"WE NEED A CHINESE UNITED WAY": CIVIL AFFAIRS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BEIJING 000521 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/15/2008 TAGS: PGOV SOCI CH SUBJECT: "WE NEED A CHINESE UNITED WAY": CIVIL AFFAIRS OFFICIALS DISCUSS CHARITIES, NGOS AND DEMOCRACY Classified By: Political Internal Unit Chief Dan Kritenbrink. Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). Summary -------------- ¶1. (C) China wants to develop more charities, especially those targeting the disabled, and hopes to expand cooperation with international charitable foundations such as the Gates Foundation, according to officials at the Civil Affairs College, the Ministry of Civil Affairs' (MCA) cadre training school. College leaders recently told POLOFF that MCA hopes the new National People's Congress (NPC) will pass legislation in the future guaranteeing the rights of handicapped citizens, in addition to a new law governing charities. China's Government, however, will continue to monitor closely NGOs and other civil society actors to prevent the use of NGOs as a platform for "illegal activity." The Civil Affairs College nevertheless is devoting more resources to researching civil society and social welfare models in Europe and the United States. China is making modest progress on "democratization," our contacts claimed, providing as an example the selection of high-level administrators at the College via a two-tier voting system by College staff and MCA department heads. More significant steps like multi-party democracy, however, are simply not in the cards, as moving too rapidly on political reform could cause the Mainland to descend into "chaos" a la Taiwan, our contacts asserted. Experiments in village democracy, these officials argued, are unlikely to expand to the township level anytime soon. End Summary. ¶2. (C) POLOFF met January 31 with Yuan De (protect), Vice Director of the China Civil Affairs College (www.ccacollege.cn),the Ministry of Civil Affairs' (MCA) cadre training institution. The College is responsible for training civil affairs officials at all levels of government. Yao Xianhui (protect), another Vice Director at the College, and Zou Xueyin (protect),Director of International Cooperation, also participated in the meeting. Yuan, Yao and Zou offered their off-the-record thoughts on Chinese civil society, the next session of the National People's Congress (NPC) and what they argued are China's gradual steps toward "democracy." "China Needs More Charities" -------------- ¶3. (C) Commenting on a recent trip to the United States, Yuan said his visit to a United Way office left the biggest impression. Yuan liked the idea of a large national charity that can support many local charities. China can learn from this example. China is trying to develop civil society, even if the pace is "slow." Yao added that MCA is very interested in working with international charities targeting the handicapped and is encouraging such groups to establish programs in China. According to Yao, the Gates Foundation recently set up an office in China, and the Ministry hopes more such foundations will follow. ¶4. (C) While acknowledging that China is moving cautiously on NGO development, our three MCA interlocutors said civil society in general, as well as the role of NGOs in European and American society, is now a major focus of research and cadre training at the Civil Affairs College. Yao said his academic research concentrates on the role charities play in developed countries. Yuan, meanwhile, said the College is also devoting more resources to the study of foreign social welfare models, also with an emphasis on Europe and the United States. Handicapped Rights and Charities on Future NPC Agenda -------------- -------------- ¶5. (C) The March session of the new 11th NPC will concentrate on personnel decisions, so the NPC will not take up major legislation right away, Zou and Yao predicted. The two did say that the Ministry of Civil Affairs would like the new NPC to pass two new laws at some point during its five-year tenure: one guaranteeing the rights of persons with disabilities, the other governing charities. Some in the Chinese Government, however, are reluctant to pass a charities law because "so many charities are waiting in line" to BEIJING 00000521 002 OF 002 register, Zou said. The Government would likely have difficulty vetting the large number of new charities that would seek legal status under such a new law. Both Zou and Yao said that the NPC is unlikely to pass a comprehensive NGO law anytime soon. China is still in the "initial stages of developing NGOs," Yao and Yuan emphasized. Many "dishonest people," Yao claimed, attempt to "swindle" others under the guise of charities and NGOs. The Government therefore cannot liberalize its NGO policy until it has mechanisms in place to monitor and weed out "bad NGOs," Yao argued. Democracy: Gradual Progress? -------------- ¶6. (C) China will continue to "perfect" its system of village-level democracy, Yuan said. Nevertheless, although some townships (the next level above villages) have experimented with democratic elections, the Government is unlikely to expand such experiments anytime soon. The development of democratic institutions will take a "long time," and the average education levels of Chinese people need to increase before "significant" democratic reforms can take place. Taiwan-style democracy, Yuan claimed, has created "chaos" on the island and is "not right" for Mainland China. "What would people rather have," Zou interjected, "a good economy or democracy?" ¶7. (C) Rather than pursue multi-party democracy, Yuan averred, China is incorporating more democratic practices within existing institutions. Yuan pointed to his own election as a Deputy Director of the Civil Affairs College as an example of China's supposedly improving "democracy." Yuan said he was elected to his current post in 2006 from a field of eight candidates. (Zou added that he was among Yuan's unsuccessful challengers for the job.) The election involved two rounds of voting, one by professional staff members at the College and a second among all department director-level (sizhang) officials at MCA. Candidates were allowed to give speeches prior to each round of voting but actual "campaigning" was not allowed. Yuan said he is the first Deputy Director to be elected in this manner and that "more and more" Government agencies are adopting similar methods for selecting top cadres. (Note: Yuan's statement tracks with the separate comments of a mid-level Ministry of Supervision (MOS) official, who recently told POLOFF that she had been "elected" to a supervisory position by her peers, which she also touted as an example of China's "advancing democracy." In practical terms, however, this MOS official said her election had also "complicated" her job, as she now felt greater pressure to listen and respond to the concerns of her colleagues and subordinates.) Comment -------------- ¶8. (C) The remarks made by these MCA officials reflect the Chinese Government's generally conflicted view of NGOs and other civil society actors. Well-funded, apolitical charities that can provide needed services to the disabled and other disadvantaged groups are welcome, as they are seen as contributing to Government efforts to ensure social stability. NGOs and civil society as a whole, however, supposedly still require careful "monitoring" to weed out the "bad" elements, a group that presumably includes not just con artists but also anyone presenting a challenge to the regime. Yuan, Yao, and Zou's views on democracy, especially the perceived "failure" of Taiwan's political system, are also typical among many Chinese officials. According to these contacts and many other Chinese officials, "political reform" means tweaking the existing system to make it more responsive and efficient, while not doing anything more significant that might threaten the Party's monopoly on power. PICCUTA