Last Friday, October 14, the Ministry of
Public Security and the Shanghai Municipal Public Security Bureau held a forum
in Shanghai for overseas NGOs to announce the draft “Guidelines for the Registration
and Temporary Activities of Representative Offices of Overseas Non-governmental
Organizations within the Territory of China (for comment)."
The
draft Guidelines are meant to provide more detailed information on the Management
Act on Activities of Overseas Non-governmental Organizations within the
Territory of the People’s Republic of China[1]
(hereafter the Overseas NGO Law) which goes into effect January 1, 2017. The
Guidelines are divided into four sections: 1) the procedures and
documents required for registering a representative office; 2) the procedures
and documents required for filing a record for temporary activities; 3)
additional issues; and 4) the required forms.
According
to news sources[2], the head of the Overseas
NGO Management Office, Hao Yunhong, presented the Guidelines and nine overseas
NGOs were invited to present their comments on the draft. (It was not made clear if the draft would be limited to comments from only a small number of overseas NGOs or if there would be a more extensive public comment period.) Mr. Hao noted that
the provincial Public Security Bureaus were responsible for registration of
representative offices and filing records for temporary activities. The
Ministry of Public Security in Beijing would not be directly involved in
registration and filing records, but instead would be responsible for providing
guidance and coordination for the provincial bureaus. The Shanghai Municipal
Public Security Bureau’s Entry/Exit Administration has already set up booths,
signs and equipment to receive overseas NGOs, and other provinces and cities
are said to be in the process of preparing their own service stations.
Mr. Hao also
revealed that the Overseas NGO management service information system and
websites were being constructed. Once completed, these online platforms can be
used by overseas NGOs to make reservations for registration or filing of
records, online application and submission of relevant materials, and the
posting of relevant documents. In addition, the Ministry of Public Security and
relevant departments have set up a coordinating mechanism for supervision and
management of ONGOs, and will be responsible for studying, coordinating and
resolving major problems in facilitating the supervision, administration and
services to overseas NGOs carrying out activities in mainland China.
Below are a
few of my takeaways from reading over the draft Guidelines:
1) There's not that much in the way of additional details in these Guidelines, but mostly a repackaging of what has already been stated in the Overseas NGO Law to make the procedures easier to understand.
2) The
“registration and management” department for overseas NGOs seeking to either
register a representative office, or “file a record” for temporary activities,
is to be the provincial Public Security Bureau where the rep office or
activities (or more specifically the Chinese partners coordinating on these
activities) are located. This led several overseas NGOs at the Shanghai forum
to raise the question of what they should do if they have offices and/or
activities in several provinces. Do they need to register in every one of those
provinces? It seems one possible solution would be to allow overseas NGOs with
offices or activities in multiple provinces to register or file a record at the
national-level Ministry of Public Security. But Mr. Hao already made it clear
that the Ministry of Public Security would not be directly involved in
registration or filing records.
3) The
Guidelines use the term “business administration department” (or BAD - who says the Chinese public security don’t
have a sense of humor?) to refer to what I have called the all-important
“professional supervisory unit” (PSU).
Overseas NGOs seeking to register a representative office are required
to have the approval of a BAD, generally a government or quasi-government
agency, before they can even begin to register. In the past, it has been very
difficult for overseas NGOs to get the approval of a BAD. The Ministry of
Public Security has stated it will release a list of eligible BADs, but it is
unclear whether the BADs on this list will be obligated to offer their services
to an overseas NGO that approaches them.
4) In the
section on Overseas NGOs filing a record for temporary activities, the
Guidelines state: “In the case of Overseas NGO temporary activities, the
Chinese partners shall apply for review and approval according to state
regulations and file the required documents 15 days prior to the temporary
activity at the provincial Public Security Bureau’s Administrative Office of
Overseas NGO Affairs.” But like the Overseas NGO Law, these Guidelines remain
vague on just what kind of approvals and documents need to be obtained and
filed by the Chinese partner.
[1] This is the name of the Overseas NGO Law given in the
English-language version of the draft Guidelines that were sent to me. It’s not
clear why the translators chose to use Act instead of Law which is the more
standard translation.
[2] http://news.xinhuanet.com/legal/2016-10/14/c_1119721678.htm， http://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_1543664
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