Since the new Overseas NGO Law was implemented in January, and perhaps since the law’s final version was released last April, the big question for most international NGOs working in China has been “will we be able to register”? The new law stipulates that every overseas NGO needs to first find a “supervisory unit” within the government, and then register with the Public Security Bureau. Many non-profits were not at all certain of how long the process would take, or whether it would end successfully.
Shanghai and Beijing were unsurprisingly the first places to start issuing registration credentials to foreign NGOs, starting in January. Then over the following months other provinces started following suit. The first NGOs that managed to register mostly consisted of chambers of commerce, business councils and other such trade-oriented non-profits. In a hopeful sign however, other more “traditional” NGOs have also started to successfully complete the registration process, including most recently the Nature Conservancy.
Down below is a roundup of all the reports on overseas NGOs registering in China that we have published since the new law was enforced. We will continue reporting on any new registrations that take place.
