The “PRC Law on the Management of Activities of Overseas NGOs in Mainland China“ (Overseas NGOs Management Law) has now been in force for two weeks. Even though the Ministry of Public Security and municipal public security organs have issued guidances and other documents to facilitate the registration process, at this point many overseas NGOs still harbour more questions than answers. Against this backdrop, the China Charity Alliance invited an official from the Ministry of Public Security to conduct training on the Overseas NGOs Management Law. Once the training notice was publicized, it attracted much response: originally set to host 30 participants, the China Charity Alliance received over 300 RSVPs. In the end, 150 participants attended the training that took place on January 13, 2017 in Beijing.
During the training Li Chao, the deputy director of the Overseas NGOs Management Office of the Ministry of Public Security, stated that upon the coming into effect of the Overseas NGOs Management Law, the Ministry of Public Security and its corresponding organs at the provincial level have now become the official oversight entities for the overseas NGOs that intend to conduct activities in China. As a result, the overseas NGOs that are currently registered with other government entities (for example, according to Mr. Li there are over 20 overseas NGOs registered with the Ministry of Civil Affairs and over 1000 organizations registered with the Administration of Industry and Commerce) should now file for registration with the Ministry of Public Security in accordance with the Overseas NGOs Management Law. Mr. Li further explained the procedures for registering representative offices and filing for records to conduct temporary activities. Finally, he reiterated that the Ministry of Public Security’s position for overseas NGOs carrying out activities in China is: “to open, welcome and encourage”. CDB will report or repost any follow ups on this training.
