China’s parliament passes foreign NGO law, no details on changes

BEIJING: China’s parliament passed a controversial law governing foreign non-government organisations, state news agency Xinhua reported on Thursday, without giving details of any amendments.

The law is part of a raft of legislation, including China’s counter terrorism law and a draft cyber security law, put forward amid a renewed crackdown on dissent by President Xi Jinping’s administration.

State media said this week legislators had recommended it be put to a vote following adjustments to some provisions criticised by foreign governments and civil society groups.

It was not immediately clear what had been changed.

The United States, Canada and the European Union had urged China to revise the law, earlier versions of which gave broad latitude to the police to regulate activities and funding of overseas groups operating in China.

Western critics had argued it was too vague and could severely limit the operations of social and environmental advocacy groups, besides business organisations and academia.