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DE RUEHGZ #0192/01 0910727
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 010727Z APR 09
FM AMCONSUL GUANGZHOU
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0375
INFO RUEHGZ/CHINA POSTS COLLECTIVE 0142
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC 0125
RUEKJCS/DIA WASHDC 0121
RHHMUNA/HQ USPACOM HONOLULU HI

UNCLAS GUANGZHOU 000192 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EAP/CM, OES/PCI, DRL 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV SOCI CH
SUBJECT: Making Room for Civil Society - Guangdong NGO Leaders Talk 
Sector Development, Capacity Building, and Ongoing Challenges 
 
REF: Guangzhou 0017 
 
¶1. (U) Summary and Comment.  What can you expect if you work for a 
Guangdong NGO?  At best, a degree of official oversight, which could 
be even greater than before if authorities follow through with the 
idea of having a party committee in each NGO.  At worst, outright 
interference, especially if you're dealing with a sensitive issue, 
like labor or human rights, which suggests to people that perhaps 
the party has not lived up to its obligations in this area.  More 
than likely, you're navigating the terrain "in between."  At a March 
23 informal NGO luncheon hosted by the Consul General, NGO leaders 
representing labor, HIV/AIDS, and environmental protection 
organizations also pointed out that attitudes among officials often 
vary by the age of the official (though we have found some younger 
officials who are, to put it mildly, more "officious" than their 
elders).  Conversation over lunch turned to capacity building 
(getting better educated and more highly skilled personnel), 
fundraising, international cooperation and what the U.S. might do. 
Invariably, with regard to the latter, the response was general 
support but the recognition was that the NGOs needed to build their 
own organizations up without the appearance of outside direction. 
End Summary and Comment. 
 
----------------------------------------- 
Government Perceptions are Fickle At Best 
----------------------------------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) Local government perceptions of NGOs are based on a complex 
matrix of factors; what's important varies from NGO to NGO, locality 
to locality, government official to government official.  For some 
NGOs, their interaction with local authorities is based on the 
organization's mission and activities.  If an organization's 
activities, for example environmental protection, fill a gap in 
public services that the government does not have the capacity to 
provide or supplements government services (often with an 
acknowledgement by the NGO to that effect and that the two, 
government and NGO, are working together to achieve the same aim), 
authorities are likely to be more amenable toward the organization. 
Yuan Shuwen, China Project Manager for Friends of the Earth, told us 
that Guangdong authorities are actually more liberal when it comes 
to local NGO participation in environmental protection than their 
northern counterparts.  However, if the NGOs mission threatens local 
authorities by highlighting transparency and accountability, as 
might be perceived in the case of NGOs advancing workers rights, the 
relationship between NGO and government officials might be 
contentious.  According to Huang Qingnan, founder of the Workers 
Work Safety and Health Center, local authorities tolerate NGO 
activities insofar as they don't endanger local officials' 
reputations or prospects for promotion. 
 
¶3. (SBU) To complicate matters even more, local government attitudes 
toward NGOs often (though not always) vary along generational 
divides.  According to Chung To, founder of the Chi Heng Foundation, 
'old guard' and more senior officials are likely to view NGO 
activities and programs as a criticism, direct or implicit, of their 
inability to provide certain services.  Worse, they might be viewed 
as precursors of the much dreaded color revolutions.  Younger, more 
progressive officials are likely to view NGOs as a useful supplement 
to government-provided public services, and this could portend 
future opening for NGOs in Guangdong.  However, all the NGOs at the 
luncheon agree that the recent trend appears to be one of tighter 
control. 
 
--------------------------------------------- -------- 
Big Brother: Guangdong is First to Increase Oversight 
--------------------------------------------- -------- 
 
¶4. (U) Guangzhou is taking the lead in strengthening NGO oversight 
with the establishment of China's first Communist Party of China 
(CPC) Work Committee for Social Organizations Administration. 
Established March 26, the committee is supposed to manage all 
industrial and professional associations in Guangdong, establishing 
CPC branches in social organizations that do not have supervising 
official agencies, e.g., unregistered NGOs.  How this oversight 
mechanism will play out in the development of Guangdong's civil 
society is still unclear, but it could well have a chilling effect 
on the autonomy of local NGOs. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ---------- 
GD's Operating Environment: Navigating an Uncharted Sea 
--------------------------------------------- ---------- 
 
¶5. (U) At the March 23 lunch and in our other conversations, NGO 
leaders have emphasized that Guangdong's NGO sector is in its 
infancy compared to other regions, and navigating it requires 
considerable caution.  With mounting local government scrutiny and 
 
an operating environment full of unknowns, an NGO's quest for 
legitimacy and legal standing can  be a daunting one.  Most local 
NGOs are not able to register legally, a process that requires the 
endorsement of more than one local government agency, and they 
operate under the radar (though not so far under the radar that 
local officials don't know of their existence or aren't monitoring 
their activities).  Without legal standing, local NGOs have to 
consider carefully the legal implications of their activities.  Most 
NGO leaders agree that local government does not support the public 
promotion of their activities.  Zhu Qiang, head of the Zhi Qiang 
Consulting Firm, commented that it was difficult to organize an 
event larger than 100 people because the local police would deny the 
request to hold the event. 
 
¶6. (SBU) Part of solidifying an NGO's standing in the community is 
public buy-in.  Philanthropy as a cultural phenomenon has yet to 
take hold, leaving much of the general public wondering about who 
supports the NGO's activities and the value-added NGOs bring in 
building a civil society.  Chi Heng's Colin Ye said that when he 
tells locals about Chi Heng they often ask whether the organization 
is anti-government.  He noted that citizens were more inclined to 
inquire about why an individual would work for a non-profit, where 
wages and benefits are lower; they seem less interested in the 
actual role the NGO plays in the community.  Despite gaps in 
understanding, NGO leaders tell us, local support for NGOs is 
growing.  Guangdong's NGO sector has seen an influx of volunteers, 
with increased participation by more highly skilled personnel.  Some 
local professors have also begun to offer free training programs to 
complement the mission of many NGOs, which vary from environmental 
and health and safety (EHS) training for factory managers to 
workshops on labor rights for migrant workers. 
 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
A Lack of Capacity and Funding Challenges Growth 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
 
¶7. (SBU) The growth of Guangdong's NGO sector will largely depend on 
capacity building.  Many NGOs still lack skilled leadership and a 
sense of how to sustain their development.  Similarly technical and 
management resources are deficit (e.g., how to use information 
technology for advocacy purposes) and NGOs are behind in best 
practices relating to public relations, financial management and 
fundraising, strategic planning, and governance and leadership.  As 
some of the NGO leaders explained, there is hardly any training in 
NGO management as universities have yet to integrate courses on the 
non-profit sector into their traditional curriculum. 
 
¶8. (SBU) Funding for NGOs is as variable as the wind; sometimes the 
money blows in, and sometimes it doesn't.  For some NGOs, the global 
economic downturn has affected the amount of money they receive from 
private donors, but for others, such as Chi Heng Foundation, the 
downturn has had little impact because the majority of funding comes 
from foundations, not private donors.   Many NGO leaders said it was 
rare to receive large, sustained private sector donations, except as 
Mr. Chung To of the Chi Heng Foundation told us, when there are 
major international campaigns such as the Sichuan earthquake relief 
effort.  Some entrepreneurs offer donations, but not in significant 
amounts.  Zhu Qiang of the Zhi Qiang consulting firm said that 
entrepreneurs were more likely to donate material goods such as 
clothing rather than money.  Money donations from international 
entities add to government suspicion of NGOs, as local authorities 
are likely to question the level of international influence (and 
direction) the NGOs. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
International Support: Help Us, but From a Distance! 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
 
¶9. (SBU) Do-gooders beware: local NGOs want support, but not at the 
risk of appearing to be puppets of the "outside" groups.  For some 
local authorities, the phrase 'non-governmental organizations' 
evokes thoughts of Western democracies placing their imprint on the 
domestic affairs of China.  As a result, the role that foreigners 
play in the operations of local NGOs, whether financial or 
participatory, 'colors' authorities' engagement with NGOs.  Ms. Yuan 
of Friends of the Earth, who used to work for the local 
Environmental Protection Bureau (EPB), said that local government is 
highly concerned about foreign influence on local NGOs, citing the 
local government's contentious relationship with Guangzhou's 
Greenpeace office. (Note: The Guangzhou office of Greenpeace was 
forced to reduce its profile and staff following government ire 
directed at the release of its report on agricultural produce and 
pesticide residue. End Note.) Zhu Qiang pointed out that after his 
organization received State Department grant funding in 2004, 
investigators dispatched by the local government asked why the NGO 
was granted funding and how it was used. Zhu was eventually asked to 
 
disclose the organization's accounting records.  Chung To told us 
that it might be more effective if the USG provided support 
discretely, rather than publicly, due to the still sensitive nature 
of the NGO sector in south China. 
 
¶10. (SBU) Guangdong's non-profit sector is going to need a lot more 
than money to be sustainable; NGOs are going to need partnerships. 
Ms. Yuan told us that stronger U.S. cooperation can assist local 
NGOs in linking up with their foreign counterparts, thus increasing 
exchange in the areas of theory, best practices and development 
opportunities.  Through local-foreign cooperation, with the local 
groups providing knowledge of the on-the-ground operating 
environment, foreign organizations can strengthen and extend their 
outreach efforts.  Such partnerships are gaining popularity due to 
the work of organizations like the Gates Foundation, Rockefeller 
Brothers Fund and the Institute for Sustainable Communities in south 
China. 
 
-------------- 
NGO Background 
-------------- 
 
¶11. (U) The NGOs represented included: 
 
--Chi Heng Foundation.  Founded in 1988, Chi Heng Foundation is an 
HIV/AIDS NGO registered in Hong Kong, with a satellite office in 
Guangzhou.  The organization focuses on serving AIDS orphans and 
providing assistance to men having sex with men (MSM), commercial 
sex workers, and migrant workers. 
 
--Zhi Qiang Consulting Firm.  Shenzhen-based Zhi Qiang Consulting 
Firm was founded by two migrant workers who suffered occupational 
injuries.  Zhi Qiang's mission is to strengthen migrant workers' 
awareness of their rights, and to provide counseling and training 
services. 
 
--Worker's Work Safety and Health Center.  With a similar mission, 
Workers Work Safety and Health Center, also located in Shenzhen, is 
dedicated to protecting labor rights and providing training and 
legal advice on labor disputes. 
 
--Friends of the Earth.  One of Hong Kong's most prominent green 
organizations, Friends of the Earth, through its office in 
Guangzhou, seeks to engage local government, enterprises, and the 
general public in promoting sustainable environmental policies and 
practices. 
 
 
GOLDBERG