CCP Rolls Out New Regulations to Tighten Control Over Civic Groups, Extending Repression Overseas

The Chinese communist regime has rolled out new regulations to tighten control over civic groups in the nation, which, according to analysts who spoke to The Epoch Times, infringe upon people’s basic human rights and could further the regime’s overseas campaigns of transnational repression.The Chinese regime’s Ministry of Civil Affairs issued Order No. 85—the Administrative Measures for Branches and Representative Offices of Social Organizations—on June 30, Chinese state media reported on July 2. The new regulations will take effect on Aug. 1.The civic groups targeted by the regime include clan associations, hometown associations, and professional associations, among others.The new regulations explicitly prohibit civic groups from establishing four types of branches, such as “regional branches, branches based on surnames or clan affiliations, branches with significant membership overlap, or branches with identical or highly similar names and scopes of business.” Furthermore, “they may not establish—or establish in a disguised manner—additional branches or representative offices under existing branches or representative offices.”The order also prohibits the branches from using terms associated with independent legal entities in their names, such as “center,” “research society,” “promotion association,” or “research institute.” In addition, representative offices of the organizations must not include terms implying operations across administrative regions.The new regulations also set up specific requirements for the organizations’ establishment, name changes, dissolution, appointment of heads, membership fees, donations, financial management, and official seals in its 29 articles.The regulations also require the establishment of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP’s) branches within the civic groups.The new regulations simultaneously repeal the Measures for the Registration of Branches and Representative Offices of Social Organizations, which were issued and implemented in 2001, according to the ministry.An official with a civil affairs department in mainland China, who didn’t reveal his name out of fear of reprisal, told The Epoch Times that this year’s new regulations are stricter than those from 20 years ago.“New political requirements have been added this time, such as upholding the comprehensive leadership of the CCP. Organizations that meet the criteria for establishing a Party organization must do so; those that do not must still conduct Party activities in accordance with the rules—meaning that a Party branch secretary has the final say on how activities of the civic groups are organized,” he said.Mr. Kang, a political analyst based in mainland China who only gave his last name out of fear of reprisal, told The Epoch Times that the most critical aspect of the new regulations is the ban on establishing four types of branch organizations—a move that underscores the CCP’s control over civic groups.“The official rhetoric is to regulate the branches of civic organizations and prevent the haphazard creation of entities, but what is really being targeted is the organizational capacity of civil society,” he said.China possesses a vast network of surname-based and clan associations, Kang added.“In regions like Guangdong and Fujian, these branches connect people from different localities, allowing surname and clan groups to reorganize ties based on both bloodlines and shared ancestral origins,” he said.“What the CCP fears most is the formation of groups and associations—much like its dread of house churches and religious gatherings—because once such groups find their voice, they can potentially coalesce into a formidable force.”He pointed out that the CCP has always been wary of grassroots associations “but it is even more apprehensive about surname and clan groups, as they are rooted in natural bonds of blood.”In the eyes of the CCP, the very concept of a “civil” or “non-governmental” sphere should not exist, Wang Hua, a Chinese lawyer based in Beijing who used a pseudonym out of fear of reprisal, told The Epoch Times.“Ideally for them, the Party would control every single corner of the society. A party like the CCP—which operates much like a secret society or gang—simply will not tolerate things like civic groups.”Therefore, the CCP is actively attempting to dismantle traditional civil society organizations in China that possess autonomous characteristics, “such as ancestral halls and long-standing civic groups rooted in shared hometown origins or clan ties,” he said.A certain degree of vitality in civil society is actually beneficial to both officials and the public, Wang Hua said.“However, the CCP views this as unacceptable; anything that cannot be fully integrated into its system and made to obey its every command is seen as a threat that could undermine the foundation of its rule, hence its determination to guard against it at all costs,” he said.Stripping Basic Human RightsThe CCP’s new regulations are stripping away the basic elements in human relations, analysts pointed out.For ordinary people, development proceeds in a step-by-step, natural process—moving from the nuclear family to the community, and then to society and the nation at large, Yen Chien-Fa, deputy CEO of the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy and a professor of Business Administration at Chien Yun University of Science and Technology in Taiwan, told The Epoch Times.“Now, however, the CCP’s aim is to dismantle these structures, strip the individual away from them, and place that individual under the Party’s control,” he said.Villagers eat together outside a local house in a farming community in She County, Anhui Province, China, on May 12, 2023. Kevin Frayer/Getty ImagesThe CCP is hostile toward the people’s freedom of association, Wang He, a U.S.-based China analyst and current affairs commentator, told The Epoch Times.“We know that free association is a fundamental human right; connections based on shared hometowns, professions, or national identity are natural human bonds,” he said.The right to free association is recognized in the laws of various countries—including the CCP’s own laws, Wang He pointed out. However, “in practice, the CCP seeks to control every corner of society and is particularly fearful of such forms of human association,” he said. “What it is doing now is simply elevating these past practices to the level of administrative regulations in order to reinforce them.”The new regulations are specifically targeting the groups that are bonded by consanguinity, clan, and geographical affiliation, such as fellow villagers and hometown associations, Liu Song, a Chinese lawyer in Hubei Province who used a pseudonym out of fear of reprisal, told The Epoch Times. “Because these types of organizations have more natural cohesion than other organizations, which the CCP wants to control.”Especially in the south, such as in Fujian and Guangdong, close ties based on kinship and regional origins are far stronger than elsewhere, Liu said.“That’s why the strict controls are being imposed on them, yet the authorities are unable to actually enforce them effectively,” he said.Because they are too general and cannot be implemented in the daily operation of society, Liu said, “these are false, large, and empty provisions and not implementable.”Taking direct action might be somewhat difficult, but it could create a chilling effect among people, Wang Hua said.“Even individuals of Chinese descent who have moved abroad—or even acquired citizenship in other countries—may still have concerns, given that many maintain deep, multifaceted ties to mainland China,” he said.Another Tool for CCP’s Transnational RepressionThe CCP’s new regulations on civic groups came around the same time as the Chinese regime’s controversial new ethnic law took effect, which was on July 1. The new ethnic law has been widely criticized for infringing upon ethnic minorities’ basic rights and codifying the CCP’s transnational repression into law.Analysts said that the CCP also aims to extend its repression abroad through new regulations on civic groups, especially the control over clan and hometown associations and religious groups.“These associations, especially in Fujian, Guangdong, Chaozhou, and Fuzhou, all maintain their own networks internationally. Similar to using the new ethnic law, the CCP hopes to extend its jurisdiction overseas through these clan associations and various religious groups by imposing the new regulations,” Yen said.Protesters in T-shirts with “Hong Kong Federation of Fujian Associations” printed on the back enjoy a restaurant meal as a bribe for joining the recent anti-democracy march in Hong Kong on Aug. 17, 2014. Pro-CCP groups booked an entire Cantonese restaurant to give feasts to participants. The Epoch TimesOnce the CCP starts to operate through these organizations to engage in exchanges with foreign countries, interacting with local police or judicial bodies, it will put a certain level of pressure on the Chinese people, Yen warned.The CCP has already been using these overseas hometown associations and clan associations as tools to infiltrate and manipulate the overseas Chinese communities and hosting countries, Wang He said, “turning them into instruments under the CCP’s own control by providing covert support and substantial funding to instigate activities.”On the other hand, the CCP suppresses such associations within China, which represents the difference in the CCP’s domestic and international strategies, Wang He said.The new regulations show the CCP is moving to further and even radically eliminate the Chinese mainstream public’s right to freedom of association, effectively turning everyone in China into a slave, he said.“Its suppression of human nature and rights will inevitably breed public resentment toward the CCP. In fact, the current situation in China is akin to the CCP sitting atop a volcano; the more it acts to oppress people, the sooner that volcano will erupt,” he said.Luo Ya and Wang Yibo contributed to this report.