Can My NGO Carry out Projects in More Than One Province or Location?

on May 17, 2019

Per information provided at a meeting between Ministry of Public Security (MPS) representatives and foreign diplomats in 2016, a foreign NGO’s representative office may have activities in multiple locations as long as the geographic scope of its work is consistent with the information it provided in its registration documents. If an NGO has multiple representative offices, the area of operations for these offices should not overlap; one office may not carry out activities in the registered jurisdiction of the other office.

If My NGO Wants to Work Throughout China Does It Need a National-Level Professional Supervisory Unit?

on May 17, 2019

Though the Ministry of Public Security does not appear to have issued official written guidance on this point, the registrations of multiple foreign NGO representative offices show that groups registered at the provincial level can indeed work throughout all of China if their Professional Supervisory Units (PSUs) agree. As of March 2019, there are approximately 90 groups, registered in Anhui, Beijing, Chongqing, Fujian, Gansu, Guangdong, Guangxi, Shandong, Shanghai, Sichuan, Tianjin, Yunnan, and Zhejiang, that have provincial-level PSUs and are authorized to work throughout China.

Are Foreign NGO Donations to Domestic Chinese Organizations Subject to the Foreign NGO Law?

on May 17, 2019

Yes. Guidance provided by Beijing Normal University’s Charity Law Center states that foreign NGOs wishing to donate funds to an activity or program taking place in China—even one held by another foreign NGO—must do so through a temporary activity filing. This guidance appears to only apply to foreign NGOs without representative offices in China, however; groups that have established representative offices will use their annual activity plan to report any anticipated transfer of funds to domestic NGOs during the upcoming plan year. In either case, however, foreign NGOs’ donations to domestic NGOs are subject to the Foreign NGO Law.

Our Group Works in Multiple Areas, How Do We Find an Official Sponsor?

on May 17, 2019

Per information provided at a meeting between Ministry of Public Security (MPS) representatives and foreign diplomats in 2016, a foreign NGO that works in multiple sectors (for example, environment and education) should identify the “main” sector of their work and select a Professional Supervisory Unit (PSU) in that field. The PSU will then coordinate its supervision of the NGO with other government organs in other sectors to supervise the NGO’s work. The MPS has offered no further guidance about choosing a “main” sector.

Surface Tension

By Xu Song on May 17, 2019

“I never realized that so many Chinese people have tattoos,” says photographer Xu Song, who spent the summers of 2014, 2015, and 2016 photographing people at outdoor swimming pools in Beijing with his phone. “When the clothes come off, the secrets come out.” For Xu, pools provide “a summer outlet for the emotions” of the swimmers. Like the water that spills through them, Xu’s photographs both clarify and obscure his subjects, playing with surface and depth, forcing us to see the strangeness in familiar scenes and gestures, and daring us to wonder what might remain submerged.

Confused About China’s Belt and Road Agenda? You’re Not Alone.

A China in Africa Podcast

By Eric Olander, Cobus van Staden & more on May 16, 2019

Thirty-seven foreign heads of state came to Beijing this week to take part in the second Belt and Road summit hosted by Chinese President Xi Jinping. Some leaders, like Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta, came with expectations to sign huge infrastructure loan deals, while others, including Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, asked for debt relief.

But amid all of the deals and big announcements at the summit, the underlying message about what exactly the Belt and Road is and what it stand for is still not clear to a lot of people.

Chinese and Africans are Having Totally Different Conversations About Their Relationship

A China in the World Podcast

By Eric Olander, Cobus van Staden & more on May 16, 2019

Chinese news coverage and African and international reports are often starkly different from one another, even when discussing the same issues. With Chinese and African news consumers reading vastly different perspectives, what can be done to narrow the divide?

Another ‘Human Rights’-Related Activity Filed in Beijing

on May 15, 2019

The Raoul Wallenberg Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law (RWI) recently filed a temporary activity titled “Anti-Discrimination and Human Rights Research Project, and Gender and Human Rights Teachers’ Program.” This marks the fourth temporary activity explicitly involving human rights-related work that RWI has successfully filed since the implementation of the Foreign NGO Law in January 2017. (No other foreign NGOs have used the term “human rights” (“人权”) in their filings.) It is also the first human rights-related activity filing in the last 12 months.

Public Security Bureaus Meet with NGOs in Inner Mongolia, Xinjiang, and Jiangxi

Ministry of Public Security WeChat Posts—April 25, 2019

on May 15, 2019

Recently, the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Public Security Bureau (PSB) Foreign NGO Management Office issued a registration certificate for Green-Net’s (Japan) representative office in Inner Mongolia. Green-Net’s chief representative introduced the organization’s recent desertification control and afforestation efforts in Khorqin, which have been carried out in strict accordance with the mandates of the Foreign NGO Law, as well as the group’s work to protect Inner Mongolia’s ecosystem and strengthen transnational desertification prevention. The PSB affirmed Green-Net’s outstanding contribution to desertification prevention in recent years. The PSB further indicated that it will further strengthen its management of foreign NGOs in the region, work to resolve any difficulties faced by foreign NGOs in accordance with the law, and fully protect Green-Net’s legal rights and interests. PSB authorities hope that Green-Net will move forward in an increasingly “green” direction while aiding in the formation of Inner Mongolia’s ecological culture.