A new legislation seeks to impose police power and stern financial regulation on foreign NGOs. (Photo : Getty Images)
China’s latest draft of the proposed law for foreign non-governmental organizations provides a stern regulation of NGOs from other countries to drive out "dangerous" ones by use of police force.
According to a report from the South China Morning Post, China's new amendment to the controversial law would entail greater police oversight and financial scrutiny of organizations from other nations.
The legislation has already been submitted to the parliament for its third reading on Monday and has been recommended to be reviewed by the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee after two readings.
Latest Amendments
The proposed regulation on NGOs has been criticized because of its vagueness and extensive limitations to foreign organizations.
According to Reuters, the NGO regulatory law is meant to strengthen President Xi Jinping's crackdown on dissident groups.
However, the Xinhua News Agency said that the most recent amendment submitted to the NPC's bimonthly session "eases restriction over their operation and membership" of the NGOs.
Basically, the bill is made to regulate cooperation and exchanges of the non-governmental organizations founded outside of the mainland.
This latest amendment has removed the clause that limits the establishment of the foreign NGOs to only one office in China, allowing them to expand their reach within the country as much as they want provided that they gain approval from the regulatory authority.
The five-year operations limit for these organizations has also been deleted from the bill.
Effects of the New Law
Citing experts, the SCMP noted that the latest changes reflect that the country is ready for "useful" NGOs, but is still not welcoming those that the government deem "dangerous."
Upon its proposal in March, the bill on the NGO regulation gained applause from Zhang Dejiang, one of China's senior legislators, mainly because it is proof of the country's advancement in its bid to strengthen national security though laws, as reported by Xinhua.
However, experts cited by the SCMP said that there is cause for worry for this new draft since it appears to have strengthened the power of police as they will be able to "invite for talks" those who are involved in the NGOs.
Should the bill be passed into law, the police will also be given authority to stop any activities that they consider a threat to national security and place the oversees NGO on a "not welcome list" that would prohibit them from establishing office in the Chinese mainland.
Also, the latest change in the bill stipulates that NGOs from foreign countries will undergo strict financial scrutiny which would regulate their fund sources and account management activities.
