On October 17, the China Philanthropy Research Institute (CPRI) at Beijing Normal University published an interview with The Asia Foundation in both English and Chinese. The Asia Foundation noted that the Foreign NGO Law offered them the ability to formally register in China for the first time, “so the promulgation of the law is indeed a good thing for us.” Prior to the law being enacted, The Asia Foundation had to spend significant resources overcoming logistical hurdles due to their lack of official status. They described the Beijing Public Security Bureau Foreign NGO Management Office as “open and pragmatic,” encouraging NGOs hoping to register under the new law to be proactive in their communication with public security officials as well as with potential Professional Supervisory Units (PSUs). Similar to the Ford Foundation’s experience, as described in a previous CPRI interview, finding an appropriate PSU was the biggest challenge for The Asia Foundation during their registration process. Looking forward, the Asia Foundation is hoping for further clarity on a number of technical issues, such as tax rules for foreign NGOs.
The full interview is available through CPRI’s WeChat account.