VZCZCXRO6032
RR RUEHAST RUEHHM RUEHLN RUEHMA RUEHPB RUEHPOD RUEHTM RUEHTRO
DE RUEHGZ #0162/01 0700731
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 110731Z MAR 09
FM AMCONSUL GUANGZHOU
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0335
INFO RUEHGZ/CHINA POSTS COLLECTIVE 0126
RUEHZN/ENVIRONMENT SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY COLLECTIVE 0001
RHMFIUU/HQ EPA WASHINGTON DC 0015
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHINGTON DC 0069
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHINGTON DC 0062
RHEHAAA/NSC WASHDC 0023
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC 0114
RUEKJCS/DIA WASHDC 0114
RHHMUNA/HQ USPACOM HONOLULU HI

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 GUANGZHOU 000162 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EAP/CM, OES/PCI, DRL, AND EAP/PD 
STATE ALSO PASS USTR FOR CHINA OFFICE 
EPA FOR OFFICE OF INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EFIN EAGR PGOV SOCI ECON CH
SUBJECT: Sustainable NGO Development in Fujian: A Lesson from Green 
Cross 
 
REF: A) Guangzhou 0418, B) Guangzhou 1297 
 
¶1. (U) Registered non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Fujian 
province are few and far between, but at least one, Xiamen Green 
Cross, is finding room to operate successfully and form a 
cooperative relationship with government authorities.  After 10 
years of gradually expanding environmental and energy-efficiency 
campaigns, Green Cross obtained the official support of both the 
Xiamen and Fujian authorities, in large part because its mission and 
activities complemented government priorities.   Green Cross has 
expanded public buy-in through education campaigns targeting 
specific audiences.  Its founder believes that one of the major 
challenges facing NGOs in Fujian today is lack of opportunities to 
share information and assist each other in capacity building.  End 
Summary. 
 
 -------------------------- 
It's All About the Mission 
-------------------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) Official tolerance of NGOs appears to be growing in Fujian 
Province, at least in the case of environmental groups whose mission 
and activities complement government efforts.   Green Cross is one 
environmental NGO that has succeeded in gaining government approval 
and even support.  Its mission of environmental protection and 
energy-efficiency falls in line with municipal and provincial 
development goals like reduced energy consumption as well as the 
promotion of ecotourism and ecological preservation.  Green Cross's 
campaigns such as "Island Care Day," citizens picking up trash along 
the beach, help to promote these goals.  In addition, these 
activities offer a public service that the government is otherwise 
unable to provide due to a lack of capacity. 
 
¶3. (U) The Fujian government has even taken proactive steps to 
encourage the growth of environmental NGOs.  In November 2008, it 
hosted a large-scale environmental NGO training program, coordinated 
by the China Environmental Awareness Program (a three-year program 
launched by UNDP and China's Ministry of Environmental Protection), 
the Fujian Provincial NGO Administration, the Volunteer Center of 
the Fujian Provincial Committee of the Communist Youth League, and 
the Fujian Center for Environmental Education and Communication. 
The event included Fujian's first Outstanding Environmental 
Volunteers Ceremony, suggesting greater tolerance of civil society 
participation in environmental affairs. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Comment: Fujian, however, is not supporting the work of all 
environmental NGOs.  The experience of Pingnan Green Home, which was 
established to respond to the environmental damage caused by a 
government-backed gunpowder factory, has been quite different. 
Because Pingnan Green Home brings attention to a lack of 
governmental oversight rather than complement the local government's 
development agenda, the NGO and local officials are at odds, 
including ongoing legal cases.  Ma emphasizes that while Green Cross 
does not want to be a 'government puppet,' it does understand the 
importance of close cooperation with the local government to 
ensuring the organization's sustainability.  End comment. 
 
------------------------------------------- 
Obtaining Government Support and Legal Status 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
¶5. (SBU) Government support is not a simple matter even with a 
complementary mission.  According to Azure Ma, founder of Green 
Cross, obtaining government-backing is a long, complex road, one 
that has taken her organization almost 10 years to achieve.  The 
ways to get government support vary, but Ma tells us that Xiamen 
began to support Green Cross after in conducted multiple, successful 
environmental campaigns and proved both the organization's 
value-added to the local community, and the non-threatening nature 
of its work.  Such campaigns have included launching Xiamen's first 
city-wide 'Car Free Day' and promoting an annual energy-efficiency 
'Black-out' night in downtown Xiamen. 
 
¶6. (SBU) Lack of government support makes legal registration 
impossible, says one local organizer, leaving many of Fujian's NGOs 
to operate under the radar.  Ma emphasized that the lack of legal 
status makes it harder for NGOs to achieve long-term sustainability. 
 However, she noted that many local NGO's lack strategic long-term 
 
GUANGZHOU 00000162  002 OF 003 
 
 
development plans, making the desire for legal recognition less 
important. 
 
¶7. (SBU) Official NGO registration requires sponsorship from at 
least two 'parent' organizations, the local Civil Administration, 
and a relevant, local governmental department.  NGOs that are able 
to register are then monitored by Fujian's Provincial NGO 
Administration.  Green Cross is sponsored by the Economic and 
Development Bureau, Construction Bureau, Transportation Bureau, and 
Environmental Protection Bureau.   Prior to receiving official NGO 
status, Green Cross was registered as an enterprise with the local 
Administration for Industry and Commerce.  Ma commented that Green 
Cross's motive for registration as an official NGO was to alleviate 
its tax burden, rather than a matter of principle. 
 
------------------------------- 
Public Buy-in and Participation 
------------------------------- 
 
¶8. (SBU) Government support is not the only challenge for Fujian's 
NGOs; they must also get public buy-in.  For many local residents, 
efforts to encourage community participation in environmental 
affairs are stifled by either a lack of awareness or fear of 
government reprisal.  For Green Cross, public education has been 
key.  According to Ma, the organization has raised awareness by 
crafting programs that emphasize public responsibility and the role 
of the individual as a stakeholder in his/her community.      To 
heighten public participation, Green Cross uses a strategy of 
targeting education programs to specific audiences: 1) school-aged 
children and youth ages 20-30 and 2) enterprises and the public at 
large. 
 
¶9. (SBU) For youth, the focus is teaching through visually 
stimulating activities.  Green Cross has held art workshops 
promoting environmental protection, workshops on building solar cars 
and joint teacher-student activities.  The 20-30 year-old 
demographic is the backbone of the organization, spearheading 
internal brainstorming and leading public education campaigns. 
Previous campaigns lead by youth include 'No Plastic Bag Day,' in 
which volunteers staffed local shopping malls to deter the use of 
plastic bags. 
 
¶10. (SBU) To raise awareness within the public at large and among 
potential donor enterprises, Green Cross authored and distributed 
the "Xiamen Citizen Guide on Environmental Disclosure and Public 
Participation."  Also, in April 2008, Green Cross held a conference 
on public participation, during which NGOs, local environmental 
officials, donor enterprises and the general public were invited to 
exchange ideas on issues as varied as NGO financing and 
government-NGO coordination.  Green Cross was one of the vocal 
environmental organizations raising public awareness during the PX 
Plant incident of 2007 (ref B). 
 
--------------------------------------------- --------- 
Challenges: Local NGO Capacity Building and Networking 
--------------------------------------------- --------- 
 
¶11. (SBU) The lack of opportunities for information sharing between 
NGOs is one of the major challenges facing Fujian's non-profit 
sector.  According to Ma, it is imperative that NGOs do not solely 
focus on individual development, but also on capacity building among 
likeminded organizations.  Many organizations, especially 
unregistered ones, are unaware of legal regulations and remedies 
that apply to their specific missions, and are unknowledgeable about 
available resources or how to pursue long-term organizational 
development. 
 
¶12. (SBU) Green Cross proactively seeks to broaden its impact by 
increasing its network both locally and nationally, a route that Ma 
encourages all environmental NGOs to take.  Nationally, Green Cross 
is a member organization of Beijing-headquartered Friends of Nature, 
which describes itself as China's oldest environmental NGO, as well 
as the National Green Community Network.  Locally, Green Cross, 
along with several local organizers, are working to strengthen the 
capacity of Fujian's environmental NGOs through the development of 
Fujian's Grassroots Network. 
 
 
 
GUANGZHOU 00000162  003.2 OF 003 
 
 
GOLDBERG