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All China charities to be overseen by police, anti-spying agencies under proposed revisions to 2016 law
- Draft revisions to the Charity Law, posted on the NPC website, will remain open for public comment for a month
- Online fundraising among issues to come under the scanner, with added focus on Communist Party leadership of sector
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Yuanyue Dangin Beijing
Proposed revisions to a 2016 law governing charities in China aim to have all such bodies overseen by a wider range of law enforcement agencies, including anti-espionage officials.
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Draft revisions to the Charity Law were posted on the website of the National People’s Congress (NPC), the country’s top legislature, on Wednesday.
Lawmakers had discussed the proposals in a session that ended on Tuesday, and they will remain open for public consultation for 30 days, the post said.
The revisions, if adopted, will impose tighter restrictions on all charities – both non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and officially-backed ones. The move is in line with the trend of Beijing placing Chinese civil society placed under greater scrutiny, with a specific focus on exchanges with overseas entities.
The proposed amendments are the first since the Charity Law came into force six years ago.
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China already has some of the strictest laws regarding NGOs and their operations. A law specifically targeting overseas NGOs, which took effect in 2017, severely restricts their scope by putting all activities under police scrutiny.
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