On 13 November 2019, CESL students from the “Nonprofit Organization” course went to Dentons Beijing office to attend a lecture on the theme of “The Practice in the Nonprofit Sector in China”. The lecture was provided by Ms. Niu Yue, who is a partner at Dentons Beijing office.

Firstly, Ms. Niu introduced the types of Nonprofit organizations and their relative activities in detail. Next, she introduced NGO development in China since 2016. She explained how the NGO activities in China are very dynamic and have Chinese characteristics, and cited Tencent 9/9 as an example to illustrate her view. She detailed the social phenomenon that there are an increasing number of nonprofit organizations which conduct charitable activities by using a network platform, in which trust plays a significant role in the process.

During this lecture, Ms. Niu introduced two laws that were enacted after 2016: Charity Law of the People's Republic of China and Law of the People's Republic of China on the Administration of Activities of Overseas Non-Governmental Organizations within the Territory of China. When introducing the Charity Law of China, Ms. Niu told about the simplified procedures in some fields, such as scientific and technological, public welfare, urban and rural social service institutions, and the information disclosure duty of charitable organizations. Moreover, Ms. Niu introduced public fundraising and targeted fundraising of charitable organizations, and the relevant policy of tax deductions. When talking about charitable trusts, students showed great interest in this topic and actively asked Ms. Niu different questions. Finally, Ms. Niu introduced the application of national philanthropic trust model in China and Shenzhen donor-advised funds.

The Communication between the CESL students and Ms. Niu

When introducing the Law of the People's Republic of China on the Administration of Activities of Overseas Non-Governmental Organizations, Ms. Niu reviewed the historical development of overseas non-governmental organizations in China, and shared her experience of helping some overseas non-governmental organizations to set up representative offices and do temporary activities in China. In the end, Ms. Niu compared the advantages and disadvantages of various types of nonprofit organizations in China.

Through this lecture, CESL students gained a deeper understanding of the practice of the nonprofit sector in China and were able to leave with a lot more knowledge.

Group Photo

Article by Lu Wenting (CESL double master’s student from the 2019 intake)