Law contemplates a series of regulations
29 April of 2016
Entities have to register with the Police and inform the Government of plans
Beijing. AFP. The Chinese Parliament, controlled by the Communist Party, adopted a bill imposing new restrictions on non-governmental organizations (ONG) foreigners, which sparked concerns in cooperation institutions and the governments of other countries..
The text was approved almost unanimously by the National Popular Assembly (ANP), despite the protest of charitable organizations and foreign governments, concerned about increasing police control.
The speaker of the Assembly, He Shaoren, informed the press that 147 parliamentarians voted in favor and one against.
At least a thousand organizations are present in China, between charitable institutions, environmentalists and chambers of commerce, in addition to university structures.
The new law, which will come into force in January, stipulates that the Police will be the only institution authorized to register foreign organizations, according to a copy of the document distributed by the ANP.
The Police may cancel the registration of any group that it considers encourages the “subversion of State power.”” or “separatism”, which would prohibit its activity in China, according to the same source.
'Danger’ for the country. “Foreign NGOs have planned or organized activities that threaten social stability and national security”, declared Zhang Yong, an important member of the ANP.
The official Xinhua agency announced earlier this week that this third version of the bill would retain some very controversial provisions..
Según Xinhua, NGOs must be “associated” to an agency controlled by the Chinese government and be held accountable for its activities.
The law does not establish a clear framework of what constitutes an NGO, but the definition probably encompasses charities and professional associations.
While, The university institutions present in the country and the international hospitals will not be concerned..
“Our first reaction is disappointment., because it will be the public security agencies that will manage the registration process”, Jake Parker said., vice president of the American Chamber of Commerce in China.
The law was voted on at a time when the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, oversees a vast operation to repress civil society, that has affected lawyers, intellectuals and human rights activists, who have been arrested or imprisoned.
