Chinese officials arrive for a press conference at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, on April 28, 2016. China’s top legislature passed a law providing new regulations on foreign NGOs. 

Registration of overseas NGOs officially began Tuesday in China after a new law that regulates such organizations became effective from the beginning of this year.

In Guangdong Province alone, 25 overseas NGOs applied to register at the public security bureau on the first working day of this year, the Yangcheng Evening News reported.

He Yong, communications manager from the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), told the Global Times they submitted registration materials on Tuesday but don't know how long the process will take to be officially registered.

China's National People's Congress passed the Foreign NGO Management Law on April 28, which is aimed at regulating the activities of NGOs based outside the Chinese mainland. The law stipulates that all overseas NGOs must register at both the police department and the relevant government organs before they can operate legally in the Chinese mainland. On November 28, the Ministry of Public Security(MPS) issued a guideline on their registration, which specified the government departments which are in charge of supervision of organizations operating in different areas.

"The MPS and the State Forestry Administration have maintained frequent communication with IFAW on the new law even before the guideline was officially issued, which has been of great help," He said.

Registration requirements

In order to register a representative office, according to the MPS, overseas NGOs are required to submit files, including identification documents and the curriculum vitae of the person in charge of the proposed office and a statement certifying he or she has no criminal record, as well as evidence of the source of funds. Upon registering a representative office, the NGO must provide its scope of operations and area of activities.

The guideline also states that foreign NGOs that don't have a registered representative but need to engage in temporary activities in the mainland shall do so in cooperation with a "Chinese partner," which may be government organs, public institutions or social organizations.

However, some overseas NGOs have expressed concern that the new law may restrict their operations.

Christina Shen, an employee of a US-based NGO dedicated to promoting LGBT rights, told the Global Times on Tuesday that their organization has temporarily stopped conducting activities in the Chinese mainland in the face of the new law.

"Our operations will be affected before we officially register, so we chose to wait and see what happens next," Shen said. She said she had learned there were a number of other organizations working in the same area that decided to pull from China without applying to be registered with the authorities.

Some organizations that work for the LGBT community may find it difficult to register under the new law. The MPS' guideline stipulates that organizations that fall in the category of sex rights should register with the All-China Women's Federation, however, one of such organizations was told by the women's federation that it was unaware of the registration process, according to Yanzi, an employee from a Chinese LGBT-rights NGO based in Guangzhou.

Fading funding

The new law has also raised concerns among some Chinese NGOs that receive funding from overseas.

According to Article 9 of the law, a foreign NGO cannot engage in any activity before it has registered a representative office in the mainland or submitted documents stating it intends to carry out temporary activities. Unregistered overseas NGOs are forbidden to finance Chinese organizations or individuals to carry out activities on the former's behalf.

"International NGOs are a major source of our funds. If they are forbidden from operating in China, we will not get enough funding as we can't find any Chinese foundation that finances organizations of our kind," said Yanzi.

The Shenzhen Chunfeng Labor Dispute Legal Assistance, a domestic NGO dedicated to providing legal consultancy in labor disputes, also published an announcement on January 1, declaring it has "fully ceased cooperation programs with overseas NGOs that have not acquired legal status according to the law."

To help overseas NGOs register in China under the new law, 36 lawyers established a group on Tuesday to provide legal advice. They will hold seminars for overseas NGOs and help them with the paperwork, Huang Sha, one of the lawyers from the group, told the Global Times.

There are over 7,000 overseas NGOs operating in China, but only a few of them use legal services from Chinese legal groups, Huang said. "Now that China has a new law to regulate these NGOs, they need to know how to comply with the law," he said.