05.18.17

Ministry of Public Security Highlights Foreign NGOs’ Role in Belt and Road Initiative

Here are our translations of the latest WeChat posts from the Ministry of Public Security related to Foreign NGOs.
05.12.17

Beijing Normal University Releases Bilingual Foreign NGO Law FAQ

The Center for Charity Law at Beijing Normal University’s China Philanthropy Research Institute (CPRI), which runs a Foreign NGO Registration Support Program, issued a bilingual set of FAQs addressing 30 common questions related to foreign NGO...
05.12.17

We Called All of the Provincial Foreign NGO Management Offices So You Don’t Have To

As part of the fact-checking process for our FAQ on Ministry of Public Security (MPS) contact information—and keeping in mind previous reports that the National-level MPS Foreign NGO Management office initially didn’t have anyone answering the phone...
05.10.17

Guangdong and Shanghai Public Security Bureaus Talk Foreign NGO Law with Foreign Consulates

The Ministry of Public Security continues to post updates relevant to the Foreign NGO Law on its WeChat account, the most recent of which are translated and summarized below.
05.09.17

More Foreign NGOs Register in Yunnan, Sichuan, Shanghai, and Guangdong

Shawn Shieh
The Beijing-based China Development Brief's (CDB’s) English-language website came out last month with more news about the implementation of the Foreign NGO Law in Yunnan, Shanghai, Sichuan, and Guangdong, where a large number of foreign NGOs...
05.02.17

German Political Foundations May Be Able to Register as NGOs in China

According to German media reports, China’s Ministry of Public Security has determined that five of Germany’s political foundations—Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, Heinrich Böll Foundation, Hanns Seidel Foundation, and Rosa...
05.02.17

Qinghai Public Security Bureau Publicizes Law; Gansu Public Security Bureau Inspects Foreign NGO Service Window

Since April 2, the Ministry of Public Security’s Office for NGO Management has been posting updates on its work to a WeChat account. The following are translations of some recent posts. We’ll do these translations frequently and post them in our “...
04.25.17

Are Activities Carried out by Wholly Foreign-Owned Enterprises Subject to the Foreign NGO Law?

According to guidance given during a Q&A session in 2016, the Ministry of Public Security (MPS) Foreign NGO Management Bureau will allow WFOEs to donate money for public interest or charitable purposes in China as long as they carry out...
04.24.17

Some of Your Most Pressing Questions

The following are a few of the questions and ideas we’re still grappling with after our initial discussions with the NGO community and others interested in Chinese civil society. We expect to be revisiting these ideas in the weeks and months to come.
04.24.17

Approved Foreign NGO Representative Offices: A Comparison with Previous Registrations

Jessica Batke
One of the mandates of the newly-enacted Law on the Management of Foreign Non-Governmental Organizations’ Activities in the People’s Republic of China is that all Foreign NGOs with a permanent footprint in China must register with the Ministry of...
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...
04.24.17

How to File for a Temporary Activity

In recounting its experiences with the new filing process, the first NGO to successfully register for and carry out a temporary activity stressed that a willingness to educate Chinese partner units was key. Given how new the law is and how uncertain...
04.24.17

Registered Foreign NGO Representative Offices

This interactive map shows the approximate location of foreign NGOs’ representative offices in China. Click on a foreign NGO name in the sidebar to zoom in to that location on the map and display a pop-up containing the NGO’s Chinese name, country/...
04.23.17

How Can My NGO Find an Official Sponsor in a Given Province?

Some provincial Public Security Bureaus have posted lists of Professional Supervisory Units (PSUs). The following are links to all the provincial-level PSU lists (in Chinese) that The China NGO Project was able to find online. All lists are in...
04.23.17

Government Forms Foreign NGO Coordination Groups at National, Provincial Levels

Jessica Batke
The Chinese government has established “coordination groups” at the national and provincial levels specifically to manage Foreign NGOs in the context of the newly-enacted Law on the Management of Foreign Non-Governmental Organizations’ Activities in...
04.23.17

Welcome to The China NGO Project

On January 1, China began enforcement of its Law on the Management of Foreign Non-Governmental Organizations’ Activities in the People’s Republic of China. Several weeks later, we initiated The China NGO Project to try to help readers better...
04.23.17

Can My NGO Give Money to Individuals in China?

Based on the text of the Foreign NGO Law, it does not appear that foreign NGOs can lawfully give grants directly to individuals, such as for travel to workshops outside China, without a Chinese Partner as an intermediary. Article 22 states that...
04.23.17

How Does the Law Apply to Non-Profit Performing Arts or Other Cultural Groups?

According to the NGOs in China blog’s summary of guidance provided by the Ministry of Public Security at a 2016 Q&A session, “Article 21 [of the law] permits foreign NGOs to use ‘other funds legally acquired within China’ for their...
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 Needs to Be in a Foreign NGO Representative Office’s Annual Plan?

The Ministry of Public Security has not offered clear guidance on this point. The China NGO Project hopes to learn from foreign NGOs what level of detail groups included in their successful annual plan submissions.
04.23.17

Can a Chinese Citizen Serve as the Main Representative of a Foreign NGO?

According to an interview the Guangdong MPS gave to NGOCN, a Chinese national may serve as a foreign NGO’s chief representative in China. The individual’s identity card will be required as proof of identity.
04.23.17

What Is a Professional Supervisory Unit’s Role in Terms of Oversight and Management?

A PSU’s precise role vis-a-vis its sponsored foreign NGO remains unclear at this stage in implementation. Many foreign NGOs report uncertainty about the nature of the relationship and have expressed a desire for greater clarity about the parameters...
04.23.17

What Documents Does My NGO Need To Report a Temporary Activity?

The following documentation must be filed with the relevant Public Security office at least 15 days before a temporary activity begins (note: this time restriction is waived in cases of emergency relief services): 1. Documents and materials showing...
04.23.17

What Forms Does My NGO Need to Register an Office in China?

After gaining approval from a Professional Supervisory Unit (whose application materials and process vary from unit to unit), a foreign NGO must submit the following materials to the appropriate public security office.
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...
04.23.17

Are NGOs in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau Subject to This Law?

Yes. The term 境外 (jing wai) used in the law, which we translate as “foreign,” is frequently translated as “overseas,” but its literal translation is “outside the borders.” For legal and regulatory purposes, jing wai includes Taiwan, Hong Kong, and...
04.23.17

What Does China Consider to Be a “Foreign NGO”?

Article 2 of the Foreign NGO Law, as translated by China Law Translate, defines Foreign NGOs as any “not-for-profit, non-governmental social organizations lawfully established outside mainland China, such as foundations, social groups, and think...
04.23.17

How Can My Organization Operate under the New Foreign NGO Law?

All organizations seeking to register as a foreign NGO in China must meet certain requirements to be considered legitimate foreign NGOs by the Chinese government. These include being legally established outside mainland China and having been active...

Viewpoint

04.20.17

A Taiwanese Man’s Detention in Guangdong Threatens a Key Pillar of Cross-Straits Relations

Jerome A. Cohen & Yu-Jie Chen
Update: On March 26, China’s Taiwan Affairs Office announced that Taiwanese human rights activist Lee Ming-che had been formally arrested on charges of “subverting state power.” Jerome Cohen has added a new comment to this essay. To skip to that...

China Law Translate (Chinese)

A website that houses the original Chinese text of laws and regulations and crowd-sources unofficial English translations.

Foreign NGO Management Law Legal Services Lawyers’ Group (境外NGO管理法法律服务律师团)

Contact information (in Chinese) for the Foreign NGO Management Law Legal Services Lawyers’ Group, which provides legal consultation and proxy services to foreign NGOs and individuals.

ChinaSource

A resource and support organization for and about the Christian community in China that offers consulting services related to the Foreign NGO Law.

The FNGO Registration Support Program

Contact information for the Foreign NGO Registration Support Program, run by the the Center for Charity Law under the Beijing Normal University China Philanthropy Research Institute (CPRI).

Anthony Spires’ Blog

A blog run by Anthony Spires, Ph.D., that includes the results of survey work done by foreign NGOs in China. Spires is Associate Professor in the Sociology Department at The Chinese University of Hong Kong and a research fellow with the School of...

China Law Translate

A website that houses the original Chinese text of laws and regulations and crowd-sources unofficial English translations.

Council on Foundations

A detailed outline of the laws and regulations pertaining to social organizations in China, produced by a non-profit leadership association of grantmaking foundations and corporations.

NGOs in China blog

A blog about developments in the nongovernmental, non-profit, and charitable sector in China. Run by Shawn Shieh, Ph.D., Deputy Director of the China Labor Bulletin, founder and former Director of English-language operations for China Development...

International Center for Not-for-Profit Law

A comprehensive discussion of the Foreign NGO Law, including related laws and international comparisons, maintained by a U.S.-based non-profit that monitors global legal developments affecting civil society, philanthropy, and public participation.

China Development Brief

A website that provides news and translations related to non-profit work in China, including the Foreign NGO Law.

The Overseas NGO Law and Its Effects on Chinese NGOs’ Contribution to Global Development

Jennifer Y.J. Hsu and Reza Hasmath
China Policy Institute Blog

Building NGO Capacity and Autonomy in China

Shui-Yan Tang
China Policy Institute Blog

Viewpoint

01.31.17

The Origins of China’s New Law on Foreign NGOs

Shawn Shieh
For many years, the vast majority of foreign NGOs operated quietly in China in a legal grey area. Many are unregistered and work in China through local partners, while others are registered as commercial enterprises. That all changed with the...