China Lays Out NGO Welcome Mat

♠ Posted by Emmanuel in at 5/26/2007 03:52:00 AM
A widely-held view is that NGOs start becoming popular when and where governments or markets are unable to provide for people's needs. If so, this may not so such a good sign as China encourages more NGOs to operate there--as long they don't have political aspirations, that is. No Falun Gong folks should apply. Take a look at this table of civil disturbances in China over the years, then read the story about China encouraging more NGOs to operate in the country. I suspect these two stories are related. Got social problems? Let those NGOs take care of them:

China will revise laws and policies to encourage the development of foreign and domestic non-governmental organizations (NG0s), a senior official has been quoted as saying

Among the key changes are a simplified registration procedure for all NGOs and better communication with governments, said Sun Weilin, director of the bureau for NGO administration affiliated to the Ministry of Civil Affairs.

A foundation will also be set up to recognize and reward NGOs with good performance.

"The ministry is drawing up a detailed draft for revising laws and regulations, with the main objective of giving more room for NGOs to grow," Sun told China Business News.

He was speaking at a recent ceremony where the European Union and the United Nations Development Programme signed an agreement to support a large-scale initiative aimed at strengthening the rule of law and enhancing civil society participation in China. The program will be implemented by the National People's Congress, the Supreme People's Court and the Ministry of Civil Affairs.

"If the registration procedure is simplified for domestic NGOs and foreign NGOs can register as NGOs, it will make it easier for them to operate and raise funds for their programs," Li Jianghua, the deputy representative of the China branch of Handicap International, told China Business News.

Experts said the changes will create a better legal framework for foreign NGOs to have a wider presence in China and provide a platform for better coordination with government agencies.

"Foreign NGOs operate in China but their presence has no legal basis, which makes it impossible for them to recruit members or raise funds," Jia said.

As a result, the China operations of some foreign NGOs, including the World Wild Fund for Nature, have been registered as commercial organizations and thus cannot raise funds or recruit volunteers. They also have to pay taxes.

Jia also told China Daily that the unfavorable policy environment has become a major bottleneck for the development of domestic NGOs.