Nonprofit Groups Face More Scrutiny in China

Nonprofit activists in China say that new government scrutiny of charities is making it more difficult to do their work, says The Washington Post.

The Chinese government has issued new rules on receiving foreign donations and since March has required organizations to present tax authorities with notarized copies of donation agreements, the Post reports. Also, religious organizations now need government permission before they can accept large gifts from outside the country.

This week Wan Yanhai, head of the Beijing Aizhixing Institute of Health Education, an AIDS organization, fled with his family to the United States because of what he said was government persecution of the organization, according to the newspaper.

China’s Ministry of Civil Affairs did not respond to the Post’s questions on the government’s policies, the newspaper said.

Nicholas Young, a British citizen who once ran a nonprofit newsletter in China, says the government wants “a civil society with Chinese characteristics.” Says Mr. Young: “They want it to be ‘civil’ in the Chinese sense—light, not antagonistic and not pushing the envelope too far.”

Read a Chronicle opinion article about how China treats nonprofit groups.

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