中国境外NGO法律引恐外争议

Dozens of non-governmental organisations, business associations and foreign governments have hit out at a “xenophobic” Chinese law that critics say could severely limit everything from charitable activities to educational exchanges with the outside world.

数十个非政府组织(NGO)、商业协会及外国政府，已对中国一条“恐外”法律发起强烈谴责。批评人士表示，这一法律可能会严重限制从慈善活动到对外教育交流在内的一切活动。

A public comment period for a draft law regulating foreign NGOs closes on Wednesday, triggering an outpouring of criticism. Most controversially, it gives China’s Ministry of Public Security oversight over a sector that has previously worked most closely with the Ministry of Civil Affairs.

《中华人民共和国境外非政府组织管理法（草案二次审议稿）》（简称《草案》）将于6月4日结束对公众征求意见。它引发了大量批评。最具争议的是，《草案》让中国公安部监督一个此前与民政部合作最密切的领域。

The legislation’s more draconian provisions require foreign NGOs to find an official government “sponsor”, which must approve their activities for 2016 by November 30.

《草案》中比以往更严厉的条款要求，境外NGO必须拥有官方的“业务主管单位”。境外NGO将在2016年开展的活动，必须在今年11月30日以前由业务主管单位批准。

Failure to comply with the new rules could subject foreign NGOs and their domestic partners to criminal penalties.

如未能遵守这些新的规定，可能会令境外NGO及其国内合作方受到刑事处罚。

“When you read the law it’s scary,” says Anthony Spires, a sociologist at the Chinese University of Hong Kong and civil society expert. “It could fundamentally alter the way NGOs operate in China.”

香港中文大学(Chinese University of Hong Kong)社会学家、公民社会专家安子杰(Anthony Spires)表示：“这一法律读起来令人害怕。它可能会从根本上改变NGO在华运作方式。”

Prof Spires recently attended a meeting on the new law hosted by the China Association for NGO Co-operation, or Cango, at which participants were “extremely critical”. Cango said it could not comment immediately because the organisation’s secretary-general was in Europe on a business trip.

安子杰教授最近参加了由中国国际民间组织合作促进会(CANGO)主持召开的有关这一新法律的会议。在此次会议上，与会者对该法律表示“极大谴责”。而中国国际民间组织合作促进会则表示，由于该组织的秘书长正在欧洲出差，该组织无法立刻置评此事。

Most NGOs, whether Chinese or foreign, are reluctant to speak publicly about the controversy, which many say reflects a larger campaign by the ruling Chinese Communist party to root out “hostile foreign forces” and snuff out any signs of dissent in civil society.

不论是中国的NGO还是外国NGO，多数都不愿公开谈及这一争议。许多人表示，这一争议反映出执政的中国共产党正在开展一场更大规模的运动，以根除“境外敌对势力”，在公民社会中消除不满迹象。

Similar concerns have been expressed about the Chinese government’s draft counter-terrorism and national security laws, as well as regulations that would have forced banks to buy only equipment deemed “secure and controllable” by the banking regulator and industries ministry. The banking regulations were suspended in April after a concerted lobbying effort by Washington, Brussels and US and EU business groups.

对于中国政府的反恐法及国家安全法草案，以及有关银行的信息安全新规，人们也表达了类似担忧。该银行信息安全新规由中国银监会和工信部发布，原本要强制银行只购买被两者视为“安全可控”的设备。今年4月，在美国、欧盟(EU)、及欧美商业团体的共同游说努力下，这一银行监管规定被暂停实施。

“This law is driven by a kind of xenophobia,” said one person who works closely with small Chinese NGOs. “It is therefore not about regulating a sector but controlling that sector because of its association with ‘bad’ foreign influences.”

一位与多家小型中国NGO密切合作的人士表示：“该法律是在一种恐外情绪推动下制定的。因此它的目的不是监管、而是控制该领域，因为后者与外国‘不良’影响有关。”

The public security and civil affairs ministries declined to comment. In a rare public expression of concern, the European Chamber of Commerce in China said the law would affect a broad array of organisations that its member countries “rely on for information sharing, research, market development, innovation . . . [and] corporate social responsibility activities”.

中国公安部和民政部均拒绝置评此事。对该法律担忧的罕见公开表态来自中国欧盟商会(European Chamber of Commerce in China)，欧盟商会表示，该法律可能会影响许多组织，而该商会的成员国“依靠（这些组织）进行信息共享、研究、市场开发、创新……（以及）企业社会责任活动”。

“The increase in the administrative burden and related costs for foreign NGOs is set to be significant,” said the chamber’s president, Jörg Wuttke. “Foreign NGOs will find it ever less appealing to stay in China, depriving the Chinese marketplace of an important catalyst and international businesses of a trusted partner.”

中国欧盟商会主席伍德克(Jörg Wuttke)表示：“境外NGO的管理负担及相关成本将显著增加。境外NGO会发现留在中国的吸引力远不如从前，这一方面会令中国市场失去重要的催化剂，另一方面则会令国际企业失去可信赖的合作伙伴。”

A spokesman for the EU delegation to China said the bloc, China’s largest trading partner, was “very concerned about the draft law”. He noted the legislation’s vague definitions for what constitutes an NGO and its activities, as well as limits on where they can work and establish branches.

欧盟驻华代表团发言人表示，作为中国最大的贸易伙伴，欧盟“非常关心这一法律草案”。他指出此项立法关于NGO的构成及活动的定义都很模糊，也没明确NGO可以在哪儿展开工作和设立分支机构。

According to diplomats, at least two western embassies attempted to submit formal diplomatic letters — or démarches — highlighting their concerns to the Ministry of Public Security, which refused to accept them. The diplomats said their embassies were now preparing démarches for the National People’s Congress, which will decide on the law’s final draft, and other government bureaux.

据外交人士表示，至少有两个西方驻华使馆尝试向中国公安部递交正式外交信函——或进行外交交涉——以强调他们对此事的担忧，但公安部拒绝接受这些信函。外交人士表示他们的大使馆正准备与中国全国人民代表大会以及其他政府决策部门进行外交交涉。该法的最终草案将由中国全国人大决定。

Some experts said the NPC might include “carveouts” exempting foreign universities and commercial organisations from the new legislation, thereby setting out clear but worrying new boundaries between permissible and non-permissible activities for organisations active in civil society.

有专家表示，中国全国人大可能会设置“例外条款”，将外国大学和商业机构从这一新立法中豁免，从而为在公民社会中活跃的组织，就准许的活动和不准许的活动划下明确、但令人担忧的新界线。

Others have expressed disappointment at the sidelining of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, which has long experience in dealing with foreign and domestic NGOs. “The civil affairs ministry has been pushed out of the discussion,” said Prof Spires. “The Ministry of Public Security is already preparing a regulatory bureau, so they are not going to give [these powers] back.”

另一些人对中国民政部被旁观表达了失望，该部门在与国内外NGO打交道方面拥有长期经验。安子杰教授表示：“民政部被排除在讨论之外。公安部已筹备了监管局，所以他们不会还回（这些权力）。”

Web censors embrace social media

网络审查包围社交媒体

China’s “Internet police” are opening their own social media accounts in an effort to be more transparent about their own monitoring and censorship activities, the Ministry of Public Security said in an announcement on Sunday night.

中国公安部上周日晚间发表公告称，中国的“网警”正在建立自己的社交媒体账户，努力提高其监督和审查活动的透明度。

“The internet police are coming out from behind the curtains to the stage,” the ministry said. According to the announcement, at least 50 local branches of the public security unit responsible for policing “illegal and harmful” online information will publicise more of their activities via accounts on Weibo, China’s equivalent of Twitter.

中国公安部表示：“网警从幕后走向前台。”根据这项公告，至少50个负责监控网络“违法犯罪信息和有害信息”的省市公安机关，将通过微博（Weibo，相当于中国的Twitter）账户更多地发布他们的活动。

Twitter is blocked in China alongside popular international sites such as Facebook, although many Chinese people including government officials routinely access them through virtual private network tools that can penetrate the country’s “Great Firewall”.

中国屏蔽了Twitter及Facebook等国外流行网站，不过许多中国人包括政府官员常常通过虚拟专用网络(VPN)访问这些网站，VPN工具可以穿透中国的“长城防火墙”(Great Firewall)。

Police departments and courts have used Weibo accounts for many years to publicise everything from routine activities to live transcripts in sensitive political cases. But this is believed to be the first time the public security ministry’s own internet police have embraced the tool.

近年来，公安部门和法院都使用微博账户发布消息，包括从日常活动到敏感政治案件的现场实录文本。但据信这是公安部自己的网警首次使用这一工具。

Internet postings by rights activists, labour leaders and others are now routinely collected by police as they attempt to build cases against people accused of “disrupting social order” — a charge with a maximum prison sentence of five years. “Just like in the real world, law violations in cyber space will not go unpunished,” the ministry said.

中国警察现在经常收集人权活动家、工会领导人等人发布的网帖，以图对那些被控犯有“扰乱社会秩序”罪者立案，这项指控最高面临7年刑期。公安部表示：“网络社会与现实社会一样，任何违法犯罪行为都要负法律责任。”