Overseas NGOs are welcome in China, security officials say

China said overseas NGOs are welcome to carry out friendly exchanges and cooperation in the country.

Efficient and convenient services will be provided for overseas NGOs and their legitimate rights and interests will be protected, according to a statement from the overseas NGO management office under the Ministry of Public Security.

Authorities in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangdong province have issued registration certificates to 32 representative offices of NGOs from outside the Chinese mainland, according to the MPS.

Registration services for overseas NGO offices became mandatory on Jan 1, with a new law on overseas NGOs taking effect the same day.

To support the process, the ministry, which is responsible for registering the organizations, has released a guideline, set up registration counters at provincial-level police offices and launched a supporting website.

Registration records of some overseas NGOs, which were previously kept at the civil affairs and industrial and commercial authorities, have also been transferred to the new authority in charge.

The ministry and other authorities have held a number of meetings with representatives from overseas NGOs as well as delegates from the European Union to China and from foreign embassies and consulates, to listen to their suggestions on the new process.

In Shanghai and Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong province, police have provided demonstrations of the new procedures to foreign diplomats and representatives of overseas NGOs.

The new law, adopted by the top legislature in April, requests that all NGOs outside the Chinese mainland secure approval to operate in the mainland.

The ministry said it will continue to improve the new service.