Rights groups miss out on easing of registration rules for NGOs
Registration controls are relaxed to aid social development, but advocacy groups are shut out
Mainland authorities are moving to ease registration controls on four categories of NGOs to further social development while continuing to shut out groups advocating civil rights.
Industry and commerce associations, community-based care groups, charity groups and NGOs promoting scientific research will no longer be required to find a government agency to be their patron before registering for an NGO licence with civil affairs departments, according to a draft rule on social organisations.
The proposed easing of rules for NGOs is part of a restructuring bill which the State Council, the mainland's cabinet, has tabled to the National People's Congress for deliberation this week.
The Communist Party has been trying to reach out to NGOs in an effort to formulate a broad consensus amid rising social tensions and discontent over excessive bureaucracy and rampant irregularities among government-backed NGOs.
However, the bill says NGOs of a political, legal and religious nature and global NGOs with an office on the mainland will still have to find a "patron" government agency before registration due to "complicated circumstances".
Analysts place the number of NGOs on the mainland at about four million. But only some 400,000 have received a licence, with the vast majority forced to register as a business or to operate without any licence because they cannot afford to pay corporate taxes.
Rights advocacy does not amount to opposition to the government because we simply do something the governments fail to deliver and something we think we could do better