EditedbyLiZhuoxi
LawofthePeople'sRepublicofChinaontheAdministrationofActivitiesofOverseasNon-GovernmentalOrganizationswithintheTerritoryofChina,thefirstofitskindinthecountry,wasadoptedatthe20thSessionoftheStandingCommitteeoftheTwelfthNationalPeople'sCongressonApril28,2016,aimingtointensifyadministrationofforeignNGOactivityinChina.
China’sfurtherreformandopening-uphasattractedagrowingnumberofforeignNGOswhicharejoininghandswithChinesecounterpartsinrealmsofeconomics,scienceandtechnology,andeducation,enhancingthecountry’scommunicationwiththerestoftheworldaswellasitssocialandeconomicprogress.
Arecentsurveyshowsthattoday,thenumberofforeignNGOsinChinahaspassed7,000,whichareactiveinmorethan20fieldssuchaspovertyalleviation,aidingthedisabled,environmentalprotection,publichealth,andeducation.However,thecountry’scurrentsystemforregistrationandmanagementofsuchorganizationsneedsimprovements.Toughquestionsrelatedtoregulationloom.
AccordingtotheNationalPeople’sCongress,thenewlawcoversthemanagementofover7,000NGOsfromforeigncountrieswith54articlesrangingfromregistration,documentationandactivitystandardstolegalliability,supervisionandadministration.AsdefinedbytheLaw,“'OverseasNGOs'referstonon-profit,non-governmentalsocialorganizationslegallyformedabroad,includingfoundations,socialgroups,thinktanks,andothers.OverseasNGOscanconductactivitiesconducivetothedevelopmentofpublicwelfareundertakingsinsuchfieldsaseconomics,education,scienceandtechnology,culture,health,sportsandenvironmentalprotectionaswellasinrealmssuchaspovertyalleviationanddisasterreliefinaccordancewiththisLaw.OverseasNGOsareprohibitedfromengaginginorfundingfor-profitprojectsorpoliticalactivitieswithintheterri-toryofChina,orillegallysupportingreligiousactivities.”Still,China’spublicsecurityorgansareauthorizedtoinvestigatetheheadsofforeignNGOs,stopcertainactivities,andblacklistviolators.Theregulationsprimarilytargetcircumstancesthat“threatenChina’snationalsecurity,subvertstatepower,anddividethecountry.”