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Beijing 'keeps firm hand on NGO finances'

The community of non-governmental organisations on the mainland may have matured as funding sources become more diversified but tight government oversight keeps it from developing even further, according to a survey yesterday.

The survey, which was conducted by the Beijing-based Corporate Citizenship in Action (CCIA), is the first to focus on the fund-raising issues faced by NGOs operating on the mainland.

It said more than 32 per cent of the funds raised last year by 84 mainland NGOs (which the survey calls 'non-profit organisations') came from big multinational or domestic enterprises, while money from international foundations and NGOs and domestic foundations made up only 22 per cent.

The government and the public had each donated about 9 per cent of the total funds to NGOs last year, the survey said, among other sources.

Hu Heng, a CCIA consultant in charge of the survey, said the result went beyond their expectations.

'We were surprised to see that the large proportion of funds [for mainland NGOs] was from enterprises and not from international foundations and NGOs any more,' she said, adding that more small NGOs were also seeking opportunities to collect public donations legally, which has been difficult to do on the mainland in the past. For years, Beijing has restricted the funding of local NGOs, especially the money coming from international foundations and NGOs.

After the 'Colour Revolutions' that took place in some former Soviet republics in the early 2000s, Beijing has tightened its control on the international foundations and NGOs and some local NGOs. Overseas sources have been strictly inspected, even nearly being shut down.

Though more and more enterprises are supporting mainland NGOs, they do so only after examining the political risk involved, as some NGOs are more in favour with the government than others. More than 44 per cent of the foundation and enterprise respondents said that before making decisions on donations, they would first consult with different levels of the government.

'They don't want to see the NGOs or projects they support shut down or stopped in the short term because they hope the programmes could be sustainable,' Hu explained.

More than 80 per cent of NGO respondents said government supervision was the biggest obstacle to their fund-raising. How to deal with the authorities and the big enterprises is still a controversial topic within the NGO community.

'The NGOs are too close and have made themselves a small circle,' said a senior manager of a Shenzhen-based NGO, who requested anonymity. 'On the one hand, they need the support from the government and the enterprises; on the other, they generally think government is evil, and the enterprises are too profit-driven. So, many NGOs are reluctant to communicate within those two circles.'

Meanwhile, Wan Yanhai, a prominent mainland Aids activist who left China for the US in May, posted on Twitter yesterday that he regretted some government-backed activities had become another form of political censorship for NGOs, instead of allowing them to provide real support to mainland society.

Helping hand

Private businesses are the biggest donor to NGOs in China

The percentage of donations to NGOS accounted for by corporate and private donors: 32%

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