«The National Endowment for Democracy» and China

In 2017 the American government funded 48 anti-China groups and organizations through its «National Endowment for Democracy» (NED), – in order oppose and harm China and to create social and ethnic tensions and conflicts inside China.

Recently NED has been focusing on Xinjiang, and as a consequence there has been negative reports about the situation there in many Western newspapers and on global TV.

Here are some examples showing how NED is working and using its contacts, to harm China:

One of their assets is Marco Rubio, republican senator for Florida and leader of the «U.S. Congressional-Executive Commission on China». On August 10, 2018 he writes on his website: «Xinjiang today is ‘a police state to rival North Korea, with a formalized racism on the order of South African apartheid,” wrote one expert. Its residents make up only 1.5% of China’s population – but accounted for 21% of arrests in 2017. This massive increase over the previous year doesn’t include detainees in re-education centers.» https://www.rubio.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ID=BCBC38EA-1748-4D40-AA04-9CC1DDC1A728

Senator Rubio also actively participates in meetings at the headquarters of the «National Endowment for Democracy» in Washington DC, like at the «2017 award ceremony» – were he congratulated the NED-activists, it shows that he has close relations with NED: https://www.ned.org/sen-marco-rubio-r-fl-message-to-neds-2017-democracy-awardees-and.

«Radio Free Asia» (Washington, D.C.) has also been focusing on Xinjiang, like in this article from 3/8-2018: «Advocacy group China Human Rights Defenders (CHRD) and a partner NGO, Equal Rights Initiative, said Friday that in the southern XUAR alone some 660,000 rural residents of Uyghur ethnicity may have been detained in the camps, while another up to 1.3 million may have been forced to attend mandatory day or evening re-education sessions in their villages or town centers.»
https://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/millions-08032018142025.html

From this article one can see that «Radio Free Asia» surprisingly is using a tiny and almost unknown organization, «Chinese Human Rights Defenders», as a reliable source on Xinjiang.

What is «Chinese Human Rights Defenders»?

«Chinese Human Rights Defenders» consists of three persons: One «International Director» Renee Xia (Mandarin, English), +1 863 866 1012 (+1 is USA, and 863 is Florida area code), and two researchers Victor Clemens (English), +1 628 400 7198 (628 is California area code) and Frances Eve (English), +852 6695 4083 (+852 is Hong Kong area code). (https://www.nchrd.org/contact/?tztc=1). At their website no no street address is given, but there is a post-box address: PO Box 1905. Washington, DC 20013 USA. Since none of the three lives in Washington DC, other persons must look after their post.

Ajit Singh and Ben Norton has checked the US tax forms of Chinese Human Rights Defenders, and found rather shockingly that: «On its tax forms, CHRD lists its address as the Washington, DC office of Human Rights Watch.» https://grayzoneproject.com/2018/08/23/un-did-not-report-china-internment-camps-uighur-muslims/amp/

«Chinese Human Rights Defenders» also writes at their website: «CHRD operates a small emergency grants program which provides legal aid and emergency assistance to victims of human rights abuses.» (https://www.nchrd.org/about-chinese-human-rights-defenders)

Since such a small organization also is able to «empower grassroots activism in China», as they write, they need money. The list below shows that «Chinese Human Rights Defenders» in one year probably got $672,000 ($272,000 + $300,000 + $60,000 + $40,000) from the NED, which in 2017 was around 4,5 million yuan – a huge sum of money in China. CHRD has used these money to fund opposition activists inside China, bankrolling dozens upon dozens of anti-government projects.

What is NED?

Legal origin of NED is U.S. Congress resolution H.R. 2915 (H.R. means House Resolution). At Wikipedia is written: «H.R. 2915 was adopted by the House on November 17, 1983 and the Senate the following day» (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Endowment_for_Democracy)

The Washington Post wrote in 1991 the following about NED: «In 1991, Allen Weinstein, who helped draft the legislation establishing NED in 1983, candidly said: ‘A lot of what we do today was done covertly 25 years ago by the CIA.’» (Washington Post, Sept. 22, 1991).

The list:

Here follows a list from https://www.ned.org of the 48 NED funded groups and organizations targeting China in 2017. It is highly likely that NED also trains them. (My additions and comments are written in parentheses):

– Advancing Women’s Rights: $60,000
– Assistance for Human Rights Defenders: $272,000
(Probably money for «Chinese Human Rights Defenders», https://www.nchrd.org)
– Building Advocacy Capacity and Empowering Civil Society to Protect Human Rights: $412,300
– Capacity Building for Human Rights Defenders: $300,000
(Probably also for «Chinese Human Rights Defenders»)
– Combating Censorship and Supporting Free Expression: China Digital Times, Inc.:$340,000 (No street address is given, but China Digital Times is «Supported by the Berkeley Counter-Power Lab». Website: https://chinadigitaltimes.net)
– Defending and Assisting Rights Defenders: $60,000
(Probably also for «Chinese Human Rights Defenders»)
– Defending Journalists’ Rights: $65,000
– Democratic China Electronic Journal, Democratic China, Inc.: $180,000
(This is the same organization as late Liu Xiaobo and his wife Liu Xia had. For their connections with NED during the years 2005-2010 and their funding, see: https://hiddenharmonies.org/2017/07/13/liu-xiaobo-rip-but-we-should-never-forget-the-14-million-yuan-from-ned)
– Empowering Environmental Rights Activists: $110,570
– Empowering Workers: $75,000
– Engaging Critical Analysis and Political Discourse: $140,000
– Ensuring Free and Open Access to Online Information: $200,100
– Humanitarian Assistance for Human Rights Defenders: $40,000
(Probably also for «Chinese Human Rights Defenders»)
– Monitoring Media Freedom, Freedom House: $85,000
– Promoting Democratic Ideas and Values: $150,000
– Promoting Democratic Values, Wei Jingsheng Foundation, Inc.: $68,100
(Wei’s group is based in Washington DC, http://weijingsheng.org. In 1997 he also got the «National Endowment for Democracy Award». The award is sum of money – and since 1989 it has also included a small-scale replica of the so called Goddess of democracy)
– Providing Information and Analysis on China’s Human Rights, China Change: $73,000. (Washington DC, https://chinachange.org)
– Raising Public Awareness of Civil Society Developments in China, Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE): $215,643
(Washington DC, https://www.cipe.org)
– Religious Freedom, Rights Defense, and Rule of Law: $40,000
– Strengthening Civil Society for Policy and Legal Accountability: $172,000
– Strengthening Organizational and Advocacy Capacity for Community-Based Organizations: $110,000
– Strengthening the Rule of Law to Protect Human Rights and Public Participation
Rule of Law: $280,000
– Strengthening Worker Rights and Representation: $90,000
– Supporting and Empowering Human Rights Lawyers: $238,000
(May be «China Human Rights Lawyers Concern Group» based in Hong Kong, http://www.chrlawyers.hk/en)
– Supporting Civic Participation in Public Governance, Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE): $234,160. (Washington DC, https://www.cipe.org)
– Supporting Free Expression and Open Debate, Princeton China Initiative: $40,000
(Princeton China Initiative is connected with Perry Link, board member of «Human Rights in China» (New York).
– Supporting Grassroots NGOs: $90,000
– Supporting Labor Rights: $63,500
– Sustaining Civil Society in a Repressive Operating Environment, International Republican Institute (IRI): $600,000 (Washington DC, https://www.iri.org)
Worker Rights Awareness, Solidarity Center (SC): $335,650
(Washington DC, https://www.solidaritycenter.org)

Tibet:
– A Symposium for Tibetan Intellectuals and Artists, Filming for Tibet: $60,000
(Switzerland, http://www.filmingfortibet.org)
– Amplifying Voices from Tibet, The Tibet Relief Fund of the United Kingdom: $22,150. (London, http://www.tibetrelieffund.co.uk)
– Building Networks in Defense of Rights and the Environment, Students for a Free Tibet, Inc.: $40,000. (New York, https://www.studentsforafreetibet.org)
– Demton Khang, The Tibet Museum: $210,000
(Dharamsala, India, http://tibetmuseum.org)
– Empowering a New Generation of Tibetan Leaders, Rights Action Lab Inc.: $50,000
(No address. But they write: Rights Action Lab is incorporated in the United States as a Not-for-Profit Organization, http://rightsactionlab.org)
– Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy: $35,500
(Dharamsala, http://tchrd.org)
– International Advocacy for Human Rights in Tibet, Tibet Justice Center: $58,000
(Oakland, CA, http://www.tibetjustice.org)
– Promoting Conflict Resolution and Democratic Processes, Tibetan Centre for Conflict Resolution: $25,000. (Dharamsala, http://www.tccr.org)
– Strengthening International Support for Human Rights in Tibet, International Tibet Network: $110,000. (San Francisco, CA, https://tibetnetwork.org)
– Strengthening the Tibetan Movement, Campaigning and Leadership Training
Students for a Free Tibet, Inc.: $50,000
(New York, https://www.studentsforafreetibet.org)
– Tibet Express Newspaper, Khawa Karpo Tibet Culture Centre: $35,000
(Dharamsala, http://tibetexpress.net)
– Tibet Times Newspaper, Tibetan Literacy Society: $43,000
(Probably Dharamsala, http://tibettimes.net)
– Tibetan Community Development Fund Inc.: $33,000
(Washington DC, https://tibetoffice.org/tdcf-under-construction)
– Voice of Tibet: Independent Shortwave Tibetan Radio: $34,700
(Based in Norway, https://www.vot.org)

Xinjiang:
– Advocacy and Outreach for Uyghur Human Rights, Uyghur Human Rights Project: $310,000. (Washington DC, https://uhrp.org)
– Uyghur Human Rights Advocacy, World Uyghur Congress: $246,000
(Munich, Germany, http://www.uyghurcongress.org/en)

Hong Kong:
– Expanding Worker Rights and Democracy, Solidarity Center (SC): $130,800
(Washington DC, https://www.solidaritycenter.org)
– Strengthening Democratic Institutions and Human Rights Protection: $105,000
– Supporting Civic Engagement on Fundamental Rights, National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI): $300,000
(Washington DC, https://www.ndi.org)

Total funding for 48 groups and organizations: $7.038.173

Most of the money is probably spent in China, and 7.038.173 US dollars could in 2017 be exchanged into almost 50 million yuan (RMB).

This is blatant foreign interference. The media propaganda, tensions and conflicts the American government is creating through its «National Endowment for Democracy», is harming the image of China globally, harming foreign tourism to China, and harming foreign investments in China.

China has the right to protect itself against such interference!