NGOS TALK NORTHEAST CHINA CHILDCARE AND HEALTH,

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 SHENYANG 000022

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR EAP/CM, INR

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/18/2020
TAGS: CM KN KS PGOV PHUM PREF SOCI
SUBJECT: NGOS TALK NORTHEAST CHINA CHILDCARE AND HEALTH,
DPRK PLANS

REF: A. SHENYANG 019

B. 09 SHENYANG 223

Classified By: Pol/Econ Chief Dannielle R. Andrews. Reasons
1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (C) SUMMARY: According to local expats with many years of
experience in Shenyang, foreign NGOs continue to be required
to partner with local governments, but official suspicion of
foreign NGOs and social workers has declined. Any lingering
suspicion is now individual rather than institutional. Due to
onerous regulations, however, no new foreign NGOs have opened
since 2004 and operations remain subject to the whims of
local leaders. Local health care systems and care for orphans
have seen great improvement in the past decade. Male orphans
outnumber females, and orphaned children are still more
likely to be adopted by foreigners than locals. One NGO's
long-term plans include a soap factory and education complex
in the DPRK. They shared some of their limited experiences
with DPRK refugees, including bribes and broker fees. END
SUMMARY.


2. (SBU) On February 1, EAP/CM Deputy Director Bill Klein and
ConGenOffs met with three long-term Shenyang residents active
in non-profit work. Paula Umscheid is an American citizen who
runs Serving Humanity in Crisis (SHIC),a U.S.-based NGO that
provides health care and humanitarian services in Northeast
China and the DPRK. Elaine Hennessy, also an Amcit, and
Migyeong Kang, an ROK citizen, are employed by the state-run
Shenyang Orphanage to run, Dream Home, a local unit that
provides care for mentally and physically impaired orphans.
Subsequent meetings with ConGenOffs provided further
information on their work in the region.

What it Takes: Patience and Adaptability
--------------


3. (SBU) According to Umscheid, NGOs must work with the local
governments, but officials have become more and more
hospitable and overcome their early suspicions. Over the long
term, the partnerships have been successful, each side
approaching the other about proposed projects. What suspicion
remains is individual rather than institutional. No new NGOs
have been opened since 2004 due to regulations requiring
foreign NGOs looking to set up on a non-profit basis to have
at lest USD 1 million in the bank. She added that any foreign
operations in this environment are subject to the whims of
local officials and thus always precarious. (NOTE: Domestic
NGOs have had a difficult time registering as well, as in the
case of Fr. Joseph Zhang's Catholic Social Services Center,
which has been trying unsuccessfully to register for years --
REFTEL A. END NOTE.)


4. (SBU) Dream Home has not been set up as an NGO. Rather,
Kang and Hennessy are employed by the government-run Shenyang
Orphanage as a separate, collocated branch. Because they are
employees, they report that their ability to remain in
Shenyang is tenuous. To underscore this point, in late
December the orphanage administration informed them that most
of the youth in Dream Home's care - primarily older children
and young adults having mental rather than physical handicaps -
were being removed from the home. The two Dream Home
managers do not know if they will be able to retain contact
with the youth and fear the quality of care they receive will
suffer. While the issue remains unresolved, Dream Home will
continue their work with the remaining children in whatever
form, and will continue to care for younger children at the
orphanage proper.

From Very Bad to Much Better
--------------


5. (SBU) Foreign teachers and NGOs have had a significant
positive influence in Shenyang. Kang pointed out that in 1999
only one large building housed the orphanage and a 90-percent
death rate for orphaned babies was the norm. Thanks in large
part to foreign and domestic donations (driven by positive
media coverage) the facilities have been vastly improved and
Shenyang's orphanage is now considered one of the best in
China. For physically and mentally disabled children, to whom
Kang and Hennessy have dedicated the bulk of their work,
conditions have improved. Previously, these orphans lived in
extremely unsanitary conditions and were often tied to beds
or to toilet seats. Now the living facilities are cleaner and
due to increased government funding, handicapped orphans are
more often able to have surgery. Over 200 have been placed in

SHENYANG 00000022 002 OF 002


foster homes in the hometown village of the orphanage's vice
president. Disabled children are not placed in foster care
and either stay in the orphanage or are placed in other
social institutions after they reach eighteen.


6. (SBU) According to Hennessy, abandoned children are
usually taken to the Public Security Bureau (PSB) which then
brings them to the orphanage. Children unclaimed after a
60-day public notification period remain in the orphanage.
Males outnumber females. Hennessy speculated that abandoned
children having no disabilities are usually born out of
wedlock and, because of the "one-child policy" the mothers
want their "one child" to be born in different circumstances.
Disabled children are abandoned because of traditional
prejudices and a lack of knowledge as to how to care for
them. Previously, parents of disabled children were allowed
to bring their children directly to the orphanage and pay for
the care, but this can no longer be done. Children placed for
adoption are more likely to be adopted by foreign couples
because fees - up to USD 10,000 for foreign couples - are
much higher than those for local couples. Kang said demand
for domestic adoption has increased, and as domestic fees
rise, more Chinese orphans will be adopted by Chinese.


7. (SBU) Umscheid reported that over the last decade, the
quality of healthcare available in Shenyang has shown great
improvement, but this "improvement" is directly tied to the
ability of patients to pay. Umscheid echoed the opinion of
other NGOs in the region that a significant gap remains
between care in rural and urban areas. The government is
pushing companies to provide health benefits to employees,
with all contract workers under thirty-five receiving
insurance coverage. SHIC, for instance, must offer insurance
even during a worker's three-month probationary period. She
speculated there is a huge population that remains uninsured
and unable to pay for healthcare. Post maintains contact with
volunteer organizations that provide healthcare to needy,
rural populations in other parts of Liaoning Province.
(REFTEL B)

Using China Experiences in the DPRK
--------------


8. (C) Umscheid plans to expand SHIC's work in the DPRK and
has visited North Korea more than 25 times. She usually takes
food or medical supplies on her trips and obtains visas by
having someone meet her at the border (Dandong) rather than
by going through the DPRK Consulate in Shenyang. This year
she hopes finally to begin negotiations to open a soap
factory in North Korea, which she has planned for at least
two years. (NOTE: Over the last few years, ConGenOffs have
provided her with related information from the Department of
Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control and other related
USG agencies on North Korea trade issues. END NOTE.) The soap
will be sold internationally to church groups to raise funds
for SHIC's work in the PRC-DPRK border region. She
anticipates North Korean officials will have a say in how her
business is run but does not expect them to have the final
say. She stressed that whatever is said by North Korean
officials is always subject to change, as she has learned
from her experiences in China. The long-term goal is to
establish a self-supporting education/training complex in the
DPRK.


9. (C) Kang said that she is aware of DPRK refugees coming
out of the countryside and seeking asylum through an
"underground railroad," but that there are other specialized
agencies to assist them. She once housed the nine year-old
daughter of a refugee, an educated North Korean woman who
married a rural Chinese man and spoke only Chinese in order
to avoid detection. The mother subsequently arranged entry
into South Korea for herself and her daughter. Umscheid
opined that North Koreans must pay about RMB 3000 to border
guards to facilitate the escape but did not speculate as to
what the receiving agencies might charge for their services.

WICKMAN