The capital relaxed its registration rules for four categories of non-governmental organisations this year, but the change has been met with a lukewarm response from NGOs, long working under tight restrictions on the mainland.
The four categories of NGO benefiting from the change are industrial and commercial, charity, social welfare and social service, Xinhua reported yesterday, citing officials from the Beijing Civil Affairs Bureau.
The report did not clarify the definition of each category.
NGOs have been tightly regulated as mainland authorities are wary of these often foreign-funded and rights-advocating groups.
'We have tried to register so many times,' said Lu Jun of Yirenping, an NGO that focuses on anti-discrimination work and legal aid. 'They might not give you a clear 'no', but they just keep making requests and dragging the matter out.'
Under the new policy, NGOs in the four categories can register directly with the bureau. They no longer need find a government department to act as 'patron' before they can register.
Finding a patron had been a particularly big hurdle, since the supporting department would be held responsible for any misdeeds of the NGO. Those that could not find a patron had to build up enough capital to register as a company, or live a legally precarious existence.