On 28 April 2016, the
"Law on the Management of Foreign Non-Governmental Organizations' Activities within Mainland China" was passed and will take effect 1 January 2017. According to China Source, reporting on 4 May 2016: "The
regulations contain detailed mechanisms for registration, finances, oversight, and reporting, all of which will need to be implemented by the Ministry of Public Security and other government organs between now and the end of the year."
In a related news article, Christianity Today reported on 28 April 2016 on China"s
national conference on religion, which was held in Beijing on 22 and 23 April. President Xi Jinping called on the Communist Party of China (CPC) to reassert itself and take control over religion.
Thomas Muller, persecution analyst at World Watch Research, explains: "China experts are unsure what will come out of the recent conference on religion. The call for "˜sinicization" is not really new, and it can take several years until concrete changes come into effect (based on the experience of the last conference on religion held in 2001). However, in the case of the new law for NGOs there are a whole series of articles clearly aimed at restricting and closely monitoring the activities of all foreign NGOs as soon as possible. It is clear that all foreign-based Christian organizations working in China will face major hindrances next year and finances for their ministries may become very limited as a result. This is not just bad news for Christians, it will be detrimental to China itself."
