MA Yong: Crucial to Clarify the Enforcement Boundaries of the Law of the PRC on Administration of Activities of Overseas NGOs in the Mainland of China

 Editor's Note: On the morning of June 6, 2023, the Legal Working Committee of the China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation (CBCGDF) hosted a "Melodious Deer Chirping—CBCGDF Expert Interview" Dialogue and invited experts and scholars in the field of law and governance from relevant organizations, to guide and carry out public legal education, focusing on the study and discussion of Law of the PRC on Administration of Activities of  Overseas NGOs in the Mainland of China.

The background of this event lies in the ongoing revision of the "People's Republic of China Charity Law." In the draft soliciting opinions for this law, a proposed addition was made to encourage international charitable exchanges. How can social organizations "go global" and enhance cooperation with overseas non-governmental organizations to effectively advance the progress of SDGs? It is necessary to study the relevant laws in this regard. During this Dialogue, professors and experts from various fields shared their insightful perspectives.

The summary speech of Mr. Ma Yong, Deputy Secretary-General of CBCGDF as follows:

In today's discussion, the Legal Affairs Committee of CBCGDF invited eight experts to conduct in-depth discussions, and the results were very good.

First, the topic is the Law of the PRC on Administration of Activities of  Overseas NGOs in the Mainland of China. The legislative purpose and value orientation of the law may involve more theoretical issues. Judging from the legal provisions, it uses the expression "standardize, guide, guarantee, and promote". The law also stipulates that "promoting, opening up, and cooperating" does not mean restricting non-profit institutions and individuals from contacting foreign organizations. It also needs to be more open and promote cooperation. Now it is necessary to build a community with a shared future for mankind and a community with a shared future for the earth. We need to implement and tell the Chinese story well, so from the perspective of legislative purposes, social organizations should be encouraged to actively establish contact with overseas charities.

Second, regarding the combination of legislation and law enforcement, some key views were discussed, and the basic scope of the law and the boundaries of law enforcement were clarified. From the point of view of the principle of legislation, for the public authority, the law cannot do anything without authorization. Law enforcement agencies must administer according to law, and without clear legal provisions or corresponding authorizations, they should not restrict or restrict the work activities of relevant agencies. For social organizations or individuals, there is nothing prohibited by the law. The key issue is that, in discussions and debates, with regard to the provisions of Articles 9 and 32 of the law, except for the three types of "activities" that cannot be carried out, social organizations can actively carry out international cooperation according to law exchange work.

Third, we discussed the issue of pure donations or rewards. In practice, there are simple donations from abroad and some come from incentive bonuses, which are non-restricted donations. How should we look at this issue? First, in terms of donations, there is no distinction between cash donations and non-cash donations. We only talk about donations. The simple and unrestricted donations made by foreign organizations to domestic institutions have no attached conditions or regulations. They do not act as agents or agents in disguise. The second half of the situation stipulated in Article 2 is only an unrestricted donation fund received in the early stage. Then, if social organizations independently carry out relevant work and use funds according to their business scope, does it belong to "carrying out activities"? During the discussion, several experts believed that it definitely did not belong to. Second, regarding the issue of rewards and bonuses, it is obvious that it does not fit well with "activities", that is to say, the issue of rewards and bonuses should not be included in the legal provisions of the management law. Otherwise, none of our social organizations or individuals may be able to receive foreign awards. Because there are many rewards to apply for and report. The awarding organization may present the award in May. If you want to apply, it has not been approved in July or August. After the approval, the awarding event may have ended long ago. In addition, there are some awards that are judged anonymously, and you are notified of the award when you don't know it. How do you report for approval in advance? Will I be fined if I apply for approval afterwards? Therefore, in this sense, experts believe that it does not belong to the scope of the management law.

Today's study will clarify the issue of simple donations and rewards. Although there are still some individual opinions, generally speaking, everyone's views are relatively clear. After the meeting, in response to the speeches of the experts, we will conduct in-depth exchanges and communication with the experts.

Thank you all for your smart contributions this morning. I hope you will continue to support our work in the future, thank you!

Reporter: Daisy

Checked by Sara

Editor: Daisy

Contact: v10@cbcgdf.org; +8617319454776

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