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NGOs in China feel threatened by new
rules
AP, BEIJING
Saturday, Mar 13, 2010, Page 4
Aid groups working in China said yesterday they feel threatened by new
requirements that make it harder to accept overseas donations, and said the
central government appeared wary of their work and motivation.
Chinaˇ¦s leaders recognize the need for outside help on deep social welfare
problems but are worried that the activities of private groups could turn
political.
The rules that took effect this month require domestic non-governmental
organizations ˇX but not those connected with the government ˇX to show proof that
donor organizations based overseas are registered in their home countries, and
to present notarized, detailed agreements of donations from foreign groups.
Religious groups face even tighter requirements. They need approval from the
State Religious Affairs Bureau for any donation exceeding 1 million yuan
(US$146,000).
ˇ§I think itˇ¦s inevitable that they were going to start tightening the noose on
NGOs,ˇ¨ said Meg Davis, executive director of New York-based Asia Catalyst, which
works with a number of grass-roots groups in China on AIDS-related projects.
ˇ§Theyˇ¦ve been tightening restrictions over the past three years. Thereˇ¦s a sense
at the top that theyˇ¦re suspicious of NGO powers.ˇ¨
She spoke by phone from Yunnan Province, where the organization works with a
group of 90 women with HIV. The new regulations are complicating the paperwork
needed to set up a system to wire the group money from overseas, she said. For
example, Asia Catalyst has been told a representative must be present on a
specific day this month to get key paperwork notarized ˇX a day when the group
says it cannot send anyone.
ˇ§Stopping work is not an option. These women are working with a population that
is sick and dying,ˇ¨ Davis said. ˇ§The only thing we can attempt to do is comply
as best as we can.ˇ¨
Other groups expressed similar concern but didnˇ¦t want to speak publicly.
The new rules were issued by the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, which
normally has little to do with NGOs. The rules, posted on the administrationˇ¦s
Web site, came into effect on March 1.
Estimates of the number of NGOs in China vary. The Ministry of Civil Affairs
says there are about 400,000 registered ones, but many more are unregistered.
Last month, China told schools to sever all ties with the international relief
agency Oxfam and bar its campus recruitment efforts, accusing the groupˇ¦s Hong
Kong branch of having a hidden political agenda. Oxfam has denied that its
activities were political.
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