CDB Reports

Analysis

In-depth analyses on the issues facing Chinese civil society. Most of these articles have been written by CDB’s staff or translated from Chinese sources, while others are guest contributions from academics and NGO practitioners inside and outside of China.

NGOs Joining Forces in Response to Disasters

This is one of several articles on NGO responses to disasters that we are making available in commemoration of the May 12, 2008 Wenchuan earthquake in Sichuan which measured 7.9 on the Richter scale and killed an estimated 70,000 people.

The Guo Meimei Incident and Grassroots NGOs

This essay by Yu Fangqiang recounts the various scandals that hit China’s philanthropy sector in 2011, and takes grassroots NGOs to task for remaining on the sidelines during this period and not taking a more public stance in promoting transparency and accountability in the sector

POLICY BRIEF NO. 4: Coopting Chinese NGOs?

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 maintain close ties to, and control over, social organizations

NGOCN’s Financial Incident

This article reveals one of the negative aspects of the NGO sector in China, as well as in other countries: financial mismanagement. It profiles NGOCN, a popular information-sharing and networking NGO website based originally in Kunming but which has since relocated to Guangzhou.

Guangzhou’s “Skinhead” Movement

An Zhu uses a humorous story about taking action to challenge individuals and NGOs to think more deeply about a critically important question in today’s China: How to carry out public action in a meaningful way that will foster social connections and public knowledge?

A Dialogue with Construction Workers

Migrant workers are a major force behind China’s economic miracle and the low cost of their labor makes affordable many of the goods and services we enjoy on a daily basis.