NGOs spring free from official bonds

Luo Jianming never expected his first attempt at registering a non-governmental organization (NGO) would be so successful. The entire registration process took less than two months, despite warnings from others that the procedure could take forever.

Luo, a Guangdong native, became famous initially under his Internet pseudonym of Basuofengyun for his participation in public petitioning against a waste incineration plant initially planned to be built near residential compounds in Guangzhou in 2011. The plant was eventually suspended.

Inspired by the petition, Luo planned to establish an NGO to promote environmental protection ideas in local communities in 2012, especially concentrating on garbage classification work. 

Getting NGO status in China has traditionally been seen as nearly impossible, but Luo decided to try anyway, regardless of discouragement from his well-meaning friends.

"It was unexpectedly successful. We submitted the application on February 17, 2012 and got approval in April. And we officially opened in June," he told the Global Times.

Luo wrote down the detailed application process in his blog to share with those who intended to apply for NGO status but still had doubts and fears. The articles were later widely circulated on the Internet.

"Many people left questions like: Were the government officials friendly to you? Was it easy to get done ? How much should we pay? You can see that people still had a lot of questions and misunderstandings," Luo said.

Luo said he met with no obstacles from officials, and that sometimes they would go through the unfamiliar procedures with him.

Underdeveloped society

Luo's friends' fears were well-rooted in the country's history, since China's NGO sector remains underdeveloped. Severe restrictions and the need to partner with government organizations held back the development of civil charities. The country was essentially starting from scratch in terms of civil society.

On average, developed countries and regions have 50 social organizations per 10,000 people. In Germany, it's 120, France 110, Japan 97, the US 52, and Hong Kong a disappointing 25. But on the Chinese mainland, it's a shockingly 3.3.

The fourth World Conference on Women, held in Beijing in 1995, could be seen as the rebirth of grass-roots NGOs in China, since it was the first time since the founding of the People's Republic in 1949 that Chinese had an opportunity to meet with representatives of global NGOs face to face.

Before that, most social organizations in China had a strong official color.

"This contact stimulated some Chinese to begin building up real grass-roots NGOs in China and soon this movement spread across the country and by now you can find NGOs in each provincial area. They cover almost all public service areas," said Deng Guosheng, former director of Institute of NGO Study at the School of Public Policy and Management at Tsinghua University, who has observed NGO development in China over the past decade.

In the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake, a large number of grass-roots NGOs became prominent after the disaster provided them a platform to display their abilities. NGOs' work in disaster relief and rebuilding was recognized by the government and the public.

"The power of NGOs in China is growing and the government is realizing their unique value," Deng said.

"In the past, the biggest obstacle for NGO development in China was the strict registration and management mode. If you want to register a NGO, you must find a government department to serve as a partner. However, most government departments would turn it down as they didn't want to take on the responsibility, which meant most NGOs were unable to have a legal identity," Deng said.

Because of being unable to register, most grass-roots NGOs in China existed in a gray zone. They were unable to obtain legal sponsorship or to conduct large-scale activity and feared the possibility of a clampdown by the government at any moment.

Although there are no official figures on exactly how many such unregistered grass-roots NGOs exist, Deng estimated the number could be between 1 million and 1.5 million. 

"It is no wonder people find it hard to believe there are so many NGOs in the country because most of them are too small and weak. The development of NGOs and civil society in China is far behind the country's economic development," Deng said.