On June 16, Guangzhou published a new regulation, the “Guangzhou guidelines on social organization Management” 《广州市社会组织管理办法》, cancelling the registration funding requirement for civil non-enterprise organizations and allowing them to have their office in private residences.
Previously, civil non-enterprise organizations in Guangzhou’s suburban areas were required to have 30,000 RMB of capital to register. In metropolitan areas, organizations needed 300,000 RMB of capital. These requirements have been removed. Furthermore, organizations which were previously banned from having their organizations in private residences are now merely required to have a fixed postal address. The new rules are further redefining the process of registration for NGOs. In 2012, Guangdong reformed NGO registration procedures by allowing NGOs to directly register without a so-called “mother-in-law” advisory government bureau.
Another change has come in the implementation of a “one industry, many associations” model (一业多会) for civil society. For a long time, China has enforced a “one industry, one association” (一业一会) rule, meaning that within a single governmental administrative area, each industry could only establish one related association. However, this has now been changed, and multiple associations within the same industry will be allowed to exist, thus removing industry monopolization and promoting fair competition.
According to Guangzhou Department for the Management of Nongovernmental Organizations Bureau Chief Wang Fujun, these steps are moving toward easing the restrictions and relaxing unneeded governmental intervention in management of NGOs.
