By Tong Jianfeng, Nanfengchuang Magazine, Edited and translated by Wang Yujue

(China Elections and Governance has abridged and translated this article on the evolving relationship between Chinese NGOs and the government. It appeared in Nanfeng Chuang Magazine on May 10, 2010. The article focuses on the Chinese Foundation YouChange (China Social Entrepreneurship Foundation 友成）, which has been working closely with the municipal government of Mianzhu to fund and coordinate earthquake recovery efforts, highlighting both the benefits and drawbacks of this cooperation)

Pulished:  May 10, 2010

“It costs a lot to establish an organization. Mianzhu municipal government helped us with work place and basic administrative expenses. They are well-financed,” said Zhai Yan, director of YouChange Volunteer Support Center. “Volunteers assist the government; this is equivalent to working for the government free. So the government should bear the cost.”

YouChange is a Beijing-based, non-profit charitable organization with independent legal status and is officially registered at the Ministry of Civil Affairs. In August 2008, about three months after the 8-magnitude earthquake hit Wenchuan and neighboring areas, YouChange and the Mianzhu government co-founded a program for integrating social resources to help with earthquake relief and recovery.

The program is mainly financed by YouChange, which is also responsible for recruiting and assigning volunteers, while the Administrative Service Center of the Mianzhu government is lead management unit.

“The program has contributed a lot to the earthquake relief and recovery efforts. Although there are only six workers, they have contributed many resources. On average, each worker has helped to introduce 10 million yuan to the stricken area in Mianzhu,” said Peng Zhebin, deputy secretary-general of the Mianzhu municipal government.

It seems that YouChange and the government are still in their honeymoon phase. However, it’s a mismatched, bittersweet marriage.

When the program was established, no government agency wanted to be the lead management unit. It was said that some NGOs, backed by overseas forces, used aid as a pretext for anti-state and anti-government activities. Thus, taking over the platform became a hot potato, as it falls to the head management unit to prevent such organizations from entering Mianzhu. It’s a tough job.

As the program was about to die on the vine, Deputy Secretary-General Peng came forward to take over.  He said one shouldn’t stop eating for fear of choking.

Now, local officials are excited about the program’s achievements – from August 2008 to March 2010, it directly absorbed a total of 10 million yuan worth of funds and materials, as well as 2 billion yuan indirectly.

This demonstrated that earthquake relief and recovery is outside the confines of the government’s capability, especially in poor areas. The government is in need of additional aids.

Some top leaders in the central government also hold a positive attitude toward NGO involvement in supporting the poor. Besides YouChange, Oxfam Hong Kong was introduced to Sichuan Province by the State Council Leading Group Office of Alleviation and Development last year. Two counties separately received 1 million yuan each year from Oxfam Hong Kong, and the county governments also provide supportive poverty relief funds. The local authorities want to explore a new anti-poverty model through the cooperation between government agencies and NGOs.

“It’s a challenge for the government – how to deal with NGOs and build sound relations with them. We do not have prior practical experience,” said Zhu Xiaofang, deputy director of the Administrative Service Center of Mianzhu. “After the earthquake, the government was awakened to the necessity of NGOs.”

In Mianzhu, volunteers working for the project report directly to the governmental Administrative Service Center, and Deputy Secretary-General Peng is in charge of examining and approving their aid plans. Each volunteer needs to sign a tripartite agreement with YouChange and the Administrative Service Center.

According to Zhai, as these volunteers are not registered with any government agencies, their private aid activities would be illegal without government sanction. The tripartite agreement lends legality to their activities.

“It would be hard to operate projects here without the government’s support. It’s a good cooperation model,” said Zhai. For NGOs, the benefit of integrating with the government is that such cooperation can lessen the difficulty of entering certain areas. “There are some places where you are hardly allowed to enter,” said Zhai.

The attitude of local officials toward NGOs has changed a great deal since the 2008 earthquake. Officials admitted that the government could not uncover all of the problems that arise in relief and recovery efforts, that NGOs could serve as a supplemental force, and that NGOs do contribute a lot. The governmental authority no longer rejects NGOs, and relations between the two are “very harmonious” now.

This is in part because the government is certain that the “bad” NGOs have been removed, and that those that remain are reliable.

When a branch volunteer station of the program was set up in January in Bazhong, Sichuan Province, all important officials in Bazhong attended the opening ceremony, and the event made headlines in the local Party newspaper. The government allocated government office space for the station.

When Zhai and her group visited Sichuan on a survey trip in March and April, local officials at all levels treated them as honored guests.  Officials presented different difficulties and needs, expecting that YouChange could lend a hand.

“A little spark kindles a great fire; YouChange’s participation could encourage more social forces to help the poor,” said Zhang Min, deputy secretary-general of Bazhong Municipal Committee of the CPC. “YouChange is a newcomer without administrative functions. Working in the government building will increase its credibility and influence.”

However, each side just takes what it needs. In Mianzhu, the government has made the program resemble an official agency in less than one year. Every volunteer has to wear a card made by the municipal government, and volunteers are a treated like local officials when they travel to counties and villages.

When it comes to characterizing the nature of the program, YouChange calls it a subordinate sector of YouChange, while the Administrative Service Center insists that the program belongs to the government and that YouChange is just a main supporter.

According to Peng, although the program has brought 2 billion yuan worth of funds and materials into Mianzhu, the achievement is not that of YouChange, but should rather be credited to the local Party committee and government, since the program is headed by the governmental authority.

The Local Youth League Committee and the Ministry of Civil Affairs also want a piece of the action. “When the MCA came, they said the program fell within their domain, and when the local Youth League Committee came, they said the program should be the committee’s duty. The program has helped these department a lot.  It’s my contribution, but these department could also take the credit for their work,” Peng sighs.

Now these departments are trying to integrate their other projects with the relief program. “You can never see such close cooperation between NGOs and the government in other places. Now we have deeply merged with the government,” said Tang Rong, a major executive of the program.

However, merging so deeply with the government can damage an NGO’s  independence. Almost all the program volunteers are also employees in government departments and institutions.

Zhai felt ambivalent about the current situation. “Now, our branch volunteer stations are actually working for the government,” said Zhai. “We are totally integrated into the government. It’s out of order. The two sides are inseparable.”

But Zhai’s colleague Tang holds a different opinion. “We should fulfill not only YouChange’s requirements, but also the government’s. We should do whatever the government asks us to do,” said Tang.

The government is obviously the stronger party in such cooperation. Government management is the prerequisite for NGO development. YouChange cannot set up branches independently; the only way is to establish subordinate volunteer stations registered at certain government agencies.

Under such circumstances, these government-backed NGOs are likely to become another government agency. Zhai used to criticize some volunteers for just sitting in the office, rarely traveling to grass-roots units to discover potential demands.

After her survey and investigation in Sichuan, Zhai found that only if a NGO sends its own team to assess demands in grassroots units, and then initiates an independent project, can the NGO avoid being absorbed by the government.

“Our volunteer stations have no ‘roots.’ Our service objective is unclear. Some said the objective is to serve grassroots residents and farmers, but it’s just too vague a group,” said Zhai. “Some other NGOs, like Oxfam Hong Kong, projectized their operations, and their service objective is clear. Their volunteers follow certain projects,” and do not act under the orders of the government

(See the original Chinese article at: http://www.022net.com/2010/5-11/442428212632326.html )