Today, the Jiangxi Foreign NGO Management Office and the provincial Department of Civil Affairs sent personnel to Pingxiang City to visit the Luxi County Children’s Care Center, run by The Chinese Agape Foundation (United States). The government personnel met with the head of the Center and viewed Center facilities such as the dormitories and cafeteria. Personnel also discussed the Foreign NGO Law, answered related questions, and urged the Center to complete its representative office registration in Jiangxi.
Today, the Beijing Public Security Bureau (PSB) Foreign NGO Management Office, together with the Ministry of Environmental Protection’s (MEP’s) International Department, carried out a research and inspection visit. The Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries and the Institute for Philanthropy Tsinghua University also both attended. At the event, Environmental Defense Fund (United States), ClientEarth (United Kingdom), and Partnerships for Community Development (Hong Kong), all gave an overview of their activities in China during 2017 and their planned activities for 2018. MEP’s International Department Head recognized the contributions that foreign NGOs have made in China in the area of the environment and welcomed further cooperation. PSB office personnel explained their management service concept of “lawful, reasonable, and understanding.” Afterwards, meeting attendees toured Environmental Defense Fund’s offices.
Today, the Sichuan PSB Foreign NGO Management Office, together with the provincial Department of Land and Resources, met with representatives from the Hanns Seidel Foundation (Germany). Though none of the four registered Hanns Seidel Foundation representative offices are located in Sichuan, the organization’s permitted area of operations includes Sichuan province. The organization has carried out one program in conjunction with the Sichuan Department of Land and Resources, namely, the “Sichuan-Germany Cooperative Construction of a Model Area for the Comprehensive Restoration of Land and Rural Development.” The Foundation gave an overview of the project, located in Sichuan’s Xichong and Yilong counties, as well as the general situation of the Foundation itself after registration under the Foreign NGO Law. The PSB office explained the rationale behind the introduction of the Foreign NGO Law; the Foundation stated it would respect the law and strengthen cooperation with relevant government agencies.
On March 1, the State Council Leading Group Office of Poverty Alleviation and Development met with a number of international groups and foreign NGOs as part of a dialogue on China’s war on poverty. Among those groups in attendance were the United Nations Development Program, the United Nations Children’s Fund, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the World Food Program, the International Fund for Agricultural Development, the World Health Organization, the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (United States), Mercy Corps (United States), and Heifer Hong Kong. As a next step, the Poverty Alleviation Office plans to establish a regular dialogue mechanism with international groups to discuss poverty alleviation cooperation in China.