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R 240828Z MAY 06
FM AMCONSUL GUANGZHOU
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 8701
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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 GUANGZHOU 015376 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EB, DRL, R, E, EAP/CM, EAP/PD, ECA 
STATE PASS USTR FOR STRATFORD, CELICO 
USDOC FOR 4420/ITA/MAC/MCQUEEN, DAS LEVINE 
USPACOM FOR FPA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM ECON SOCI CH
SUBJECT:  Heart of Gold: Chinese NGOs - What's in a Name? 
 
THIS DOCUMENT IS SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED.  PLEASE PROTECT 
ACCORDINGLY.  NOT FOR RELEASE OUTSIDE U.S.GOVERNMENT 
CHANNELS.  NOT FOR INTERNET PUBLICATION. 
 
Ref: A) GUANGZHOU 11657 and 7743, 12155, 13381 (notal) B) 
GUANGZHOU 14712 C) BEIJING 00565 (notal), D) GUANGZHOU 13381 
(notal) 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Summary: What do the Guangdong Petroleum Society, 
the Communist Youth League Volunteers, the Guangdong Tobacco 
Society, and World Vision (a Christian charity group) have 
in common?  According to the Chinese government, they are 
all NGOs.  By broadening the definition of NGO beyond the 
traditional western definition, the Chinese government and 
state-controlled media have been able to trumpet the growth 
of `civil society' and `the third sector,' while the 
majority of western and domestic NGOs are forced to operate 
on the fringes of legality.  End Summary. 
 
What's in a Name? 
----------------- 
 
¶2.  (SBU) The Ministry of Civil Affairs (MCA) is the only 
fully legal registration organ for NGOs in China, but NGOs 
can include many organizations that do not meet the 
traditional western definition of an NGO.  There are three 
major types of legal NGOs in China (ref A).  "Social 
organizations" are formed when a group of Chinese citizens 
come together for a defined activity (foreign social 
organizations are not allowed (Ref B)) and closely align 
with the traditional definition of NGO.  "Non-professional 
institutions" are private schools, research institutes, 
social science organizations (foreign social organizations 
are not allowed).  "Foundations" are organizations that 
disburse funds for social projects (foreign foundations are 
legal).  All three types require a government department or 
mass organization to serve as a sponsor and monitor and are 
required to register with the Ministry of Civil Affairs. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) According to the Guangdong Province Department of 
Civil Affairs there are 19,771 registered NGOs (includes all 
sub-registrations at the municipality level).  Of these, 
9,300 are social organizations, 10,300 are non-professional 
institutions, and 132 are foundations.  However, it is 
important to note how broad the definition of NGO is in this 
context.  `NGOs' in this context include sports 
associations, commercial federations, industrial 
associations, and academic associations.  In this 
vernacular, the Guangdong Tobacco Society is counted in the 
same way as a charity program for disabled people.  A large 
number of these organizations appear to be government- 
organized NGOs (GONGOs).  It is hard to have an accurate 
estimate of how many of each type of NGO there are because 
the municipal and provincial Civil Affairs authorities all 
stated that they do not have that kind of information 
available.  Anecdotally, the number of GONGOs and 
commercial/industrial federations seems to be quite large. 
 
GONGOs?  Neither Government nor `Real NGOs' nor Any Other 
Part Belonging to Civil Society 
--------------------------------------------- --------------- 
- 
 
¶4.  (SBU) The decision by the central government in to 
outsource some of its poverty alleviation programs to NGOs 
has been widely reported (Ref C) but does not indicate an 
upcoming liberalization for NGOs.  In coordination with the 
Asia Development Bank, the central government held a 
competition for NGOs to compete for funding to implement 
poverty relief projects and results were announced early in 
¶2006.  While the World Bank had held similar events in the 
past, this was the first one sponsored by the central 
government.  Local papers trumpeted that this represented 
government recognition of NGO's function in society and that 
it was probable that the program would soon be expanded. 
While this represented a breakthrough in the government's 
willingness to fund other organizations, the details of the 
program show this was more of a modest step than a great 
leap forward. 
 
 
GUANGZHOU 00015376  002 OF 003 
 
 
¶5.  (SBU) Only fully-registered NGOs were allowed to apply 
and foreign NGOs had to have a domestic partner in order to 
apply.  Currently, all NGOs are required to register with a 
sponsoring government department and the Ministry of Civil 
Affairs in ordered to be fully-registered.  Registration 
procedures are so strict that only the most well-connected 
or government-based NGOs (GONGOs) are able to register; in 
fact, one researcher in South China estimates only 10% of 
NGOs are legally registered, severely reducing the number of 
those potentially eligible to apply. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) With one exception, all the recipients of central 
government funds appear to be GONGOs.  GONGOs are legally 
registered, government-based NGOs that have sprung from a 
government department or a mass organization.  Mass 
organizations are organizations such as the Women's 
Federation, the Communist Youth League and the All-China 
Trade Union.  Their goals are to advance their target 
group's interests and support Communist ideology.  One 
recipient, the Jiangxi Youth Development Foundation, was 
founded by the Communist Youth League.  Another, the Shaanxi 
Research Association for Women and Family, appears to be an 
offshoot of the Shaanxi Women's Federation.  GONGOS are 
frequently staffed by current or former members of the 
government or Party and often receive material assistance 
from their parent organization (Ref D).  While many GONGOs 
are capable of providing government-style services 
(educating teachers, building schools, distributing health 
information to target populations) they, in general, do not 
have general public education programs, organize volunteers, 
or do other activities that help to build a civilian base, 
or what one would argue is `civil society.' 
 
Commercial Federations by Any Other Name Would Not Smell as 
Sweet 
--------------------------------------------- --------------- 
----- 
 
¶7.  (SBU) In the fall of 2005, with the backing of the 
Guangdong Civil Affairs Bureau, the Association for the 
Promotion of NGO Development was founded.  The Association's 
Secretary stated to the local press that the Association's 
 
SIPDIS 
aim was to defend the rights of NGOs and improve links with 
the government.  This is a noble goal, as so many NGOs are 
unable to register due to the onerous regulations.  However, 
in reality this is an organization started by commercial 
federations (who are officially counted as NGOs) to create 
an acceptable alternate organization for the benefit of 
commercial federations, so that they alone are not required 
to have a government sponsor in order to register.  Under 
current law, commercial federations have to go through the 
full registration process as a social organization and are 
trying to develop a backdoor that will only be applicable to 
them. 
 
¶8.  (SBU) According to one provincial MCA official, 
commercial and industrial federations are the fastest 
growing sectors of the `NGO community.'  In meetings with 
municipal and provincial MCA authorities, officials eagerly 
cited examples of commercial federations' activities, but 
drew a blank when they were asked about what kind of work 
social-service NGOs did.  While more liberal NGO legislation 
has been promised for many years, one MCA official opined 
that the most likely change would be for business social 
organizations, such as the American Chamber of Commerce- 
South China, to be able to register. 
 
Comment: By a Name I Know Not How to Tell Thee Who I Am 
--------------------------------------------- ---------- 
 
¶9.  (SBU) Comment: These three examples briefly show the 
pitfalls in trying to reconcile Western definitions with 
Chinese usage.  The question of what is a NGO is a lively 
topic in academic circles; one researcher stated that if an 
independent, grassroots NGO does manage to get official 
registration it is no longer is a `real NGO' because of the 
perceived level of state control.  Donors bemoan that 
unregistered NGOs do not look attractive because they can 
not have legal status or official bank accounts.  Others 
argue over whether it is more important to perform a 
 
GUANGZHOU 00015376  003 OF 003 
 
 
charitable service (i.e. build a school), which a GONGO can 
do, or to build a civilian base of volunteers and a `civic 
consciousness'.  Chinese regulations have created a 
structure in where the vast majority of registered `NGOs' 
appear to be GONGOs or commercial, industrial or science 
associations.  What westerners would consider traditional 
NGOs are mainly pushed to the side and forced to operate on 
the margins while GONGOs grab the spotlight.  The reality 
here is that the Chinese media and official figures only 
paint a distorted view of what is happening in the NGO 
community here in South China - no matter how you define a 
NGO.  End Comment. 
 
 
DONG