Heart of Gold: Chinese NGOs - What's in a Name?

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 GUANGZHOU 015376

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

STATE FOR EB, DRL, R, E, EAP/CM, EAP/PD, ECA
STATE PASS USTR FOR STRATFORD, CELICO
USDOC FOR 4420/ITA/MAC/MCQUEEN, DAS LEVINE
USPACOM FOR FPA

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM ECON SOCI CH
SUBJECT: Heart of Gold: Chinese NGOs - What's in a Name?

THIS DOCUMENT IS SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED. PLEASE PROTECT
ACCORDINGLY. NOT FOR RELEASE OUTSIDE U.S.GOVERNMENT
CHANNELS. NOT FOR INTERNET PUBLICATION.

Ref: A) GUANGZHOU 11657 and 7743, 12155, 13381 (notal) B)
GUANGZHOU 14712 C) BEIJING 00565 (notal),D) GUANGZHOU 13381
(notal)


1. (SBU) Summary: What do the Guangdong Petroleum Society,
the Communist Youth League Volunteers, the Guangdong Tobacco
Society, and World Vision (a Christian charity group) have
in common? According to the Chinese government, they are
all NGOs. By broadening the definition of NGO beyond the
traditional western definition, the Chinese government and
state-controlled media have been able to trumpet the growth
of `civil society' and `the third sector,' while the
majority of western and domestic NGOs are forced to operate
on the fringes of legality. End Summary.

What's in a Name?
--------------


2. (SBU) The Ministry of Civil Affairs (MCA) is the only
fully legal registration organ for NGOs in China, but NGOs
can include many organizations that do not meet the
traditional western definition of an NGO. There are three
major types of legal NGOs in China (ref A). "Social
organizations" are formed when a group of Chinese citizens
come together for a defined activity (foreign social
organizations are not allowed (Ref B)) and closely align
with the traditional definition of NGO. "Non-professional
institutions" are private schools, research institutes,
social science organizations (foreign social organizations
are not allowed). "Foundations" are organizations that
disburse funds for social projects (foreign foundations are
legal). All three types require a government department or
mass organization to serve as a sponsor and monitor and are
required to register with the Ministry of Civil Affairs.


3. (SBU) According to the Guangdong Province Department of
Civil Affairs there are 19,771 registered NGOs (includes all
sub-registrations at the municipality level). Of these,
9,300 are social organizations, 10,300 are non-professional
institutions, and 132 are foundations. However, it is
important to note how broad the definition of NGO is in this
context. `NGOs' in this context include sports
associations, commercial federations, industrial
associations, and academic associations. In this
vernacular, the Guangdong Tobacco Society is counted in the
same way as a charity program for disabled people. A large
number of these organizations appear to be government-
organized NGOs (GONGOs). It is hard to have an accurate
estimate of how many of each type of NGO there are because
the municipal and provincial Civil Affairs authorities all
stated that they do not have that kind of information
available. Anecdotally, the number of GONGOs and
commercial/industrial federations seems to be quite large.

GONGOs? Neither Government nor `Real NGOs' nor Any Other
Part Belonging to Civil Society
-------------- --------------
-


4. (SBU) The decision by the central government in to
outsource some of its poverty alleviation programs to NGOs
has been widely reported (Ref C) but does not indicate an
upcoming liberalization for NGOs. In coordination with the
Asia Development Bank, the central government held a
competition for NGOs to compete for funding to implement
poverty relief projects and results were announced early in

2006. While the World Bank had held similar events in the
past, this was the first one sponsored by the central
government. Local papers trumpeted that this represented
government recognition of NGO's function in society and that
it was probable that the program would soon be expanded.
While this represented a breakthrough in the government's
willingness to fund other organizations, the details of the
program show this was more of a modest step than a great
leap forward.


GUANGZHOU 00015376 002 OF 003



5. (SBU) Only fully-registered NGOs were allowed to apply
and foreign NGOs had to have a domestic partner in order to
apply. Currently, all NGOs are required to register with a
sponsoring government department and the Ministry of Civil
Affairs in ordered to be fully-registered. Registration
procedures are so strict that only the most well-connected
or government-based NGOs (GONGOs) are able to register; in
fact, one researcher in South China estimates only 10% of
NGOs are legally registered, severely reducing the number of
those potentially eligible to apply.


6. (SBU) With one exception, all the recipients of central
government funds appear to be GONGOs. GONGOs are legally
registered, government-based NGOs that have sprung from a
government department or a mass organization. Mass
organizations are organizations such as the Women's
Federation, the Communist Youth League and the All-China
Trade Union. Their goals are to advance their target
group's interests and support Communist ideology. One
recipient, the Jiangxi Youth Development Foundation, was
founded by the Communist Youth League. Another, the Shaanxi
Research Association for Women and Family, appears to be an
offshoot of the Shaanxi Women's Federation. GONGOS are
frequently staffed by current or former members of the
government or Party and often receive material assistance
from their parent organization (Ref D). While many GONGOs
are capable of providing government-style services
(educating teachers, building schools, distributing health
information to target populations) they, in general, do not
have general public education programs, organize volunteers,
or do other activities that help to build a civilian base,
or what one would argue is `civil society.'

Commercial Federations by Any Other Name Would Not Smell as
Sweet
-------------- --------------
--------------


7. (SBU) In the fall of 2005, with the backing of the
Guangdong Civil Affairs Bureau, the Association for the
Promotion of NGO Development was founded. The Association's
Secretary stated to the local press that the Association's

SIPDIS
aim was to defend the rights of NGOs and improve links with
the government. This is a noble goal, as so many NGOs are
unable to register due to the onerous regulations. However,
in reality this is an organization started by commercial
federations (who are officially counted as NGOs) to create
an acceptable alternate organization for the benefit of
commercial federations, so that they alone are not required
to have a government sponsor in order to register. Under
current law, commercial federations have to go through the
full registration process as a social organization and are
trying to develop a backdoor that will only be applicable to
them.


8. (SBU) According to one provincial MCA official,
commercial and industrial federations are the fastest
growing sectors of the `NGO community.' In meetings with
municipal and provincial MCA authorities, officials eagerly
cited examples of commercial federations' activities, but
drew a blank when they were asked about what kind of work
social-service NGOs did. While more liberal NGO legislation
has been promised for many years, one MCA official opined
that the most likely change would be for business social
organizations, such as the American Chamber of Commerce-
South China, to be able to register.

Comment: By a Name I Know Not How to Tell Thee Who I Am
-------------- --------------


9. (SBU) Comment: These three examples briefly show the
pitfalls in trying to reconcile Western definitions with
Chinese usage. The question of what is a NGO is a lively
topic in academic circles; one researcher stated that if an
independent, grassroots NGO does manage to get official
registration it is no longer is a `real NGO' because of the
perceived level of state control. Donors bemoan that
unregistered NGOs do not look attractive because they can
not have legal status or official bank accounts. Others
argue over whether it is more important to perform a

GUANGZHOU 00015376 003 OF 003


charitable service (i.e. build a school),which a GONGO can
do, or to build a civilian base of volunteers and a `civic
consciousness'. Chinese regulations have created a
structure in where the vast majority of registered `NGOs'
appear to be GONGOs or commercial, industrial or science
associations. What westerners would consider traditional
NGOs are mainly pushed to the side and forced to operate on
the margins while GONGOs grab the spotlight. The reality
here is that the Chinese media and official figures only
paint a distorted view of what is happening in the NGO
community here in South China - no matter how you define a
NGO. End Comment.


DONG