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China news tagged with: NGOs (76)

• NGOs with Chinese Characteristics

  

  Asia Times reports on the recent decision by China’s Ministry of Education to brand the Hong Kong branch of OxFam a “subversive” organization:

  The Oxfam controversy started with a notice posted last month on the student recruitment webpage for Minzu University in Beijing calling the NGO an “ill-intentioned” organization with “ulterior motives”.

  The notice, attributed to the Education Ministry, accused Oxfam of “trying hard to infiltrate China”, adding: “All education departments and institutions of higher education must raise their guard and together recognize and take precautions against the unfriendly intentions of Oxfam Hong Kong’s recruitment of college volunteers.”

  It also referred to the Hong Kong head of Oxfam, Lo Chi-kin, a member of the city’s Democratic Party, as “a key member of the opposition camp”. The party, considered moderate in Hong Kong, nevertheless continues to push for greater democracy 12 years after the city’s handover from British to Chinese rule.

  In response to the notice, Oxfam Hong Kong suspended a program aimed at helping impoverished migrant farmers on the mainland.

  » Read more
  • March 8, 2010 1:21 PM

• NGOs Tread Lightly on China’s Turf

  

  Asia Times looks at the state of NGOs in China, in the wake of the shutdown of Gongmeng legal assistance group:

  It could be argued that Gongmeng was an isolated case of government interference in China’s NGOs, but a report on disaster relief fund management by Deng Guosheng, associate professor of Tsinghua University’s School of Public Management and Policy, tells a different story

  According to Deng’s study, by November 2008, public donations to help disaster relief in the aftermath of the Sichuan earthquake in May last year, many made through NGOs, totaled some 65.252 billion yuan (US$9.5 billion) – excluding donations in kind. However, about 58% of the total (37.9 billion yuan) went to various government agencies, 36% went to government-designated Red Cross organizations, charities and foundations and only 5.9% ended up with local foundations less affiliated to the government.

  Deng found that part of the 36% that went to government-designated organizations in fact eventually went to government departments. Some specifically-designated donations were even ultimately channeled to government units for “the purpose of overall planning”. Altogether, according to the report, more than 80% of total relief donations ultimately ended up in government accounts.

  Thus, ironically, while Beijing encourages NGOs to play a bigger role in disaster relief (which is non-political), government departments and officials have found ways to keep NGO hands off relief funds donated by the public.

  » Read more
  • September 11, 2009 1:19 PM

• Qian Gang: China’s Guerrilla Debate over “Illegal Organizations”

  

  Being deemed an “illegal organization” in China can result in a quick shuttering of a group by authorities. Gongmeng (Open Constitution Initiative), Xu Zhiyong’s legal defense organization is a case in point. Yet what if an “illegal organization” is run by the authorities themselves? The story can be quite different, as Qian Gang reports on China Media Project:

  Under strict censorship controls, the vast majority of Chinese journalists are suffocated with a silent fury over such trumped up allegations. But this week instead we’ve seen the opposite — media aggressively opening fire on a so-called “illegal organization.”

  On August 26, the Beijing News reported that Zhao Yang (赵阳), a member of the City Administrative Department of Nanjing’s Xuanwu District – this is the office that runs the local brigades of non-police ‘city inspectors’ charged with keeping public order in China’s urban neighborhoods – had been charged with organizing an online “national joint session of city administrative department heads.” Zhao had dared to hold an event without proper registration and in the name of a social group, so this amounted to the act of “illegal organization.”

  The reporter following up on the story came across this organization’s statutes. They discovered that the organization had a founding chairman, an honorary chairman, a rotating chairmanship, a managing director, a deputy director, an executive council and so on. It had set up an administrative headquarters, and even had a membership fee system in place. It had already held three national conferences, had issued awards and conferred titles. It had decided on national standards for city inspector identification. For all intents and purposes, it was the national guild for city inspectors in China.

  The report caused an uproar. For the authorities to see “illegal organizations” as thorns in their side, that was one thing. But it seemed like a great big joke for government officials like city administrative department heads to be participating in such organizations. The media followed up on the story and found that the organization behind these joint sessions was in fact a private company, which was scooping up all of the funds. A private company boss, in other words, had been toying with city administrative department heads across the country, offering public relations and crisis management services to address the poor public image of city inspectors.

  Read more about the “city inspectors,” or “chengguan” via CDT.

  » Read more
  • September 4, 2009 10:49 AM

• NGOs Nest in Never-never Land

  

  Global Times reports on the challenges facing international NGOs trying to register in China. It starts off by interviewing a Chinese employee of an American NGO:

  Registering a foreigner was the least of his problems during the debilitating process of trying to found an international NGO on the Chinese mainland, according to Zhang.

  “Registering as an international NGO was far more troublesome than one could ever imagine,” says Zhang.

  “It took us two months just to prepare our registration materials and that all amounted to nothing in the end.”

  From December 2007 to March 2008, Zhang and one of his American bosses, Casey Wilson, sat and waited for news of their registration application. Finally, they got the word.

  The article also discusses how the lack of an effective law governing NGOs in China results in many groups existing in legal limbo:

  The law just covers the management of representative offices of international foundations running as NGOs, but what about all the non-fund-related organizations?”

  The Global Times pops the exact same question to the Ministry of Civil Affairs.

  “This issue is very sensitive and officials in the service center for NGOs have said they will choose the right time to talk about this issue – but that’s not now,” says a ministry public relations official surnamed Xia.

  In the meantime, the vast majority of international NGOs working on the mainland must continue to reside in a state of legal limbo.

  » Read more
  • August 20, 2009 9:59 PM

• Xu Zhiyong Charged Amid Crackdown

  

  The New York Times reports that Xu Zhiyong has been formally charged with tax evasion:

  Mr. Xu, 36, is a founder of the Open Constitution Initiative, known in Chinese as Gongmeng, a nonprofit group that often has taken on high-profile cases involving ordinary citizens’ civil rights. The government shut down the organization’s legal center on July 17, three days after accusing it of tax violations, and the police seized Mr. Xu on July 29.

  In an interview on Tuesday, his attorney, Zhou Ze, said Mr. Xu was formally charged on Aug. 12. Mr. Xu could face seven years in prison if he is tried and convicted. The prosecutors now must seek an indictment, but that is widely considered a formality.

  The government’s main accusation is that Mr. Xu’s group failed to pay taxes on a $100,000 grant from Yale that was earmarked for the legal center. But human-rights advocates and foreign political analysts are agreed that the charges are politically inspired, part of what seems to be a growing effort by security officials to shut down independent advocacy and especially advocacy that is supported with foreign funds.

  See also “Why have they taken citizen Xu?” from Chinayouren:

  There has been some speculation on the net – especially on Chinese official media – about whether Xu’s NGO really had taxes unpaid and why. This discussion is completely beside the point, unless the Global Times explains that it is normal to be abducted 3 weeks for a first-time, minor tax offense. No, the real reason why Xu has been arrested can be understood in this Xinhua article issued last week:

  In the national Justice conference the Minister of Justice Wu Aiying required: […] lawyers in our country must support the party leaders, adhere to the scientific development concept as a guide, uphold socialism with Chinese characteristics, ensure the correct political direction in lawyer’s work.

  The message is simple, you do things with the party or against the party. There is no middle ground, and trying to find it by studying hard and following the law simply will not do. Because the party leaders are above the law.

  And a post called “Sodom” by Leung Man-tao, translated by Danwei:

  My friend Xu Zhiyuan (许志远) also wrote a deeply moving essay, “Our Generation,” (“我们这个时代”) in which he wrote that two years ago Xu Zhiyong had spiritedly said to him: “The 2008 Olympics will bring along with it a huge opportunity for reform. When the whole world has its eyes on Beijing, political authority will be restrained, and different grassroots organizations will use the opportunity to expand civil society.” I am not unfamiliar with this speech because I have expressed similar opinions: I was once full of hope for a China that had experienced the Wenchuan earthquake and the Beijing Olympics. Whenever a foreign journalist finds me to discuss China’s dark aspects, I would remind them at the end to always look on the bright side of things, just as I once reminded you to do.

  And that brighter side included Xu Zhiyong and his partners at Gongmeng, and the rising group of rights lawyers, and the countless other warm-hearted people who want to do good things. But this country’s corruption, this social coldness, it’s as if everything is maintained through the tacit understanding of 1.3 billion people and certain lies. Even so, there are still many people who give up their time and go hither and thither for other people’s children, such as Tan Zuoren; and there are also many people willing to sacrifice the life that they could have enjoyed, instead choosing to knock doors for their fellows in trouble, such as Xu Zhiyong. I even optimistically put the government into this category, because at least they once let the rays of light sway in the murkiness. Perhaps they too will be swept up with it, and when they put in a vote by their foot, they’ll see how important the existence of good people is. If Heaven permits that you’re able to find someone good in Sodom.

  Also, see “Xu Zhiyong and What His Detention Means for Rule of Law in China” by Elizabeth Lynch on Huffington Post and an article from the Guardian. Read more about Xu Zhiyong and Gongmeng, via CDT.

  » Read more
  • August 18, 2009 9:13 AM

• Open Constitution Intiative Not Allowed to Pay Fines

  

  After being fined for allegedly violating tax laws, Xu Zhiyong’s Gongmeng (Open Constitution Initiative) has solicited donations from the public to pay the fines. However, authorities have frozen the organization’s bank accounts, making it impossible for them to pay the required fines, according to the Chinese Human Rights Defenders. A blogger who claims to be a college student somewhere in western China has written an open letter (in English) to President Obama asking him to support the release of Xu Zhiyong:

  Days ago, OCI lawyers went to tax office to pay the fine.

  To astonish everyone of us, officials decided that they’re not going accept it! In their defense, they don’t accept it when they don’t have corporate representative present, who is Xu Zhiyong, who can’t be present because police confined him.

  I’m not an expert on law, I’m just an ordinary citizen, yet even an ordinary citizen can tell injustice from justice, arbitrary government behavior from law enforcement.

  As if they haven’t had their fun, the administration put Sichuan activist Tan Zuoren [on trial] just yesterday, during which all defendant witnesses have been arrested or even beaten by police on their way to the courthouse, and a great number of journalists got harassed or confined.

  Where is justice? Where is law? Where is human right?

  » Read more
  • August 13, 2009 9:50 AM

• Baby Milk Powder Victims Lose Legal Proxy

  

  Global Times published a lengthy and largely sympathetic article looking at the legal charges against Xu Zhiyong’s Gongmeng (Open Constitution Initiative) group and the plight of NGOs in China today:

  What happened to the Open Constitution Initiative has been widely discussed by fellow domestic non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in China.

  [...] Some scholars and domestic NGO leaders showed sympathy for the organization, saying Xu had no other choice. It’s extremely difficult to register as an NGO, according to them.

  Yu Jianrong, a researcher at the Rural Development Institute, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, stated in an article: “The identity dilemma for the Open Constitution Initiative is a tragedy for our society.”

  [...] There were 386,916 official and unofficial NGOs registered with the Ministry of Civil Affairs by the end of 2007. That number only accounts for NGOs registered at civil affairs bureaus across the country. A far larger number of NGOs are either registered at local administrations for industry and commerce or not registered at all, according to Lu.

  The Beijing Yirenping Center belongs to the larger group. It was visited by a police officer and two plainclothes officers from the Cultural Market Administrative Law Enforcement Office of Beijing on July 29. The officers said they received a report that the center was involved in publishing without a license. They searched the center and confiscated more than 90 copies of China’s Anti-Discrimination Legal Action Newsletter.

  Lu explained to them that printing documents like fliers and newsletters is a major task of NGOs. Otherwise they would not be able to publicize relevant laws and information to the public.

  The newsletters were published in small numbers and given out free at seminars, not public places. Therefore they should not be taken as a publication.

  Read all of CDT’s coverage of Gongmeng and Xu Zhiyong.

  » Read more
  • August 11, 2009 8:57 PM

• China Snares NGOs with Foreign Funding

  

  The Christian Science Monitor writes about the recent crackdown on Gongmeng and Yirenping:

  Taken together, the raids appear part of a tightening of controls on critical voices in the run-up to Oct. 1, the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China. The two NGOs are among a growing number here using the law to hold authorities to account on issues such as food safety, patient rights, and illegal detention.

  But they share another common thread: Both received grants from American and other foreign donors. The tax fine for Open Constitution Initiative, the group headed by Mr. Xu, was assessed largely on a donation from Yale Law School. Xu, a lawyer and elected legislator, is being detained on suspicion of tax evasion, according to an OCI official.

  The harassment of these and other foreign-funded NGOs in Beijing has raised fears of a Russian-style squeeze on civil society. [...]

  An alternate view in Beijing is that the groups targeted had pushed too aggressively into forbidden political zones, setting off a reaction. NGO workers and experts on civil society say the investigations into taxes and licenses are a smokescreen for a clampdown on legal activism, including the recent disbarring of 20 civil rights lawyers in Beijing.

  » Read more
  • August 4, 2009 8:58 PM

• Authorities Raid Office Of Chinese Health Activist

  

  From AP:

  Chinese authorities seized dozens of newsletters from a nonprofit group that fights discrimination against people with hepatitis B, a campaigner said Thursday, calling the move retribution for the group’s advocacy work.

  Two officials from the Beijing Cultural Law Enforcement Agency, in charge of campaigns against printed and DVD pornography and piracy, on Wednesday confiscated about 90 copies of a legal guide to fighting discrimination for people with hepatitis B.

  A spokeswoman for the agency, Li Fei, confirmed the group was being investigated for publishing material without a required license. She would not comment further.

  The 40-page guides, published by the Beijing non-governmental organization Yi Ren Ping, include information about Chinese law, a practical guide to reporting violations and filing lawsuits, as well as details about successful anti-discrimination cases, said Lu Jun, the group’s founder. He denied doing anything illegal.

  See also a report from the the Christian Science Monitor blog about how this raid, coming on the heels of the shuttering of a prominent legal assistance group, may be part of a trend of cracking down on civil society organizations:

  What the raids have in common is the targeting of groups that use legal recourse to stand up to state agencies. In the case of Yi Ren Ping (public welfare, kindness, equality), its focus is social justice and particularly antidiscrimination. It has filed lawsuits on behalf of people with Hepatitis B who face exclusion from school and work.

  This was among the topics discussed in its bimonthly newsletter that caught the eye of the authorities. They told Lu Jun, the group’s coordinator, that he didn’t have a license to publish it. He argued that it wasn’t a commercial publication and didn’t need a license. In fact, only 100 or so are circulated.

  While he was arguing his corner with the officials, he found time to pop into the next room in his small office to talk to reporters who had showed up after hearing about the raid. He told me that his campaigning had upset powerful people who wanted to take revenge on the group.

  “The discrimination problem in China is very serious … the government should support our work. We’re doing what they’re not doing to help people,” he said.

  » Read more
  • July 29, 2009 8:01 PM

• China Daily: Legal Help Group Told to Pack Up（With Video)

  

  Reporting on the shuttering of a Beijing-based legal assistance group, Gongmeng (Open Constitution Initiative), this China Daily article, written by Zhu Zhe and Cui Xiaohuo, shows clear sympathy to the case by highlighting lawyer Xu Zhiyong’s quote:

  More than a dozen officials of Beijing’s civil affairs bureau, which oversees civil groups in the capital, visited the center’s office in west Beijing on Friday morning and ordered it to shut down. The officials, carrying a legal closure notice, seized some files and computers, too, the center said.

  The move comes two days after the Beijing tax authorities sent a formal notice to the center, imposing a hefty fine of 1.42 million yuan ($207,847) for having evaded taxes on funds received from overseas.

  Xu Zhiyong, the center’s legal representative and an outspoken lawyer, said: “The bureau has no legal right to order a closure The research center has always been a division of the company that is registered with the authorities. There is no legal proof to show our group has not been registered properly.”

  Beijing’s civil affairs and taxation bureaus, and the municipal office of the State taxation administration refused to provide information on the center on Friday.

  Also, the following video clips document the above story, and also show some of the Gongmeng lawyers being interviewed by foreign and Hong Kong reporters, from Boxun.com:

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  Xu Zhiyong issued a statement about the fine, posted in full by the Chinese Law Prof Blog and partially translated by the Time China Blog:

  The $208,000 penalty might mean nothing to many companies. But for us, it is cruel and evil. It’s not just a punishment against us, it is punishing the children poisoned by milk powder, the kids of migrant workers, the property owners bullied by developers, and those petitioners who tirelessly demand justice… it is a punishment against thousands of the disadvantaged who are the most needy for help. This punishment is utterly devoid of conscience.

  Read more about the recent crackdown on China’s human rights lawyers via CDT.

  » Read more
  • July 18, 2009 10:50 AM

• China Shuts Down Legal Center, Revokes Licenses

  

  From AP:

  Beijing officials shut down a legal research center led by activist lawyers Friday, while China revoked the licenses of more than 50 lawyers, many known for their human rights cases.

  The moves appear to be a new government push to oversee Chinese activist lawyers, who run the risk of being detained, harassed, attacked and threatened with disbarment for their work. China is also preparing for the communist state’s 60th anniversary on Oct. 1 — a particularly sensitive period when dissent is not tolerated.

  About 20 officials from Beijing’s Civil Affairs Bureau showed up Friday morning at the offices of the Gongmeng rights group’s legal research center and confiscated computers and other equipment, said office manager Tian Qizhuang. They also questioned researchers and other employees on the nature of their work.

  » Read more
  • July 17, 2009 2:48 AM

• Yu Fangqiang: Challenges for NGOs in China

  

  Written by Yu Fangqiang, Managing Partner of Beijing Yirenping Center for Anti-Discrimination Law, from Asia Catalyst:

  In mainland China it is extremely hard to start up a non-governmental organization (NGO) without a background in government. The difficulties are due to restrictive government policies, monopolization of resources by NGOs with government background, a lack of trust throughout the overall society, the lack of capabilities among the grassroots’ organizations, and unrealistic expectations from funders.

  Restrictive Government Policies

  The Constitution of the People’s Republic of China requires that all its citizens have the rights of freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and freedom to peaceably assemble, organize, demonstrate and petition. However, in order to organize in mainland China (i.e., to establish an NGO), one has to register the organization according to the Social Organizations Registration and Administration Act. If the organization does not do this it is not protected under the law. It is criminal for such an organization to publicly accept outside donations without a legal status. In addition, to establish such an NGO, they must have a regular business location, full-time staff, a registration capital of more than thirty thousand yuan and official documents with a stamp of approval from the governmental agencies, which have been designated as “supervising offices.”

  » Read more
  • June 29, 2009 8:58 PM

• Setting Up International Nonprofit Organizations in China

  

  From the China Business Review:

  In light of China’s encounter with the current global economic crisis, the types of services that international nonprofit organizations (INPOs) offer are now more vital than ever. INPOs—defined broadly as foreign charitable organizations, private foundations, trade and industry associations, business leagues, and educational organizations—contribute to the needs of the rapidly developing country in disaster prevention and relief, education, environmental protection, HIV/AIDS, labor and migration, rural development, and animal welfare but have also encountered many bureaucratic hurdles. There is a growing need for INPOs—whether charitable organizations that wish to provide aid, or INPOs set up by corporations to extend their corporate social responsibility (CSR) efforts—to have a greater presence in China, yet their efforts are often hampered by a system that lacks efficient mechanisms for charity because of the limitations on the establishment of transparent, independently registered charities and nonprofit organizations. As China develops, INPOs can help China foster greater public awareness on issues that are fundamental to a developing society, such as environmental protection. Trade and industry associations give Chinese industries a platform to connect with other global industry players, and other INPOs can help multinational investors establish effective CSR activities in China.

  » Read more
  • May 15, 2009 4:45 PM

• China Quake: From Rubble, Civil Society Builds

  

  The Christian Science Monitor reports on one positive outcome of last year’s devastating earthquake in Sichuan: a stronger Chinese civil society:

  Last year’s earthquake, which provoked a tsunami of sudden sympathy and solidarity in China, has proved to be the catalyst for deeper social changes. “It has strengthened a sense of civil society,” says Han Junkui, who has studied activity by nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in Sichuan over the past year. “Society’s enthusiasm for earthquake-hit areas has changed from a passionate attitude to a rational one… The level of enthusiasm does not compare with a year ago, but it definitely still exists.”

  Dr. Han points to “the unprecedented scale of donations, the fact that NGOs have become much more professional, and the way they are working with the government and with each other” as signs of how individuals and civic groups, independent of the ruling Communist Party, are expanding their influence.

  Warnings for troublemakers

  They would be well advised to do so cautiously, however. “You have to be strategic in highlighting sensitive issues without irritating government officials,” explains Wen Bo, a rising young environmental activist. “If you are seen as a troublemaker … they will shut your mouth and shut you down,” he warns. “NGOs working to improve Chinese society should not work as if they are in the United States.”

  » Read more
  • May 10, 2009 8:39 PM

• Clean Water for China’s Orphanages

  

  A Child’s Right, a U.S. non-profit organization, plans to outfit every orphanage in China with clean water filtration units, writes Jim Luce at The Huffington Post:

  “This means, simply, that every institutionalized orphan in China will have clean and safe drinking water,” explains Eric Stowe, the NGO’s Director. The scope of the work will cover all of China’s 31 provinces and municipalities.

  This announcement is unheard of in terms of access, expansiveness, and achievement in China – especially for a scrappy and small nonprofit. Who exactly are these folks? And who is funding them?

  Founded in 2006, A Child’s Right is the only group focused on clean water for urban institutionalized children right now – anywhere in the world. While other groups are doing wonderful — and challenging — work targeting basic access to water in the rural sphere, A Child’s Right is targeting urban areas.

  » Read more
  • March 9, 2009 7:02 PM

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