NGO Law Monitor: China RESEARCH CENTER - The International ...

China - NGO Law Monitor - Research Center - ICNL 

Venezuela 

Yemen 

Zimbabwe 

African Union 

Association of Southeast 

Asian Nations 

Council of Europe 

League of Arab States 

Organization of American 

States 

Organization of the Islamic 

Cooperation 

Organization for Security 

and Cooperation in Europe 

United Nations Human 

Rights Council 

Global Trends in NGO Law 

At a Glance 

http://www.icnl.org/research/monitor/china.html[11/9/2012 4:19:31 PM] 

Organizational Forms 

Registration Body Ministry of Civil Affairs 

Barriers to Entry 

Barriers to Activities 

Barriers to Speech 

and/or Advocacy 

Barriers to International 

Contact 

Barriers to Resources 

Key Indicators 

Social organizations (shehui tuanti), civil non-enterprise institutions (minban 

fei qiye danwei), and foundations (jijinhui). The last category includes two 

types of foundations: public fundraising and non-public fundraising 

foundations. 

1. System of “dual registration” for all social organizations; 

2. Extensive documentation requirements; 

3. Broad prohibitions in certain activities and areas such as advocacy, legal 

assistance, labor, religion, and ethnic minority affairs; 

4. Extensive discretion to deny registration; 

1. Government discretion to limit establishment of more than one 

organization in activity area; 

2. Government discretion to intervene in internal affairs; 

3. Burdensome reporting requirements; 

Population 1,336,718,015 (2011 est.) 

Capital Beijing 

Type of Government Communist State 

Life Expectancy at Birth 

Literacy Rate 

Religious Groups 

Ethnic Groups 

4. Invasive government monitoring and inspections. 

The Government has discretion to limit speech and advocacy for specific 

organizations and types of organizations and for specific cases that might be 

seen to negatively impact national security. 

Organizations are sometimes required to report international contacts to 

authorities and sometimes to seek approval for visits, international 

cooperation, foreign donations, etc. They are also discouraged from working 

with or receiving funding from overseas organizations which are engaged in 

"democracy promotion". These include the National Endowment for Democracy 

(NED), the Open Society Institute (OSI), and the International Republican 

Institute (IRI). 

There are restrictions on fundraising and networking. With the exception of 

public fundraising foundations, CSOs are not allowed to engage in public 

fundraising. CSO networks are also a sensitive issue. A number of networks 

have emerged in recent years but they are all informal in nature. Approval is 

also required for receipt of external resources. A 2009 regulation requires 

CSOs to go through more paperwork to transfer donations from oversees 

organizations into their bank accounts. 

Male: 72.68 years 

Female: 76.94 years (2011 est.) 

Male: 96% 

Female: 88.5% (2008 census) 

GDP per capita $7,600 (2010 est.) 

Daoist, Buddhist, Christian: 3%-4%; Muslim: 1% -2%; (official atheist) (2002 

est.) 

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Han Chinese: 91.5%; Zhuang, Manchu, Hui, Miao, Uyghur, Tujia, Mongol, 

Tibetan, Buyi, Dong, Yao, Korean, and other nationalities: 8.5%; (2000 census) 

Source: The World Factbook. Washington, DC: Central Intelligence Agency, 2009. 

International Rankings 

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Ranking Body Rank 

Ranking Scale 

(best – worst 

possible) 

UN Human Development Index 101 (2011) 1 – 182 

World Bank Rule of Law Index 44.5 (2010) 100 – 0 

World Bank Voice & Accountability Index 5.2 (2010) 100 – 0 

Transparency International 75 (2011) 1 – 180 

Freedom House: Freedom in the World 

Status: Not Free 

Political Rights: 7 

Civil Liberties:6 

Foreign Policy: Failed States Index 76 (2010) 177 – 1 

Legal Snapshot 

International and Regional Human Rights Agreements 

Free/Partly Free/Not 

Free 

1 – 7 

1 – 7 

Key International Agreements Ratification* Year 

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) No -- 

Optional Protocol to ICCPR (ICCPR-OP1) No -- 

International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) Yes 2001 

Optional Protocol to ICESCR (OP-ICESCR) No -- 

International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial 

Discrimination (ICERD) 

Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against 

Women (CEDAW) 

Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination 

Against Women 

Yes 1981 

Yes 1980 

No -- 

Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) Yes 1992 

International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant 

Workers and Members of their Families (ICRMW) 

No -- 

Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) Yes 2008 

* Category includes ratification, accession, or succession to the treaty 

Constitutional Framework 

The Constitution of the People’s Republic of China (1982, as amended) includes the following relevant 

provisions which relate to the nonprofit, charitable and philanthropic sector: 

Article 1 

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The People's Republic of China is a socialist state under the people's democratic dictatorship led by the 

working class and based on the alliance of workers and peasants. 

The socialist system is the basic system of the People's Republic of China. Disruption of the socialist system 

by any organization or individual is prohibited. 

Article 2 

All power in the People's Republic of China belongs to the people. 

The National People's Congress and the local people's congresses at various levels are the organs through 

which the people exercise state power. 

The people administer state affairs and manage economic, cultural and social affairs through various 

channels and in various ways in accordance with the law. 

Article 5 

The People's Republic of China governs the country according to law and makes it a socialist country ruled by 

law. 

The state upholds the uniformity and dignity of the socialist legal system.



No laws or administrative or local rules and regulations may contravene the Constitution. 

All state organs, the armed forces, all political parties and public organizations and all enterprises and 

institutions must abide by the Constitution and the law. All acts in violation of the Constitution or the law 

must be investigated. 

No organization or individual is privileged to be beyond the Constitution or the law. 

Article 28 

The state maintains public order and suppresses treasonable and other criminal activities that endanger state 

security; it penalizes criminal activities that endanger public security and disrupt the socialist economy, as 

well as other criminal activities; and it punishes and reforms criminals. 

Article 33 

All persons holding the nationality of the People's Republic of China are citizens of the People's Republic of 

China. 

All citizens of the People's Republic of China are equal before the law. 

The state respects and guarantees human rights. 

Every citizen is entitled to the rights and at the same time must perform the duties prescribed by the 

Constitution and the law. 

Article 35 

Citizens of the People's Republic of China enjoy freedom of speech, of the press, of assembly, of association, 

of procession and of demonstration. 

Article 36 

Citizens of the People's Republic of China enjoy freedom of religious belief. 

No state organ, public organization or individual may compel citizens to believe in, or not to believe in, any 

religion; nor may they discriminate against citizens who believe in, or do not believe in, any religion. 

The state protects normal religious activities. No one may make use of religion to engage in activities that 

disrupt public order, impair the health of citizens or interfere with the educational system of the state. 

Religious bodies and religious affairs are not subject to any foreign domination. 

Article 50 

The People's Republic of China protects the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese nationals residing 

abroad and protects the lawful rights and interests of returned overseas Chinese and of the family members 

of Chinese nationals residing abroad. 

Article 51 

Citizens of the People's Republic of China, in exercising their freedoms and rights, may not infringe upon the 

interests of the state, of society or of the collective, or upon the lawful freedoms and rights of other citizens. 

Article 52 

It is the duty of citizens of the People's Republic of China to safeguard the unification of the country and the 

unity of all its ethnic groups. 

Article 53 

Citizens of the People's Republic of China must abide by the Constitution and the law, keep state secrets, 

protect public property, observe labor discipline and public order and respect social ethics. 

Article 54 

It is the duty of citizens of the People's Republic of China to safeguard the security, honor and interests of the 

motherland; they must not commit acts detrimental to the security, honor and interests of the motherland. 

National Laws and Regulations Affecting Sector 

Some of the key national laws and regulations affecting the sector are as follows. This list is by no means 

complete. For additional information, see Ministry of Civil Affairs and U.S. International Grantmaking. 

Constitution of the People’s Republic of China (1982, as amended, see selected provisions above) 

Law of the Red Cross Society of the People's Republic of China (adopted by the Standing Committee of 

the National People's Congress, October 31, 1993) 

Regulations on the Registration and Management of Social Organizations (adopted by the State Council 

October 25, 1998, currently in revision) 

Interim Regulations on the Registration and Administration of Civil Non-Enterprise Institutions (adopted 

by the State Council October 25, 1998) 

Interim Regulations on the Registration and Administration of Public Institutions (adopted by the State



Council October 25, 1998) 

Public Welfare Donations Law (adopted by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress 

June 28, 1999) 

Law of the People's Republic of China on Individual Income Tax and Detailed Rules for the 

Implementation of the Individual Income Tax Law of the People's Republic of China (as enacted in 1999 

and later amended) 

Provisional Measures Regarding the Management of Social Welfare Organizations (issued by the Ministry 

of Civil Affairs, April 10, 2000) 

Trust Law of People’s Republic of China (adopted by the Standing Committee of the Ninth National 

People's Congress April 28, 2001) 

Non-State Education Promotion Law of the People’s Republic of China (adopted by the Standing 

Committee of the Ninth National People's Congress December 28, 2002) 

Circular of the Ministry of Finance on the Relevant Issues Concerning the Preferential Taxation Policies 

for the Poverty-Relief and Charity Donation Materials Imported for the Purpose of School Education. 

(issued by the Ministry of Finance, March 10, 2003) 

Regulations on the Management of Foundations (adopted by the State Council March 8, 2004, currently 

in revision) 

Regulations on the Administration of Names of Foundations (issued by the Ministry of Civil Affairs June 

23, 2004) 

Accounting System for Nonprofit Organizations (issued by the Ministry of Finance September 2004) 

Reply of the State Administration of Taxation on Tax Exemption of 33 Permanent Representative Offices 

of Foreign Enterprises, such as the Beijing Representative Office of the Ford Foundation (issued by the 

State Administration of Taxation June 11, 2004) 

Measures for the Information Disclosure of Foundations and Measures for Annual Inspection of 

Foundations (issued by the Ministry of Civil Affairs January 12, 2006) 

Enterprise Income Tax Law of the People’s Republic of China; Provisional Regulations of the People's 

Republic of China on Enterprise Income Tax and Detailed Rules for the Implementation of the 

Provisional Regulations of the People’s Republic of China on Enterprise Income Tax (as enacted in 2007 

and as amended) 

Notice of the Ministry of Finance and the State Administration of Taxation on the Policies and Relevant 

Management Issues Concerning the Pre-Tax Deduction of Public Welfare Relief Donations (promulgated 

January 18, 2007) 

Measures for the Administration of Donations for Disaster Relief (issued April 28, 2008) 

Notice of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange on Issues concerning the Administration of 

Foreign Exchange Donated to or by Domestic Institutions (issued by the State Administration of Foreign 

Exchange December 25, 2009) 

Pending NGO Legislative / Regulatory Initiatives 

Key pending legislative and regulatory initiatives at the national level include: 

Drafting and debate over of a national Charity Law that has been under discussion for a number of 

years; 

Revision of the Regulations on the Registration and Management of Social Organizations (originally 

promulgated in 1998); 

Revision of the Interim Regulations on the Registration and Administration of Civil Non-Enterprise 

Institutions (originally promulgated in 1998) 

Revision of the Regulations on the Management of Foundations (originally promulgated in 2004); 

Further detailing the framework for nonprofit tax status and deductions; and 

Other legislative and regulatory initiatives, mostly under the aegis of the Ministry of Civil Affairs and the 

national tax authorities. 

Local Experiments 

Over the last few years, there have been important local policy experiments in the Chinese nonprofit and 

philanthropic sector, mostly at the provincial level. These policy experiments are important because they 

provide the central authorities with policy ideas and experiences that play a role in shaping national-level 

legislation. They therefore serve as harbingers of changes in national-level legislation. In July 2009, for 

example, the key regulator of charitable and philanthropic organizations, the Ministry of Civil Affairs,



announced a Cooperative Agreement on Advancing Integrated Reforms in Civil Affairs with the municipal 

government of Shenzhen, a major economic area in the southern province of Guangdong and China’s original 

special economic zone. 

Under the Cooperative Agreement, Shenzhen will serve as an “experimental site” for reforms in a wide range 

of civil affairs for assessment by the Ministry of Civil Affairs and other government agencies. Shenzhen is the 

largest Special Economic Zone in China and located in the southern province of Guangdong which borders 

Hong Kong. Shenzhen's reforms include new steps in the registration and management of social 

organizations, including allowing certain categories of social organizations to register directly with the 

Shenzhen Civil Affairs Bureau without the sponsorship of a professional supervisory agency (normally a 

government agency). Under the old "dual management" system, social organizations were required to find a 

supervisory agency as a sponsor before they were allowed to register. 

Such steps mark the first real potential reforms in the “dual management” structure of Chinese social 

organizations in several decades. The Cooperative Agreement also allows Shenzhen to take over regulatory 

jurisdiction over domestic and foreign foundations based in Shenzhen; reform and expand government 

contracting with social organizations to provide social services; develop new measures to encourage 

charitable giving (including potential new tax incentives at the local level); and reforms in other areas of civil 

affairs. Activities under the Cooperative Agreement will be carried out from 2009 to 2015 and continuously 

assessed by the Ministry of Civil Affairs and other government agencies for potential expansion in other areas 

of China. [1] 

Direct local regulation of social organizations and foundations in addition to national regulation is also 

starting in other areas of China. Until recently, local civil affairs and other governmental units merely 

implemented national regulations on social organizations, foundations and other groups without the power to 

directly regulate at the local level. The power to directly regulate at the local level is, of course, a key step in 

giving provincial and local authorities real legal authority over the nonprofit sector. 

Over the last few years, a few provinces and province-level municipalities have followed Shenzhen's lead and 

with the blessing of the Ministry of Civil Affair, begun issuing e-formal regulations and other legal documents 

governing the various forms of charitable and nonprofit groups that are based in or active in their 

jurisdictions. Jiangsu and Hunan provinces, for example, have issued local-level regulations governing 

foundations and fundraising. Guangdong, Shanghai, Beijing, Chengdu and other provinces and cities are 

carrying out their own local legislative experiments governing the registration and management of different 

categories of social organizations. 

Jiangsu led the way in the provincial regulation of philanthropy in October 2007 with the first sub-national 

regulations on foundations, the Jiangsu Province Interim Regulations on the Supervision and Management of 

Local Foundations, which have been implemented by provincial measures for approving, inspecting and 

requiring annual reports from foundations in addition to the national rules on these matters.[2] In an even 

more important local experiment that is being assessed at the national level (like the Shenzhen measures that 

are being undertaken under the 2009 Cooperative Agreement) the Jiangsu provincial people’s congress 

adopted what may be the first provincial regulations on charitable organizations in January 2010. Under the 

Jiangsu Provincial Regulations on the Advancement of Charitable Activities, Jiangsu is now expected to adopt 

a range of rules and measures to regulate, encourage and manage its rapidly growing charitable sector. [3] 

[1] Chinese text of the Cooperative Agreement. 

[2] Chinese text of the Jiangsu regulations on foundations 

[3] Chinese text of the Jiangsu regulations on charity 

Yunnan has also been experimenting with regulations governing the registration and management of 

international NGOs in the province. Over the last two decades, Yunnan has become a popular destination for 

international NGOs and provincial authorities have for the most part welcomed them because of their 

contribution to the local economy. But the province’s attitude has changed in recent years as they face the 

challenge of managing a growing number of international and domestic nonprofits that are not registered 

with Civil Affairs. In December of 2009, the province issued the first-ever regulations in China specifically 

governing international NGOs. This development deserves scrutiny because it may serve as a model for 

future national regulations governing international NGOs. The Yunnan Province Interim Regulations 

Standardizing International NGO Activities provides international NGOs with a way of gaining legal status in 

the province through a registration process known as bei’an ors depositing their file on record with the 

provincial Civil Affairs Department. Interviews with NGOs in Yunnan indicate that the regulations are being 

welcomed by international NGOs which have been operating in China for years without legal status. At the 

same time, the regulations are also requiring international NGOs to submit to much more paperwork and 

control and discouraging some partnerships between international and Chinese nonprofits. As part of the 

registration process, international NGOs are required to report and get approval for every project they operate 

in the province and for every partnership they engage in with Chinese nonprofits.



Of all the local experiments, Guangdong province’s have been the boldest and garnered the most attention 

because of its size and importance in the national economy. In November of 2011, the Guangdong Civil 

Affairs director announced that the province would be making it easier for several different categories of 

social organizations (social services, charitable organizations, etc.) to register by doing away with the 

professional supervising agency requirement. The province would also decentralize the authority to register 

social organizations to the township and subdistrict levels of government, open up the space for trade 

associations by allowing more than one association per sector, and encourage more government purchasing 

of services provided by social organizations. If implemented, the Guangdong regulations would be the most 

liberal in the country, and serve as a bellwether for similar changes in the national regulations governing 

social organizations. 

Guangdong’s reforms have been actively promoted by the province’s top leader, party secretary Wang Yang, 

who is a member of the Politburo, and mentioned as a candidate for the Politburo Standing Committee – 

China’s most powerful decision-making body - when it changes its leadership in the fall of 2012. Wang Yang 

is generally seen as a more liberal-minded leader due in part to his public position in support of nonprofits. 

The Minister of Civil Affairs, Li Liguo, recently was quoted endorsing the Guangdong reforms raising 

expectations that the more Guangdong model will be used as the blueprint for revisions to the national-level 

regulations governing registration and management of social organizations. In addition, other news out of 

Guangdong shows that the reforms are expanding and making their way down to the local level. Recently, 

Guangdong announced it would also relax restrictions on fundraising for nonprofits, and interviews with 

Guangdong NGOs and academics indicate that Guangdong will also be issuing more favorable regulations 

governing the tax deductibility of charitable donations. 

The Fate of the Charity Law and Other National-level Legislation 

While local legislation has been making significant headway, national-level legislation appears to be on hold. 

The long-awaited revisions to the regulations governing the registration and management of social 

organizations, and the Charity Law, have both been delayed, despite rumors that their passage is imminent. 

The Charity Law, in particular, received a boost in 2011 due to a series of scandals that enveloped the 

charitable foundation sector. One example was the Guo Meimei incident that implicated the Chinese Red 

Cross and exemplified the lack of transparency and accountability in China’s philanthropy sector. These 

scandals raised awareness among both government leaders and society of the pressing need for a Charity 

Law to regulate philanthropy and fundraising. 

Late in 2011, it was announced that the Charity Law was been included on the legislative plan for the 11th 

National People’s Congress (NPC) Standing Committee for 2011. The reports note that the NPC generally 

agrees with the content of the Ministry of Civil Affairs draft legislation and asks the State Council Legal Affairs 

Office (the State Council is the highest executive body in the Chinese government) to review the legislation 

and submit it to the NPC for consideration. Given that the Charity Law was also included on the 2010 

legislative plan, and has been with the State Council for some time, it is difficult to know whether this 

announcement represents any significant progress in the Charity Law’s passage. Certainly, the significantly 

increased public scrutiny and discussion over this last year of problems and scandals in the philanthropic 

sector has placed more pressure on lawmakers to get the Charity Law approved. But given the legislative 

logjam in the State Council, it is difficult to know when the Charity Law will be reviewed and sent to the NPC 

for approval. 

The Guangdong and Yunnan Experiments in 2012 

In early 2012, Guangdong province was still in the news as the trailblazer in reforming the registration and 

management system for nonprofits. In January, provincial authorities announced that by July 2012, they would 

eliminate what has been the main obstacle to nonprofit registration: the requirement to find a professional 

supervisory unit that would sponsor the nonprofit. They also announced a series of other measures that made 

Guangdong the most open province with regard to nonprofit registration and management. This push for a 

more open environment for nonprofits has been credited to Guangdong's top leader - provincial party 

secretary Wang Yang who is also a member of China's Politburo and possibly may enter the Politburo 

Standing Committee - Yang has come out publicly to state his support for nonprofits and criticize local 

bureaucrats for not making it easier for nonprofits to register. 

Since then, the Minister of Civil Affairs has come out endorsing the Guangdong reforms, raising expectations 

that the long-awaited national-level revisions to the nonprofit registration and management regulations 

would incorporate the Guangdong measures. 

These recent developments that can be seen as a continuation of the CCP's emphasis on "innovative social 

management" in the 12th Five Year Plan (2011-2015) issued last year. Innovative social management refers to 

the government carrying out innovations in the way it regulates or manages society and societal organizations 

(China's term for nonprofits).



With regard to the government's regulation of social organizations, two distinct trends can be observed. One 

involves lowering barriers to social organization registration and fundraising. The other involves standardizing 

management of social organizations. 

We can see the first trend in the local-level experiments in Guangdong and other localities that will allow a 

social organization to directly register with Civil Affairs without first finding a professional supervising unit 

(generally a government agency or parastatal organization authorized to serve as a supervising unit) willing to 

sponsor it. Recently, the city of Guangzhou (the provincial capital of Guangdong) announced it was also going 

to be removing restrictions on fundraising for social organizations (read news article). For most of China, 

other than the Red Cross and public fundraising foundations, social organizations in general are not allowed 

to fundraise publicly. The Guangzhou announcement is consistent with what scholars in Guangdong have told 

me about more planned reforms in line with relaxing restrictions over fundraising and strengthening the taxexempt 

status for social organizations. Together with the registration issue, the issues of fundraising and 

tax-exempt status pose some of the biggest obstacles for China's social organizations. The Guangzhou 

announcement shows that Guangdong is clearly taking the lead in lowering barriers for social organizations. 

Other localities appear to be following Guangdong's lead. Recently, Shanghai announced it would be carrying 

out similar experiments with registration this year. 

The second trend of standardizing the management system can be seen in Yunnan province's efforts to 

standardize management of international NGOs, and the recent information disclosure guidelines issued by 

the Ministry of Civil Affairs for charitable donations. This standardizing trend is often justified in the name of 

strengthening and professionalizing the nonprofit sector, but it can also be interpreted as an effort to 

strengthen government control over social organizations. 

Two recent announcements fall into this category. One issued by Beijing Municipality's Civil Affairs bureau is 

to establish a human resource system for social organizations. The bureau hopes that this move will help to 

raise the salaries of social organization staff and promote the professionalization of the nonprofit sector. 

The other is a notice issued by the Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Civil Affairs which calls for major 

charitable projects to be audited after their completion, and the results of the audit made public. The Notice 

applies to major projects undertaken by foundations, representative offices of foreign foundations and public 

welfare social organizations that qualify for tax-exempt charitable donations. 

We should expect both of these trends to continue in the coming months and years, as the government at 

both central and local levels wrestles with how to better manage social organizations. One area to watch is 

whether the second trend will raise more barriers to social organization activity, in the name of 

standardization, and thereby counteract the first trend which seeks to lower the barriers. 

February/March 2012 

In February and March 2012, there was more news of reforms lowering barriers to social organization activity 

in other regions and sectors. An Opinion was issued by national-level agencies allowing religious 

organizations for the first time to establish foundations, social service organizations, and nonprofit hospitals. 

Yunnan province also announced it would follow the lead of Guangdong and other provinces and cities that 

are experimenting with a system that would allow social organizations to register directly with Civil Affairs 

without needing approval from a professional supervising unit. Professional supervising units would be 

renamed professional guidance units under this new system, although it is unclear exactly what this means in 

practice. 

At the same time, another news item shows how far China has to go in improving the regulatory environment 

for social organizations. This article is about Wang Ming, the director of the Tsinghua NGO Research Center 

and a member of the China People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), proposing a motion at the 

CPPCC's annual meeting to carry out more favorable tax policies for non-public fundraising foundations and 

social organizations, and to promote more government contracting to grassroots social organizations. He 

mentions that the Beijing government had allocated 100 million yuan to purchase services from social 

organizations for 2010, but because many grassroots organizations did not meet the qualifications for 

contracting, only about 50 million was disbursed. The article also mentions a related story in the news 

recently: the continued difficulties that Beijing Huiling, a long-standing grassroots organization serving youth 

with disabilities, is having getting registered as a social organization in Beijing. Together, these stories 

illustrate that policy reforms by themselves are insufficient. Those policies have to be carried out and 

enforced in ways that actually benefit China's many grassroots organizations, and allow more resources to 

flow to them. 

For summaries of all articles, see China Development Brief's A View from the Top 

Two other news items that are not directly related to social organizations should be mentioned. One is the



news coming out from the National People's Congress' (NPC) annual meeting held in early March that the 

Criminal Procedure Law will be amended. The earlier amendment was controversial because it allowed police 

to detain, arrest or hold suspects for surveillance without informing their families. At this NPC session, that 

amendment was revised to remove the clauses permitting arrest or surveillance of suspects without informing 

family members. Police must now inform the suspect's family within 24 hours after arrest or surveillance. But 

police will still be allowed to detain suspects without informing family members. The amendment also 

clarifies that confessions extorted through illegal means such as torture should be excluded from evidence 

during a trial. 

The other news has to do with the removal of Bo Xilai as Party Secretary of Chongqing Municipality in late 

March. Aside from the implications this has for China's leadership transition in the fall, Bo's removal also calls 

into questtion the Chongqing model which has gottn so much play in the media. More relevant for our 

purposes, the fall of the Chongqing model should strengthen support for the Guangdong model championed 

by Wang Yang, the Guangdong Party Secretary who was seen as a rivel of Bo's in getting a seat in China's 

Politburo Standing Committee. As noted above, an important part of the Guangdong model is a more liberal 

approach to regulating social organizations. 

March/April 2012 

Several news articles during this period offer a more sobering assessment of developments in the nonprofit 

sector, or the “charitable” or “public welfare” sector as it is commonly referred to in the Chinese press and 

official documents. These articles highlight an effort by the Chinese government to cultivate and promote 

social organizations that are “safe” and enjoy close ties with the government. 

One example is a recent initiative by the Beijing Civil Affairs Bureau asking civil servants to gradually withdraw 

from the charitable, public welfare organizations to ensure the voluntary and social nature of these 

organizations. A number of civil servants currently work in GONGOs that operate in the charitable sector, and 

would gradually withdraw from these organizations through different measures though no specifics are 

given. This initiative can be seen as an effort by the government to cultivate “safe” charitable organizations 

that look like NGOs or nonprofits, yet retain close ties with the government. 

Another example comes from an article about a meeting at Tsinghua University attended by two officials 

heading the NGO Management office within the Ministry of Civil Affairs. The officials are not optimistic about 

new national regulations for registration and management of NGOs that have been expected to be issued for 

some time, and proposed another tack by calling both for direct registration of NGOs and establishing party 

groups within NGOs. Their unstated hope, it seems, is that the latter measure, which has been attempted 

before without much success, would help to comfort conservative interests that fear losing control over 

NGOs. 

A third example comes from a 2011 document issued by the Central Committee and State Council that calls 

attention to the government’s effort to encourage public institutions to join the public welfare sector as social 

actors. Public institutions are part of the “system”. While they lack the coercive power of government 

agencies, they do receive financial support from the government budget and their staff enjoy administrative 

rank and privileges in varying degrees. This document shows that public institutions are now being 

encouraged to compete as quasi NGO-like organizations in an increasingly crowded public welfare sector with 

GONGOs and grassroots NGOs. 

Taken together, these three examples, along with the recent push to promote approved social work agencies 

that can bid on government contracts, show that the government is making a concerted effort to cultivate a 

class of coopted social organizations that appear on the surface to be voluntary and independent, yet in 

reality enjoy close ties with the government. 

For summaries of all these news articles, see China Development Brief's A View from the Top 

April/May 2012: The Ministry of Civil Affairs and Guangdong Move Forward 

This month saw both the Ministry of Civil Affairs (MOCA) and the trailblazing province of Guangdong moving 

ahead with new initiatives. 

At the national level, the Ministry of Civil Affairs (MOCA) continues to look for ways to promote reforms in the 

public interest sector. In April, the Ministry of Civil Affairs issued a draft of supplementary regulations 

entitled “Some Regulations Concerning the Standardization of Foundation Behavior” for public comment. In 

the public comment period, a number of foundation leaders and scholars praised the regulations for clarifying 

how foundations should receive and use donations, allowable methods for increasing the value of foundation 

assets, and information disclosure standards. But they were also critical of certain clauses in the 

regulations. One was the clause that restricted foundations from giving to for-profit organizations. It was 

pointed out that many nonprofit organizations in China are registered as businesses. Another was the clause 

specifying that foundation staff salaries and office administrative costs be kept under 10 percent of



and open bidding to both registered and unregistered NGOs. 

There is also a concern that the emphasis of these policies will be more on “social management” and less on 

serving and supporting social organizations. One article in the People’s Daily, the Communist Party’s flagship 

paper, drove this point home when it argued that making it easier for social organizations to register does 

not mean the government should relax its supervision over these organizations. One example of this 

position might be found in the Beijing Civil Affairs Department’s “Measures for Managing Seminars, Forums 

and Activities Organized by Social Organizations” mentioned earlier. 

Two other developments in the labor sector in Guangdong bear watching. One is the closing of Zhang Zhiru’s 

labor NGO, Dagongzhe. It’s still unclear at this point why the NGO was closed and whether it will be allowed 

to re-open. It is also unclear whether this is part of a general crackdown on labor NGOs, or as appears more 

likely, only an isolated instance. 

The other news coming out in mid-May is the creation of a Federation of Social Service Organizations for 

Guangdong Workers under the Guangdong All-China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU). The idea seems to 

be to use Party-controlled “mass organizations” such as the ACFTU to create a legitimate platform for labor 

NGOs to provide services to workers. (This has been tried in Beijing but with little success.) In turn, the 

ACFTU will have a hand in supporting and supervising these NGOs. It may be an intermediate step for labor 

NGOs to gain legal registration, but can also be seen as a way for the state to coopt labor NGOs. 

In other related developments this month that may affect the civil society sector, the State Council 

Information Office issued its second human rights plan -- Human Rights Action Plan (2012-2015) -- that 

emphasizes the following rights: 

1. Right to Know, which includes promoting disclosure of unclassified government information. 

2. Civil Rights – more safeguards for detention and torture, including forbidding the use of extortion and 

other illegal means to gain confessions and other information. 

3. Environmental rights – strengthening heavy metal and water pollution prevention and controls, and 

monitoring air quality, including PM2.5 particulate matter. 

4. Rights to expression – strengthening the petitioning and complaints system, and the rights of 

journalists and media organizations. 

5. Rights to fair trial – strengthening procedures and review for death penalty cases, and for gathering 

evidence. 

6. Right to social security – focusing on housing security, raising the minimum wage, expanding health 

coverage to urban residents. 

July 2012: More Local Initiatives 

July saw more news coming from Guangdong, Nanjing and Beijing, all having to do with different local 

approaches aimed at lowering the barriers to registration for NGOs (or “social organizations” using the 

Chinese terminology.) In Guangdong, questions were raised about the implementation of a new regulation 

aimed at allowing social organizations to register directly given recent developments in the labor sector. 

One new development is the crackdown on several labor NGOs registered as businesses, such as Zhang 

Zhiru’s labor NGO, Chunfeng Labor Dispute Services Agency. In some cases, this crackdown has taken the 

form of the landlord telling the NGO the lease is up. In more blatant cases, such as the Shidai Women’s Labor 

Agency, local government agencies came to inspect the NGO and informed them they would have to close. 

The other development mentioned is the creation of a Federation of Social Service Organizations for 

Guangdong Workers under the Guangdong All-China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU). The idea here 

seems to be to use Party-controlled “mass organizations” such as the ACFTU to create a legitimate platform 

for labor NGOs to provide services to workers. This arrangement is described as an intermediate step for 

labor NGOs to gain some form of legal recognition (in Chinese, the term used is bei’an or document filing 

system) that may eventually help them legally register. 

Labor NGOs in China have generally been seen as sensitive, which has caused observers to question whether 

they would be treated the same way as less sensitive NGOs and be allowed to register directly under the new 

Guangdong regulations. These new developments suggest that local authorities may be trying to push labor 

NGOs into a more regulated, supervised space. 

In Nanjing, the city’s Civil Affairs Department announced it would lower the registration requirements for 

social organizations, such as lowering the registered capital requirement from 30,000 yuan to 5,000 yuan. In 

addition, the Nanjing City Civil Affairs Department will devolve the authority to register and manage three 

categories of social organizations (charitable, social welfare and social service) to the district/county level.



Beijing will explore ways to lower the registration threshold for social organizations by carrying out a 

document filing system (bei’an) which will allow grassroots organizations to file with designated “hub” 

(shuniu) social organizations. Since 2009, 27 “hub” organizations were approved for various sectors such as 

labor, youth, women, and law. For example, the All China Federation of Trade Unions would be the hub 

organization for labor, the All China Youth Federation would be the hub for youth, and so on. The idea is to 

have these “hub” organizations essentially serve as the “professional supervising units” for grassroots 

organizations, thereby making it easier for the latter to register at a later date. In reality, this experiment has 

been difficult to implement because “hub” organizations do not necessarily want to take on this additional 

responsibility, and because of coordination difficulties between these “hubs” and Civil Affairs offices. 

August 2012: More Incremental Measures 

Various incremental measures appeared in August to clarify and regulate different aspects of NGO and 

foundation work. As with previous initiatives in 2012, most of these measures can be seen as stopgap 

measures carried out in the absence of more fundamental reforms that have been put on hold with delays in 

the Charity Law and the revision of the various measures for the registration and management of social 

organizations. 

In mid-July, the Guangdong provincial government issued the “Provisional Measures on Government 

Procurement of Social Organization Services,” clarifying the scope, procedures, and funding arrangements for 

government procurement of social organization services. The main sectors covered by these Provisional 

Measures are education, sanitation, culture, community affairs, care for the elderly and disabled, industry 

accreditation and auditing, scientific research, law, and policy research. An important issue will be finding an 

independent third party institution that can evaluate the social organization’s performance without 

interference from the government. 

At the end of July, the Ministry of Civil Affairs issued “Selected Regulations Standardizing the Behavior of 

Foundations (Trial)” (hereafter “Selected Regulations”) to standardize the behavior of foundations in the 

following areas: receiving and using donations; transactions, cooperation and increasing the value of 

foundation assets; and public disclosure of information. 

The Selected Regulations contain revisions based on public comments solicited from an earlier draft. One 

clause that attracted comments was the one that stated that “foundations should not fund for-profit 

organizations.” Since many of the more grassroots NGOs are registered as businesses, some observers felt 

that clause would prohibit foundations from funding these “business-registered” NGOs. In response to this 

concern, that clause was changed to read “foundations must not fund activities with a for-profit goal.” 

In early August, the State Council issued “Views on the Promotion of the Work and Development of the Red 

Cross Society.” This document is clearly a response to the scandals that took place in the Red Cross last year 

and can be seen as an effort to strengthen accountability and transparency in the Red Cross. It calls for 

centralizing the Red Cross so that local Red Cross offices are more closely tied to the higher level Red Cross 

office, rather than to the local governments, in terms of supervision and guidance. It also talks about the 

importance of strengthening transparency, and details plans for the Red Cross to build a new online platform 

to track donations. 

September 2012: Grassroots NGOs Have a Long Way to Go 

The news coming out this last month illustrates just how much the playing field is stacked against grassroots 

NGOs, even as reforms are carried out at the local level that in theory will make life easier for them by 

lowering barriers to registration and expanding government contracting to NGOs. 

The Special Economic Zone of Shenzhen provides a perfect test case. Shenzhen has some of the most liberal 

regulations in the country regarding NGO registration, and according to one newspaper account, more than 

700 of the more than 5,000 registered NGOs in Shenzhen have registered under these more relaxed rules. 

Yet the ongoing suppression of some labor groups in Shenzhen has people wondering just how welcoming 

Shenzhen is to NGOs. The suppression is not a simple across-the-board suppression aimed at all labor 

NGOs: some labor groups in Shenzhen and the province of Guangdong have been affected, while others have 

managed to not only avoid the suppression but register as well. The success of some labor NGOs in gaining 

legal status suggests that professionalization and government relations are two strategies that might help 

these groups avoid getting closed. Still, the actions taken against some of the labor NGOs serves to highlight 

the difficulties faced by grassroots NGOs in China. 

The discriminatory treatment accorded grassroots NGOs is also borne out by other news accounts. One is 

about two well-known grassroots environmental NGOs – Friends of Nature and the Chongqing Green 

Volunteer League – which are carrying out a chromium pollution lawsuit in Yunnan. In a public letter, they 

call attention to a problem in the Civil Procedure Law which contains an overly narrow definition of plaintiffs 

authorized to initiate a public interest lawsuit. That definition excludes a category of legally-registered NGO



According to Article 10 of the Public Welfare Donations Law, “public benefit social organizations” are legally 

established foundations, charitable organizations, and other social organizations founded to promote public 

benefit undertakings. Article 3 lists which activities qualify as “public benefit undertakings" [6]: 

1. Disaster relief, poverty alleviation, assistance to the handicapped, and assistance to social organizations 

in needy circumstances; 

2. Education, scientific, cultural, public health, and athletic undertakings; 

3. Environmental protection and construction of public facilities; and 

4. Other public benefit undertakings promoting social development and progress. 

“Public benefit nonprofit institutions” are legally established educational institutions, scientific research 

institutions, health institutions, cultural institutions, public sports institutions, social welfare institutions and 

others that carry out public benefit undertakings and are not-for-profit. 

It appears that all foundations, some social organizations, and most public institutions have public benefit 

status. CNIs can also obtain public benefit status and accept donations under the Public Welfare Donations 

Law. 

However, informal non-profits that are registered as businesses or unregistered are not eligible for tax 

exemption even though operationally, they are nonprofit and have a public benefit purpose. Some of China’s 

best-known independent, public benefit CSOs fall into this category. 

Barriers to Entry 

There are extensive barriers to entry based in policy, practice, and regulation. Registration procedures are 

complex and cumbersome, with extensive documentation and approval requirements. Organizations are 

required to operate under a system of “dual management” in which they must generally first obtain the 

sponsorship of a “professional leading agency” such as a government ministry or provincial government 

agency, then seek registration and approval from the Ministry of Civil Affairs in Beijing or a local civil affairs 

bureau, and remain under the dual control of both agencies throughout their organizational life. In practice, it 

is not easy to obtain such sponsorship, particularly if a social organization lacks good connections in the 

government or is operating in sensitive sectors such as advocacy, legal aid, labor, religion and ethnic minority 

affairs. 

Broad prohibition clauses bar the registration of groups that are perceived to oppose the state and/or Party. 

For example, the Regulations on the Registration and Management of Social Organizations (1999) prohibit 

registration of organizations that fail any part of this test: “Social organisations must observe the constitution, 

state laws, regulations and state policy; must not oppose the basic principles of the constitution, harm the 

unity, security or ethnic harmony of the state, or interests of the state and society, or the lawful interests of 

other organisations or citizens, or offend social morality.”[4] Other broad provisions give the state wide 

discretion over which organizations are allowed to register. 

The “dual management” requirements and broad prohibition clauses apply to all types of organizations, 

including social organizations, foundations, and other groups. But the barriers to entry do not end there. For 

example, the Regulations on the Registration and Management of Social Organizations (1999), the governing 

document for the largest subsector of Chinese nonprofits, also stipulate that applicant organizations must 

comply with a wide range of other requirements and undergo a lengthy application and approval process. 

Such applicants must have at least fifty individual members or thirty institutional members; a fixed location; 

staff with qualifications appropriate to the professional activities of the organisation; minimum assets of 

100,000 RMB (currently US$9,500) for national organizations and 30,000 RMB ($2,800) for local 

organizations; and must supply the registration and management agency with a wide array of organizational 

documents. Government agencies may rely on a wide array of reasons to deny registration. Furthermore, the 

Regulations on the Registration and Management of Social Organizations (1999) and the Interim Regulations 

on the Registration and Administration of Civil Non-Enterprise Institutions (1998) both stipulate that SOs and 

CNIs cannot establish branch organizations or offices in other regions. SOs and CNIs get around this 

provision by registering their branch office as a separate organization. 

After registration, organizations may seek approval in a separate process for an official seal and to open a 

bank account. Separate permissions must be sought from the relevant government management agencies to 

establish a branch or subsidiary of the group; to modify their registration or to amend their charter; to 

change their legal representative, and for other purposes. The government is provided with broad 

discretionary authority to close social organizations. 

In the face of the “dual management” system, the difficulties in negotiating registration and approval, onerous 

reporting requirements and the opportunity for frequent government intrusion into organizational matters, 

many Chinese social organizations of various kinds either register as a for-profit business, or operate without 

formal registration. According to the Interim Measures for Banning Illegal Non-Governmental Organizations,



these informal nonprofits are formally illegal, making them even more subject to state discretion and control. 

[4] Regulations on the Registration and Management of Social Organizations (1999), Art. 4, available here. 

[5] Regulations on the Registration and Management of Social Organizations (1999) 

Barriers to Operational Activity 

Barriers to operational activities can be raised or lowered by the authorities at their discretion, depending in 

large part on how their activities are viewed by the party-state. Generally, nonprofits engaged in social 

services and philanthropy tend to be viewed more favorably than nonprofits engaged in advocacy and legal 

aid. For some forms of organizations, such as social organizations or civil non-enterprise organizations, the 

government has authority under relevant regulations to bar the establishment of more than one such 

organization in its field in any particular locality as a way to prevent what is viewed as duplication, overlap, 

and competition and to maintain ties between such groups and their governmental sponsors. [6] 

The government may also intervene in the appointment of directors, trustees or senior staff; narrow the 

boundaries of the work that organizations may engage in by reference to the government-approved original 

organizational application or charter; govern the banking arrangements of various kinds of charitable groups 

in detailed ways; undertake investigations of operational activities and terminate organizational activities 

through application of tax laws; and undertake other restrictions on operational activities. Even for registered 

organizations that have no issues with the state, reporting requirements can be quite burdensome, 

particularly for small organizations. The regulatory framework allows for significant government intervention 

and interference. Strong security forces, such as the Ministry of Public Security and other groups, intensively 

monitor organizations of particular sensitivity for the Party and state. 

In 2009 and 2010, a number of methods have been used to restrict and control the operational activities of 

certain nonprofit groups. For example, the Open Constitution Initiative (Gongmeng), a Beijing-based public 

interest law research and advocacy group, was placed under tax investigation arising from a donation from an 

American organization, several of its core personnel detained, and eventually closed as a result of the alleged 

violations of tax regulations. 

[6] See, e.g., the Regulations on the Registration and Management of Social Organizations (1999), Art. 13(2). 

Barriers to Speech / Advocacy 

A gap between constitutional freedoms for speech and assembly and the more restrictive provisions of special 

regulations and legal frameworks provides the state with significant discretion to limit speech and advocacy 

for specific organizations and types of organizations. The government can also prohibit advocacy, and actions 

such as lawsuits, in cases that it deems harmful to national security. 

Such barriers are implemented through administrative decrees (such as the regulations governing social 

organizations and other kinds of groups), as well as criminal and administrative regulation and barriers to 

participation in policy debate and formulation that may favor government-affiliated groups or may restrict 

policy advocacy by defining it as outside the organization’s ambit of approval or its charter. Direct barriers to 

organizational activity, such as those discussed above, may also restrict speech and advocacy. 

Barriers to International Contact 

There appear to be relatively few barriers to international contact in the regulatory framework for particular 

kinds of organizations, such as the regulations governing social organizations (shehui tuanti), foundations 

(jijinhui), civil non-enterprise institutions (minban fei qiye danwei), and quasi-governmental public 

institutions (shiye danwei). 

However, particularly at the provincial and sub-provincial levels, organizations of all kinds are often required 

to report international contacts to authorities and, in some cases, to seek approval for certain kinds of visits, 

international cooperation, foreign donations, and other contact with foreign organizations or donors. They are 

also discouraged from working with or receiving funding from overseas organizations which are engaged in 

“democracy promotion”. These include the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), the Open Society 

Institute (OSI), and the International Republican Institute (IRI). 

Multiple written or unwritten rules can affect international contacts, and they may emerge relatively suddenly. 

Barriers to Resources 

In general terms Chinese organizations seeking external resources (such as foundation grants, direct gifts, 

and other resources) must obtain approval from their appropriate regulatory agency (such as a bureau of civil 

affairs at the provincial level) for such transactions. Organizations may also need approval to establish bank 

accounts in some cases. The laws and regulations governing the key forms of nonprofit and social 

organizations do not address issues of foreign funding in detail but other law and regulation makes such



resource mobilization generally subject to state approval. 

In early 2010, for example, the PRC State Administration of Foreign Exchange issued a formal notice, Notice 

63 on Issues Concerning the Administration of Foreign Exchange Donated to or by Domestic Institutions that 

requires many domestic nonprofit organizations to comply with new and more complex rules for receiving 

and using foreign donations. These include, for certain kinds of organizations, an application attesting to the 

authority of the domestic organization and the foreign donor; the domestic group’s business license; a 

notarized donation agreement between the domestic group and the foreign donor organization with the 

purpose of the donation prescribed; and a registration certificate for the foreign nonprofit group. The Notice 

spurred significant concern in both domestic NGO and foreign nonprofit circles and its implications are still 

being worked out. Many nonprofits have been able to continue accessing foreign funds, but some 

organizations have experienced difficulties especially in cases where funding is coming from foreign 

organizations, such as the National Endowment for Democracy, the Open Society Institute, and the 

International Republican Institute, that are perceived as sensitive because of their “democracy promotion” 

work. [7] 

[7] English text of Notice 63, Chinese text of Notice 63. 

There is as yet no detailed domestic fundraising regulation, but generally speaking public fundraising, which 

is understood to mean fundraising through the media, in public spaces and online, is restricted to a small 

number of organizations. These include government agencies, such as the Ministry of Civil Affairs, officially 

designated organizations such as the Chinese Red Cross and China Charity Federation, and one type of 

foundation. The 2004 Regulations on the Management of Foundations creates two categories of foundations: 

public fundraising foundations and non-public fundraising foundations (hereafter referred to as “public” and 

“private” foundations respectively). Only public foundations have the authority to engage in public 

fundraising. Private foundations are funded by a major gift from a company or family, and can accept 

donations through private channels, but cannot engage in public fundraising. Other nonprofits, such as SOs 

or CNIs, are also not allowed to engage in public fundraising. 

Provisions in the draft Charity Law (not yet enacted as of February 2012) would provide some general 

regulation of domestic fundraising. There is some concern in China about several important fundraising 

issues, including the regulatory and tax treatment of gifts of domestic stock for nonprofit and philanthropic 

purposes, and the business activities of nonprofits or their for-profit subsidiaries. A series of scandals in 

2011 in some prominent public fundraising foundations, such as the Chinese Red Cross and the Soong Ching 

Ling Foundation, have made public problems with the lack of transparency and accountability in the 

philanthropic sector, and the need for improved regulations governing this sector. These issues have not, for 

the most part, been fully worked out in the Chinese regulatory framework. 

Reports 

UN Universal Periodic Review 

Reports 

Reports of UN Special Rapporteurs China 

USIG (United States International 

Grantmaking) Country Notes 

U.S. State Department 

Universal Periodic Review: China 

USIG: China 

2011 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: China 

Advancing Freedom and Democracy Reports, 2009: China 

Failed States Index Reports Foreign Policy: Failed States Index 2012 

IMF Country Reports China and the IMF 

International Commission of Jurists Not available 

International Center for Not-for- 

Profit Law Online Library 

China 

News and Additional Resources 

Back to Top 

Back to Top 

News of importance to the nonprofit sector will be updated on a continual basis in China Development Brief’s 

column, A View from the Top.



While we aim to maintain information that is as current as possible, we realize that situations can rapidly 

change. If you are aware of any additional information or inaccuracies on this page, please keep us 

informed; write to ICNL at ngomonitor@icnl.org. 

General News 

Civil society solid base for nation's future (November 2012) 

The future trajectories of Chinese politics are closely linked with the growing emergence of a civil society. It is 

already a widely held consensus in China that the nation's civil society is growing and will become 

increasingly diversified in the future. The functions of some grass-roots social organs are undergoing some 

transformations. For instance, sub-district residential committees are increasingly dealing with everyday 

conflicts and community affairs. They are increasingly playing the role of mediator and helping dilute 

emerging conflicts. This is a positive development. 

State to tighten oversight of international NGOs (September 2012) 

By amending existing law, China will set clear rules for international NGOs to register on the mainland and 

will strengthen supervision of their activities. Li Liguo, Minister of Civil Affairs, made the announcement at a 

news conference in Beijing. "The Chinese government recognizes the contributions of international NGOs in 

China's economic and social development and praises their contributions in fields like culture, education, 

health and poverty alleviation," Li said. 

Activist and artist Ai Weiwei loses appeal on tax evasion charges (September 2012) 

Ai Weiwei has been battling tax evasion charges brought by the Beijing tax bureau against his artistic 

company, Fake Cultural Development Ltd., for over a year. The outspoken artist, blogger, filmmaker, and 

architect was on his way to Hong Kong in April 2011 when he was taken into custody at Beijing's international 

airport and detained for 81 days amid a government crackdown on political activists. Ai's studio in Beijing was 

raided, and his wife and several employees were taken into custody for questioning. Seven weeks after Ai 

was taken into custody, state news agency Xinhua reported that Beijing police said his company evaded a 

"huge amount of taxes" and "intentionally destroyed accounting documents." He was released on one year's 

probation the following June, with heavy restrictions imposed on his movements. Ai was forbidden to speak to 

the media or post on his Twitter account about his detainment. His phone was tapped, his e-mails were 

checked, and he had to report his appointments with other people to the police. The government campaign 

against Ai Weiwei has been attributed to fears of a potential Arab-Spring-style uprising, following online calls 

for a "Jasmine Revolution" in 2011. 

China's door "wide open" to foreign NGOs (September 2012) 

China welcomes law-abiding International non-governmental organizations (INGOs), but registration of INGOs 

needs strengthening, said Minister of Civil Affairs Li Liguo at at a press conference organized by the State 

Council Information Office. 

Chinese turn to microblogs for donations instead of government charities (August 2012) 

Chinese citizens increasingly depend not on government or officially sanctioned non-profit organizations, but 

on Twitter-like microblogs called Weibo, for donations. 

NGOs get boost from Shenzhen register reforms (August 2012) 

Wang Jinyun had waited nine years for the piece of paper that officially confirmed his organization's NGO 

status. That precious piece of paper also confirmed that Shenzhen’s NGO registration reforms are working. 

Wang, founder of Shenzhen-based Yangguangxia (Under the Sun), said his application, the fifth since 2003, 

was approved due to the reforms. 

Government wants more transparency, which means more control over NGOs (August 2012) 

New rules proposed by the Ministry of Civil Affairs would impose new restrictions on NGOs in the name of 

transparency. Financial statements must be more readily available and the use of funds must be restricted. 

"Transparency is good, but it should be applied to all societal fields," says one source familiar with the law. 

New regulations on the management of charitable foundations issued (July 2012) 

On July 30, the Ministry of Civil Affairs published new regulations to enhance accountability and transparency 

and increase public confidence in charities. However, several restrictive provisions related to administrative 

expenses and operating costs were also introduced. The regulations were released after a number of 

controversies hit the sector, which created fury among Web users who demanded more transparency of 

China's charities. 

Changing climate for religious NGOs? (July 2012) 

Religious non-governmental organizations (RNGOs) in China may face many challenges. They mainly support 

people such as migrant workers and their families, orphans, and victims of natural disasters. The government 

encourages this, but also places many restrictions on RNGOs acquiring legal registration. It also bans RNGOs 

from overt religious activity. This has led many groups engaged in charitable activity - like those associated



with illegal Protestant house churches - either to not seek registration or to register as commercial 

organizations. Despite these challenges, RNGO leaders remain cautiously optimistic about the future. 

Clinton comments on human rights blocked in China (July 2012) 

A Chinese microblogging site has blocked remarks on human rights made by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary 

Rodham Clinton in Mongolia, according to a Hong Kong group that monitors Chinese media. The China Media 

Project, based at the University of Hong Kong, spotted that a post on the Sina Weibo site quoting Clinton had 

been deleted Wednesday morning. The Monday speech at the International Women’s Leadership Forum was 

widely regarded as an implied jab at Beijing, effusively praising the power of democracy at a time when 

Chinese pundits have cautioned that too much democracy could destabilize the region. 

Eric Schmidt: The Great Firewall of China will fall (July 2012) 

Technology and information penetration in China will eventually force the Great Firewall of China to crumble 

and even lead to the political opening of the Chinese system, according to Google Chairman Eric Schmidt. 

Charity Law submitted to State Council (June 2012) 

The Ministry of Civil Affairs has submitted a draft of the Charity Law to China’s State Council (cabinet), a sign 

that the country may be progressing towards rules covering philanthropic organizations. If passed, the new 

law would finally address tax deductions for donations, a system for supervising charity work and how 

donations can be used. This is intended to bring order to an area plagued by scandal in recent years. 

Environmental NGOs grow across China but struggle for support (June 2012) 

Environmentalism has made giant strides in China, led in part by the efforts of NGOs that have taken it upon 

themselves to bring about small changes capable of making big differences. Their campaign to improve the 

environment across the country began years ago, before this current age when checking the air's PM2.5 levels 

was as easy as a swipe on a smartphone. There are more than 3,500 environmental NGOs in China, not 

counting unregistered organizations active at universities and in rural areas. However, such grassroots 

activism remains a relatively new phenomenon, according to Deng Guosheng, director of the NGO Research 

Center at Tsinghua University. 

Corporate-NGO Partnerships in China: Fostering Employee Volunteer Programs (June 2012) 

Corporate-NGO partnerships are increasing in China, but most follow a fairly traditional, PR-driven formula. 

Some companies are just looking to donate to a ready-made philanthropy program or basic ways for their 

staff to volunteer in community activities, which tend to be unrelated to their core business. Furthermore, 

these programs are typically limited in the ways they engage with nonprofits to foster a complimentary 

exchange of resources and alignment of organizational missions. 

China keen to scale down EU human rights talks (June 2012) 

China wants to hold human rights talks with the EU just once a year and to curtail discussion of individual 

cases. Wang Xining, the Chinese EU embassy's spokesman, said the meetings should take place "maybe once 

a year and not twice." The behind-closed-doors talks of mid-level diplomats have been going on for 16 

years. In 2010 and 2011, China declined to hold a second meeting. The last one took place on 29 May in 

Brussels. But the second 2012 talks have not been tabled yet. Wang added the EU should ask fewer questions 

about individual victims. 

Law to give new start to embattled charities (June 2012) 

A new law draft, aiming to enhance the transparency of the charity sector, which was rocked by scandal last 

summer, has been submitted to the State Council for further review, according to the Ministry of Civil Affairs 

(MOCA). "The new law will standardize the donation information which will be open to the public, including 

the donor's identity, the value of donated objects and the date the donations were made," said Dou Yupei, 

vice minister of civil affairs. 

China tells Tibetan NGOs to register or else face closure (May 2012) 

Following a wave of self-immolations and mass protests in Tibetan areas, China is implementing policies 

aimed at striking the social and cultural backbone of the Tibetan people. In the latest development, Chinese 

authorities in Kardze, eastern Tibet, issued a notification requiring all non-governmental organizations in the 

region to be registered under set criteria, failing which the groups will be declared illegal. 

Will pressure make Chinese aid more transparent? (March 2012) 

An article discusses China as a secretive donor country in economically poor but resource-rich countries, 

funding infrastructure construction in return for business deals and access to natural wealth and land. 

However, China is increasing aid transparency at its own pace. Notably, on 1 December 2011, China publicly 

declared transparency a principle it will uphold when it signed an agreement at the Fourth High Level Forum 

on Aid Effectiveness held in Busan, South Korea. 

Revisions of law to ensure human rights related to detention, arrest and surveillance (March 2012)



Controversial clauses that permit detention, arrest or surveillance of suspects at specific places, without 

informing their families, have been partially revised in response to an outcry to curb possible abuses of public 

security measures. The new proposal requires public security to inform the suspect's family within 24 hours 

after arrest and surveillance. However, the proposal still permits the police not to inform the family "if the 

case is related to state security or terrorism, and if telling families would impede the investigation.” 

Charities open to religious groups (March 2012) 

Chinese authorities have given the green light for religious groups to engage in more charitable work, 

Preferential policies, including government subsidies and tax reductions, will be set in place when religious 

groups seek registration to establish foundations, nursing homes and hospitals. The new regulation stipulates 

that faith-based charities should strictly function as non-profit organizations and guarantee financial 

transparency with regular disclosure of donors and expenditures. 

Political advisers argue that legislation on the charity law is "vital" for the NGO sector to grow (March 2012) 

China should speed up legislation on the charity sector to ensure that more grassroots organizations can 

gain legal status and charity fraud is outlawed, top lawmakers and political advisers have proposed. The 

current regulations on social organizations in China require that a non-governmental organization must find 

an administrative body to oversee its activities as a precondition to registering with the civil affairs authorities 

as a nonprofit organization. 

News Archive 

A look back at developments affecting civil society in China in 2011 

China develops law on philanthropy (October 2011) 

Social groups may get right for litigation (October 2011) 

China human rights group blocked from EU-China dialogue (September 2011) 

China jails veteran democracy activist (September 2011) 

Breakthrough judicial interpretation of freedom of information regulations (August 2011) 

New breakthrough for grassroots charity groups (August 2011) 

Chinese civilian NGOs seek charity legislation (August 2011) 

Calls for greater transparency, supervision in philanthropy (July 2011) 

Carefully cultivating NGOs (July 2011) 

China to ease NGO registration policy (July 2011) 

Amnesty International accuses China of silencing human rights lawyers (June 2011) 

China seeks to expand modern philanthropy (May 2011) 

Labor question threatens China’s social compact, divides ruling party (May 2011) 

China creates new agency for patrolling the Internet (May 2011) 

Biden, Clinton lecture China on human rights (May 2011) 

Fears in China as another human rights lawyer disappear (May 2011) 

Teng Biao, Chinese human rights lawyer, released after detention (April 2011) 

West needs more ‘muscular’ approach to defending China’s dissidents (April 2011) 

End the silence on Ai Weiwei (April 2011) 

China's human rights crackdown - interactive guide (April 2011) 

EU and US urge China to free Ai Weiwei (April 2011) 

Investigate police assaults against foreign journalists (March 2011)


© 2012 International Center for Not-for-Profit Law (ICNL) Site Map | Privacy Policy / Terms of Use 


Crack down on Egypt-inspired protests in China (February 2011) 

Experts assess the progress of civil society in China (February 2011) 

Additional Resources 

Civil Society News from China-Wire 

Nonprofits in China, Harvard University’s Hauser Center for Nonprofit Organizations 

NGOs in China 

China Philanthropy Blog 

China Foundation Center 

The foregoing information was prepared by Shawn Shieh, Director and Editor, China Development Brief 

(English). 

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