Representatives from German political foundations displaying their registration credentials.
This week, Beijing’s Public Security Bureau awarded registration credentials to four German political foundations: the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, the Heinrich Böll Foundation, the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation and the Hanns Seidel Foundation.
Party political foundations are an institution specific to Germany. Subsidized by the German government, there are six party political foundations in Germany, each affiliated with its respective political party. They engage in international aid and volunteer training activities. The four foundations that have successfully registered in Beijing are respectively affiliated with the Christian Democratic Union, the Green Party, the Left Party and the Christian Social Union.
The Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC) will act as the government supervisory unit for three of the foundations, and the Ministry of Education for one of them. The CPAFFC is one of the three major foreign affairs organizations of the People’s Republic of China, and there are hopes that it may agree to take on the role of supervisory unit for more Overseas NGOs in the future.
A small ceremony was held to congratulate the foundations for receiving their credentials, during which representatives from the foundations and the Public Security Bureau expressed hope that this will be a step towards furthering cooperation between China and Germany and developing social welfare in China.
