4 fake, illegal NGOs banned

Beijing has banned four illegal associations that were operating under the guise of nongovernment organizations, according to the Beijing Civil Affairs Bureau.

Previous investigations found that the four failed to register with civil affairs authorities, violating the regulations on domestic NGO administration in China, the bureau said.

One of them — China Digital Information and Security Industrial Alliance — was also found to have organized activities in the name of national institutes to accumulate wealth, which has “severely harmed” the credibility and reputation of those institutes.

Local governments in Hebei and Gansu provinces, and Shenyang Normal University in Liaoning province were among those that signed contracts with the association while ignorant of their status, according to the bureau.

The other three organizations are China Association for Energy Equipment, China Sports Entrepreneur Club and China Alliance for Soil Environment Restoration Technology.

The bureau said three others had been banned earlier this year for similar offenses, including the Chinese Children Art Educators Association.

The Ministry of Civil Affairs released this month a list of 179 such organizations suspected of carrying out illegal activities without permits and warned the public of potential fraud.

According to the ministry, such organizations usually claim to serve national strategies such as the Belt and Road Initiative or targeted poverty alleviation, and charge money for granting certificates or docking project funds.

“That has caused much financial loss for the governments and institutes on the grassroots level,” said An Ning, deputy head of the ministry’s social organization management bureau.

Such organizations are deceitful because their names usually contain “China”, “national”, “global” and “UN” — which signals government endorsement and support, he said.

He said the ministry will cooperate with the public security organs and other departments to carry out a national crackdown targeting organizations amassing money under the guise of NGOs and publicize their names as soon as possible.

The ministry will also call for the administrative rules to be amended and to be more detailed, An said.

The public can verify NGO credentials and report suspicious activities at chinanpo.gov.cn.

Illegal organizations can also be reported via email to jbshzz@vip.163.com, or fax to 010-58124144.