3rd LD-Writethru-China Focus: Draft law on overseas NGOs eases restriction, likely to be put for vote

A draft law to regulate NGOs from outside the Chinese mainland, submitted for its third reading on Monday, eases restrictions on their operation and activities.

The bill was submitted to the bi-monthly session of the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, which runs Monday to Thursday.

The NPC Law Committee suggested in a review report that the bill should be put for a vote at this session.

The bill regulates the activities of overseas NGOs in China and protects their rights and interests, said Xu Xianming, deputy head of the NPC Law Committee, who elaborated the review report to the lawmakers.

Many overseas NGOs involved in charity and academic exchanges in China have played a positive role, since the reform and opening-up drive started in the late 1970s.

"Since they have grown in number and their activities have intensified, it is necessary to regulate and guide their activities," Xu said.

The draft law targets the activities of NGOs founded outside the Chinese mainland. However, exchanges and cooperation between Chinese and overseas colleges, hospitals and research institutes of science and engineering will follow existing regulations.

It also removes the restriction limiting each NGO to a single office on the Chinese mainland. They will be allowed to open offices according to operational needs but the number and locations must be approved by the regulatory authority.

The bill also removes the five year limit on operations of representative offices in China.

According to the bill, representative offices of overseas NGOs and overseas NGOs carrying out temporary activities in China are forbidden from recruiting members on the mainland, with an exception for those having obtained approvals from the State Council, China's cabinet.

The restrictions on staff and volunteers have been removed but tougher rules are imposed on finances, including the source of funds, expenses and revenue. They should have their financial reports audited and published.

The previous version required a permit if an NGO did not have an office on the mainland but wanted to temporarily operate there. During the readings, lawmakers and experts argued that asking for a permit may hold back international exchanges since a huge number of overseas NGOs have engaged in individual programs in China.

The current version changes the permit to reporting. They should report to the regulator 15 days before their program begins while their Chinese partners should obtain approval.

The bill allows the police to interview chief representatives and senior executives of overseas NGOs and force the Chinese partner to terminate an cooperation program if it is considered to undermine state security.

Overseas NGOs, which engage in illegal activities including those to subvert the state and split the nation, will be banned from operating on the mainland.

Foundations and social service organizations operated by overseas NGOs, which have already registered with the civil affairs department, will be able to continue operating, Xu said.

"The basic principle in drafting this law is to combine the regulation with service so as to facilitate NGO operations in China," he said.

Lawmakers held panel discussions to review the bill on Monday afternoon, joined by Zhang Dejiang, chairman of the NPC Standing Committee.

Lawmakers agreed that the latest version of the bill, having incorporated opinions and proposals from different sides and the general public, had been notably improved with a balanced structure between facilitation and supervision, according to a press release issued after the discussions.

They agreed with the Law Committee that the bill is ready for the vote.

The bi-monthly session, which opened Monday morning, was presided over by Zhang. Besides the draft law on overseas NGOs, lawmakers also reviewed a bill on national defense transport and another on cultural services, both submitted for their first readings, as well as the second reading of a bill on the wild animal protection law.

The State Council reported the country's environmental protection record in 2015 to lawmakers. It also submitted a review on legal awareness campaigns in the past five years and a plan for the next five years.

Other subjects for lawmakers' review also included ratifying the Minamata Convention on Mercury, an international treaty to reduce harmful emissions of mercury. Endi