(h/t Danwei) for highlighting a new site that is tracking officials who have taken bribes, abused their power, or otherwise gone beyond the call of duty.

Like Ma Jun’s website that locates, documents, and pubilcy identifies air and water polluters, this is a resource that 5 years ago would not be viewable in China (assuming the information could have been gathered), and it is a sign in the right direction that these sites are now not only visible in China… but hosted here.

Shanggui

A recently released report shows that China’s grassroot non-governmental organizations (NGO) dedicated to environment protection have doubled their numbers in the past three years.

There are 508 grassroot-level environment NGOs in China as of October this year.This has increased by nearly 300 from 2005, the All-China Environment Federation said in an environment report here, which it took eight months to finish beginning January this year.

In total, there are 3,539 environment NGOs in the country, including government-sponsored ones, grassroot ones, branches of international organizations as well as school environment societies. The figure jumped by 771 from three years ago, the federation said.

According to the report, 55.2 percent of the NGOs now have their own offices, up 15.2 percent from 2005; while 26 percent have fixed source of investment, up 2.1 percent. However, most environment NGOs still face problems including difficulty in raising money, shortage in personnel and weak organization ability in their development process, the report said.

Interesting stuff. 58.6% were involved in energy saving and emissions reductions, and 11% participated in protecting people’s rights concerning environmental protection. No doubt this is a trend that will continue. Especially interesting that the survey categorised NGOs in this way as we have seen a tremendous growth in Environmental NGOs involved in legal cases, involved in utilising existing information to affect change, and in those trying to increase transparency as a way to overcome corruption and punish irresponsible companies.In all cases we have seen all levels of government work with, and against, such organisations in different circumstances!

The recent Harvard Business School article, Achieving Excellence in Nonprofits, is one of those pieces that should be translated and passed out to every NGO in China.

Building internal governance and structures is often the most difficult task there is.  Developing a consisent plan, learning how to work with a board of directors, developing accounting and financial controls, etc are all issues that many face here… myself included.

To be fair, when managing an NGO in a environment where the role of NGOs is still new, reglations are non-existent, funding is difficult, and getting progams of the ground is the first priortiy (when you are short staffed)… the last thing that many think about are all the things in the back office.

However, as this article highlights, these are the things that long term will set the best NGOs apart from each other.  having a board of directors that can help guide an organization develop plans and relationships, ensuring the organizational books are in order, and having a focus that is clear internally and externally, are all steps that need to be taken to become a mature organization that develops deep programing.

In high-performing SMDOs, the board and executive management team have worked out an agreed and clear set of goals to achieve, have formulated a coherent strategy for advancing those goals, and have organized and are executing an aligned set of actions consistent with that strategy. This takes hard work, discipline, and focus on the part of the board and executive team working together to develop and maintain a coherent and consistent set of visions: a vision of what they are trying to accomplish, a vision of their role in accomplishing it, a vision of the activities and operations they will need to make progress on it. It takes strong communication between the CEO and board, and strong communication with clients, workers, and supporters.

It doesn’t come easy, and it is not a process that is completed overnight.

Well known for pushing the barriers, PETA’s goal of standing up for the rights of our fury friends has no geographic boundaries. during the Olympics, they were able to pull off an ad hoc press conference with athlete Amanda Beard, and more recently they held an event with their Lettuce LAdies in Guangzhou.

For many whose issue is the treatment of animals, China is an obvious focal point. to push their platform forward, organizatoins like PETA (in Shanghai SCAA) must take a different approach, as PETA’s APAC Director discussed in the August interview China can take sexy protests

Q: So edgy campaigns can be effective, even in countries unaccustomed to your approach?

A: While PETA is often seen as pushing the envelope in China, we have found that sexy and progressive campaigns do have a place in the country. PETA’s ad against fur starring a nearly naked Pamela Anderson was rejected in Beijing, for example, but it was eventually approved in Shanghai and went up in train stations and bus stops around the city.

Q: But cultural differences remain?

A: It’s very important for PETA that our events and activities be covered in China. We still campaign like PETA but in ways that also work in the country. That’s why you don’t see some of the more shocking things we’ve done in the West being done in China. We don’t need it and it wouldn’t be accepted.

Over my 7 years in China, I have heard more stories of misguided management ethic than I can sometimes bare, but the worst stories of all come out of the food industry (melamine scandals aside).

On multiple occasions, I have read reports of where rival restaurant operators will literally put poison into the food that wil be served at the other restaurant… I guess the logic being that if the clientele gets sick at the rival store, that they will benefit.

While true that  a restaurant with a reputation for poor quality is less likely to succeed,I am absolutely repulsed to see that there are those who actually have so little regard for human life still exist.  That a strategy for dealing with the fact that someone else is more successful can somehow be dealt with by endangering the lives of others.. countless others who were simply trying to grab a bowl of noodles for lunch…. over and over and over and over again.

Now, perhaps at this point I would be better off stopping, but where I am constantly amazed is that people in China are willing to risk everything for so little..so needlessly… and that the life and death decisions of individuals are made without regard for those individuals

I know that is a broad cultural statement that may land me in comment hell, and I’ll agree that these cases are isolated, but it needed to be said..

Hands On Chengdu is continuing rebuilding efforts 5 months after the Sichuan earthquake. “Community Flower” was a simple idea that shipping containers are strong, safe and easily moved and can be fitted out easily to provide support facilities. Designed by SMC ASLOP, Sponsored by GITI TIRE, Hands On Chengdu has developed a workable model that will not only provide space, but a lively community for people from affected area to relax, heal and restore their lives back.

A fundraiser event for the Community Flower project will be held on 7th November, organized by volunteers from the creativity industry at Bridge 8. All proceeds will go to Hands On Chengdu for the long term support and recovery in Sichuan community. Come and support us for a good cause and an eventful evening with auctions, music, food and wine! .

Click here for the INVITATION.

Following Tatiana’s post earlier this week comes this announcement that China will begin reforming its rural finance policies. Partnered with the recent announcement that farmers will be able to transfer the rights to their land, a stronger level of support is being granted to many of those who have not enjoyed the same level of prosperity.

Citizen reporting
http://www.moobol.com/ms/2193/live219320.shtml#pC 拍摄地点： [湖北•武汉] 2008-10-09 20:19:19

There is a blog called 王浩峰聚焦战报 （Wang Jiefeng Jujiao Zhanbao) that covers a lot of controversial topics that you wouldn’t expect to get through the “Great Firewall” of China. Most recently there was an investigative report on sweatshop labor in Wuhan which can be found at this link: http://www.moobol.com/ms/2193/live219320.shtml#pC 拍摄地点： [湖北•武汉] 2008-10-09 20:19:19. The article goes through a couple of interview with the child laborers and the surrounding residents. For a rough translation (really rough), read below.

The relationship between the media and the government has always fascinated and perplexed me in China. Official media outlets have exposed corruption and environmental problems that have brought about better accountability and justice. However, the media act with the permission of the government at all times and, therefore, what the Chinese media can and cannot cover varies widely from local government to local government. When it comes to citizen investigative reporting I am even more concerned. How does an individual take that daring step? How do they know that they won’t get in trouble? In particular, after looking at this blog, I wonder what kind of relationship the author(s) have with the Wuhan government and if it will turn sour like it did for the investigative environmental reporter Wu Lihong (http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/14/world/asia/14china.html). Nevertheless, seeing this blog up and unrestricted gives more hope for more future investigative journalism in China, which will give more of a participatory voice to China’s civil society sector.

Title: 探访偷拍，揭发武汉令人震惊的童工暗流 Under-cover videotaping exposes a shocking child labor underground.

在武汉，一些黑心老板以儿童作为榨取暴利的劳动工具；一些孩子没日没夜地替他们卖命，流下了一行行辛酸血泪。In Wuhan, a black-hearted boss squeezes profit out of children making them laboring tools. Some children don’t have day or night and no one replaces them while they work themselves to death. Children just shed blood and tears.

接市民反映，《王浩峰聚焦》在9月底10月初，对武汉城乡结合部部分地段进行了探访，目击多少一脸稚气的工人在工厂加班加点顽命干活（他们分布在服装厂/ 印花厂/线厂/拉链厂等厂子劳作）。为了赶活，黑心老板把他们当“机器人”使用，让他们一天只休息6个小时，有的凌晨4时才下班；由于严重的睡眠不足，有的在生产中手指被机器“咬”伤；有的在生产中出了故障，得遭受老板恶语相加责骂；凌晨2时，见身心疲惫的他们在马路边小摊上，卖烧饼宵夜。
After public feedback, “Wen Haofeng Focus” gathered video clips in late September early October from Wuhan’s urban and rural areas. The clips give witness to many childlike faces working overtime. The kids are distributed throughout the workplace in areas such as the garment factory/printing plant/factory lines/zipper factory and other factory work areas. In order to make a living, the boss makes them act like robots causing them to work all day and rest only 6 hours while some work until 4 a.m. As a result of these horrible conditions, many children do not get enough sleep; some have had their fingers caught in the machines (knows as a “bite” injury) and those that make an error are cursed at by their boss. At 2 a.m. you can see their mental and physical exhaustion while they walk on the side of the street to buy sesame cake.

在一服装厂里劳碌的孩童，说他自己是95年3月出生。工头则说他刚15岁。 Talking with some of the children in the factory, one said that he was born in March of 1995. The foreman said he just turned 15.
问孩子每月能拿千把块钱吧。工头回答：“没有这多，有一点”。When the children were asked if they made 1,000 yuan a month, the foreman responded that they didn’t have that much money; only a little.

在一做拖把的工厂，一孩子在不断往拖把棍上套胶套，他说自己被雇佣已有1年时间了，来自湖北浠水，今年刚15岁；每天要套千多根拖棍。一年的工资是5千元。At a mop factory, a child doesn’t stop putting the rubber wrap around the mop’s stick. He says that he has been hired at the factory for a year and that he came from Hubei province’s Xishui. This year he just turned 15 and assembles more than 1,000 mobs a day. He makes 5,000 yuan a year.

周边的居民动情地说，这简直是害性命哪！他们中还有十二三岁的，又有谁能拯救他们呢？每次上面有检查，有人通知工厂做好。风声一过，问题立即还原。The surrounding residents emotionally say that this is a harmful way of life. They still have 12-13 year olds and who can save them? Every time the factory has an inspection they say that the factory is doing a good job. As soon as this type of empty talk goes away, problems go back to their original state.

众所周知，国家是严厉打击雇佣使用童工的非法行为的。只短短几天，《王浩峰聚焦》就从表面上见到这多干活的“娃娃脸”。在武汉城乡结合部到底有多少童工，这还是个未知数。希望相关部门以高度对党/对人民/对祖国的未来负责的态度，予以彻底查清解救，还孩子们金色的童年。还社会的公平正义。As we all know, the government has cracked down on child labor making it illegal. Only in a atter of days the “The Focus of Wang Haofeng” has shown us this many working “baby faces.” How many child laborers does Wuhan’s rural and urban areas contain? This is something we still need to calculate. I hope that relevant departments in the Party/the people/ and the country’s organizations can take a responsible attitude and thoroughly investigate and save these children so they can still have a golden childhood and bring about social justice.

Autism is condition that has been a topic of conversation in the US as parents seek to learn more about its origins, and find ways to improve the quality of life for their children who are autistic.

In china, we have seen the same process start to take hold as groups Carnation Children’s Rehabilitation Center and QCQ in Shanghai (one of our partners) have been funding schools and institutions that are devoted to assisting the children and families of autism.

I recently found another group called The Five Project through the article Autism organization is giving voice to families in China.  A US based group, the founder has a very familiar story:

When Helen McCabe, the American student, met Zhang Ge in 1992, the girl couldn’t carry on a conversation and had limited self-care skills. She could, however, identify Chinese characters and say which page they were on in the dictionary.

After realizing that ignorance about autism in China was compounding the children’s problems, McCabe switched from East Asian studies to earn a doctoral degree in special education. She is now an assistant professor of education at Hobart and William Smith Colleges in New York and president of the Five Project, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping those with autism in China.

Why I say familiar, is that in reading her story and learning more about her group, I am reminded of the organizations Room to Read and Half the Sky where both founders through their in-country experience developed an idea and when they returned home built phenomenally successful organizations.

In addressing the needs of the Chinese autistic community, one of the more interesting programs I have been able to find is that they are developing a DVD about autism in Chinese:

FIVE is working on creating an instructional DVD in Chinese about autism. The DVD is geared towards Chinese speaking families in the USA and Chinese families and professionals in China. The video will include topics helpful to families of and professionals working with children with autism. Topics will include behavior management, language and non-verbal communication, etc.

The training DVD will have topics useful for families of children, adolescents, and adults with autism. FIVE decided to create this training DVD because of the desperate need for information that we find in many parts of China. FIVE wants to create the DVD as a cost effective and time-efficient way of sharing information.

A firm believer in education programs, what I like about this is that it will allow parents and supporters the opportunity to learn about the real causes, remedies, and rehabilitions available.  It is a huge issue when discussing a child’s illness with parents, even with more well understood and medically definable diseases like cancer and leukemia (many parents feel those conditions were somehow their fault).

best of all.. the DVD will be given away for free.

To learn more about this organization, you can visit their website to learn more or go to their GoodSearch website to see which programs they are now looking to fund

Disclaimer: While we at Crossroads may highlight NGOs, and their programs, we strongly suggest individual, foundation, and corporate donors perform their own due diligence prior to granting or donating and money.

A Step closer to Microfinance in China Microcredit lenders ermerging in China By Wang Lan, is an article that looks to shed some light about the stage and interpretation of microfinance in China.

By definition, microfinance is the service of giving very small loans (as little as $20) to very poor people without assets or collateral. These types of loans are typically given to a group of people, who commit to help each other when someone in the group is not able to make a payment. As I read the article I quickly noticed that the term microfinance was used in a very loose way, which included giving loans and credit to small to medium business owners.

“Microcredit lenders, once the quaint peripheral players in China’s mammoth financial system, are emerging from the shadows of the State-owned banks as white knights to thousands of small, cash-strapped manufacturers around the nation.

The spate of bankruptcies in the manufacturing sector, particularly in the Pearl River Delta region, has prompted the government to act by selectively relaxing credit controls three times in the past two months.”

This is could be good news to local and international microfinance/poverty alleviation organizations with projects in China, if it means these laws will provide microfinance financial institutions (MFIs) with more access to capital. Since local microfinance MFIs often do not have the accountability and transparency needed for access to capital from big banks and lending institutions, they rely on microfinance banks, such as the Grameen Bank to help them with capacity building and financing.

The article continues to explain how in 2005 the People’s Bank of China, initiated the first government-lead pilot project to promote and support rural poor and agriculture, which was later modified to provide loans to small business owners who had been affected by tighter monetary policies.

Perhaps because of China’s size nothing is “micro” here. If the goal is to help cash-strapped small business owners and to stimulate the economy, it may take some time until the very poor gain access to microfinance services, at least from the major national banks.