Latest
Check here for updates from our editors on new developments in regulation, operation and activities of Foreign NGOs in China as well as updates to the China NGO Project site
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 the tables that allows users to search in multiple columns simultaneously. Second, we’ve added additional information to the temporary activities table related to Chinese Partner Units (CPUs).Read more
We’ve just posted the latest information about all the foreign NGO temporary activities and representative office registrations that took place as of January 31, 2018. Of note, registrations of representative offices were down somewhat in January—not since March 2017 have fewer offices been registered in a given month. This could be tied to a number of potential factors: foreign NGO staff on holiday in December and January, fewer foreign NGOs actively working to establish an...Read more
NGOs at a Crossroads
A Q&A with Li Dan, Founder of the Crossroads Centre
“Whether or not these two laws existed hasn’t had much effect on us because we had already felt the impact of the political environment. They just help the government to, as they say, ‘strengthen the rule of law.’ But really the laws are just for the sake of appearances. The government would still be doing the same things without them. Three or four years ago, the government started registering and controlling NGOs. If you had...Read more
Yes, It Really Does Take That Many Stamps
Two Individuals’ Experiences Preparing Foreign NGO-Related Documentation for Submission
Any Foreign NGO wishing to establish a representative office or file for a temporary activity in China must compile a number of documents to be reviewed by public security authorities. That is the easy part. Because China has not ratified the Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents (the “Apostille Convention”), it does not recognize documents notarized in most places outside mainland China. This means that an NGO must go through...Read more
Chinese Civil Society in 2018: What’s Ahead?
A ChinaFile Presents Transcript
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 on beyond just the regulatory environment. There’s an evolving dynamic in the civil society space in China, and the appetite for charitable giving and philanthropy in China is growing by...Read more