ICC NOTE: While the move is of no surprise to ICC given the communist party’s actions toward both the Christian community and foreign entities, it is still a sad day to see such a law enacted. In order for NGO’s like ICC to be allowed to operate in China or have partners do so, an official Chinese sponsor must be found along with official registration with the police. NGO’s who are not connected with human rights and/or religious freedom will have a difficult time completing the new requirements. For those who are connected to it, the likelihood of them completing the new requirements will be nearly impossible. Pray for China, the Chinese people, our brothers and sisters in Christ who are facing persecution, and our fellow NGO’s who may lose their ability to help those most in need. 

4/28/2016 China (New York Times) – China took a major step on Thursday in President Xi Jinping’s drive to impose greater control and limit Western influences on Chinese society, as it passed a new law restricting the work of foreign organizations and their local partners, mainly through police supervision.

More than 7,000 foreign nongovernmental groups will be affected, according to state news reports.

Foreign groups working across Chinese civil society — on issues including the environment, philanthropy and cultural exchanges, and possibly even in education and business — will now have to find an official Chinese sponsor and must register with the police. This also applies to groups from Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau.

Those organizations that do not receive official approval will be forced to stop operating in the country. Many groups will probably curtail or eliminate programs deemed politically sensitive, such as training lawyers, in order to remain.

Groups that may have a hard time getting approval include those promoting workers’ rights, ethnic equality and religious freedoms.

The new law is the latest in a series of actions taken by Mr. Xi against the kind of Western influences and ideas that he and other leaders view as a threat to the survival of the Communist Party, such as an independent judiciary and media.

Mr. Xi makes loud pronouncements about ideology, and is expected to enact other sweeping security laws. He has departed sharply from the direction of several of his predecessors, who for decades guided China in seeking out foreign expertise to modernize society.

This latest move is also part of a wider global trend in which powerful nations, including Russia and India, are cracking down on nongovernmental organizations and consolidating power in the state.

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