The Trump administration’s cutoff of aid to NGO’s has cast a spotlight on the purpose and reliability of reporting by China Labor Watch, China Digital Times, China Dissent Monitor, and other US government-funded nonprofits on which China critics from the far left to the far right have relied for their “scrutiny” of developments inside the PRC.
************************************************* > > U.S. Foreign-Aid Halt Is Making Scrutiny of China Even Harder > > > > Chun Han Wong > Wall Street Journal February 27 2025 https://archive.is/rkIWq#selection-2623.0-2631.10 > > China, the world’s second-largest economy, is already one of the most > impenetrable countries. Now, the Trump administration’s move to suspend > foreign aid is starting to derail nonprofit efforts to unearth data on > business and social trends—which was already hard to track ( > https://archive.is/o/rkIWq/https://www.wsj.com/articles/china-data-security-law-ships-ports-court-cases-universities-11638803230 > ). > > > Nonprofits cited halts to funding from U.S. institutions including the > State Department, the U.S. Agency for International Development and the > National Endowment for Democracy. > > > > Activists and nonprofit executives say the shutdown—led by Elon Musk’s > Department of Government Efficiency—is forcing nongovernment organizations > to suspend or stop their research on everything from human-rights abuses > to socioeconomic indicators prized by foreign businesses. > > > > One nonprofit has suspended efforts to collect data on public dissent and > worker unrest—information that investors and academics have mined for > clues on China’s economic health and social stability. Some activists say > they are cutting research on Chinese supply chains, disrupting work that > has helped foreign companies and consumers navigate legal and ethical > concerns over the alleged use of forced labor. > > > > Other NGOs are dialing back efforts to track the Communist Party’s > suppression of speech and religious freedoms, and worry that they may have > to cease contact with Chinese activists, independent journalists and > whistleblowers who share information that Beijing tries to suppress. Also > at risk are think-tank studies on Chinese cyber threats and > foreign-influence operations, which have uncovered potentially malicious > activities that democratic governments around the world are trying to > thwart. > > > > “U.S. government grants often fund research that cannot be conducted > easily in China due to Beijing’s formidable censorship apparatus,” said > Neil Thomas, a fellow on Chinese politics at the Asia Society Policy > Institute. “Cutting off support for researchers focused on understanding > Beijing could raise the risk of strategic misunderstandings that endanger > U.S. national security.” > > Foreign officials, academics and executives have turned to China-focused > NGOs ( > https://archive.is/o/rkIWq/https://www.wsj.com/articles/chinas-opaque-decision-making-confounds-business-governments-11673269970 > ) , and their local connections, for help parsing signals from a country > where the Communist Party has tightened controls on data and suppressed > independent analysis ( > https://archive.is/o/rkIWq/https://www.wsj.com/world/china/xi-jinping-muzzles-chinese-economist-who-dared-to-doubt-gdp-numbers-2a2468ef > ) of social and economic trends. Many of these NGOs now say they are > scrambling to seek new funding or lobby for resumptions to their grants. > > > Many of these NGOs have received U.S. government grants that were meant to > fund research and advocacy projects that support Washington’s > foreign-policy goals, according to a U.S. government database. > > Their findings have informed policy debates in Washington, with citations > by the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, and in reports > ( > https://archive.is/o/rkIWq/https://www.cecc.gov/publications/annual-reports > ) published by the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, a group of > lawmakers and executive-branch officials that tracks human-rights issues > in the country. > > > Some of these NGOs have also provided international institutions such as > the United Nations with information on alleged human-rights abuses and > forced labor in China, such as the Communist Party’s forced-assimilation > program targeting Uyghurs and other Muslim ethnic minorities in the > frontier region of Xinjiang, according to activists and nonprofit > executives familiar with such work. > > > > One widely cited data set on social unrest in China came from Freedom > House, a Washington-based organization that tracks political freedoms > around the world, which said the U.S. aid freeze has forced it to suspend > its China Dissent Monitor, a platform that documents protests and other > forms of public unrest. > > > > Launched in 2022, China Dissent Monitor documents mainly in-person > demonstrations and online dissent by tracking news reports and > social-media posts, as well as information from local activists and NGOs. > In its most recent quarterly report, the initiative said it tracked 937 > instances of dissent from July to September last year, a 27% increase from > the same period in 2023, and categorized more than 40% of protests as > being led by workers. > > > > “We hope that we will be able to continue work on this important project > soon,” Freedom House said. > > > > While major nonprofits suspend U.S.-backed research projects on China, > smaller organizations say they are struggling to survive, even after > furloughing or laying off staff to buy time. Many of these groups are > reluctant to speak publicly about their difficulties, since this could > make public their reliance on U.S. funding and jeopardize the safety of > partners in China, activists said. > > > > “When smaller NGOs are broken, they can’t be easily rebuilt,” said an > Asia-based executive of an American private foundation that has provided > funding to China-focused nonprofits. “The functions and capabilities that > these NGOs provide would be lost.” > > > > China Digital Times, a California-based website that tracks Chinese > censorship, said it has slashed management salaries and working hours for > regular staff after losing grants from the National Endowment for > Democracy, a nonprofit funded by the U.S. Congress. > > > > Founded in 2003, China Digital Times has emerged as a leading resource on > Beijing’s media and internet policies by publishing government propaganda > directives and archiving internet content scrubbed by Chinese censors. Its > work has helped foreign officials and academics study how the Communist > Party tries to shape public narratives, and preserved Chinese voices and > writings that would otherwise have been lost. > > In February, Canadian authorities said ( > https://archive.is/o/rkIWq/https://www.canada.ca/en/global-affairs/news/2025/02/rapid-response-mechanism-canada-detects-information-operation-targeting-a-candidate-for-the-leadership-campaign-of-the-liberal-party-of-canada.html > ) they relied on China Digital Times’s findings to uncover what they called > a malicious information operation that targeted former Canadian finance > minister Chrystia Freeland, a candidate to succeed Prime Minister Justin > Trudeau ( > https://archive.is/o/rkIWq/https://www.wsj.com/topics/person/justin-trudeau > ). > > > “This funding cut has had severe and immediate consequences on our ability > to continue this work effectively,” said Xiao Qiang, the founder of China > Digital Times, who is seeking a resumption of the NED grants while > searching for new financing. > > > > The NED said it has been “forced to suspend support for nearly 2,000 > partners worldwide,” even though 95% of its funding comes from Congress, > isn’t considered foreign assistance, and should have been exempt from > Trump’s aid freeze. “The disruption is hitting hardest in highly > repressive environments, where dedicated frontline organizations have been > forced to lay off staff, curtail operations, and, in some cases, face > increased security threats,” NED said. > > > > China Labor Watch, a New York-based advocacy group that monitors workers’ > rights, said the aid freeze eliminated some 90% of its $1 million budget > for this year. The group has suspended investigations into the use of > forced labor in Chinese supply chains—work that helped U.S. authorities > identify and ban imports from companies that allegedly use Uyghurs and > other ethnic minorities as forced labor. > > > > The Atlantic Council, a Washington-based think tank, has paused work on > several China-focused projects that were funded by State Department > grants, including research on how Beijing tries to use international > institutions to advance its interests, and a program to train Latin > American journalists on how to monitor Chinese influence operations in > that region. > > > > The think tank is working to get the grants restored, according to Romesh > Ratnesar, senior vice president of engagement at the Atlantic Council. > “These programs are cost-effective investments in U.S. national security,” > he said. “They allow for independent research and engagement to counter > China’s strategic ambitions.” > > > > The Australian Strategic Policy Institute, a Canberra-based think tank, > said the U.S. funding halt has prompted it to stop work on China-related > research and data projects—worth about $1.2 million—that focused on > cybersecurity and technology issues. The think tank’s China work has often > been cited by members of the U.S. Congress. > > > > “Like many NGOs we’re waiting to hear whether this work will proceed in > the months to come,” said Danielle Cave, ASPI’s director of strategy and > research. “In the meantime, we’re looking for alternative support and > staff have been moved to other projects where possible.” > > > > To help finance its work, ASPI is planning to charge access fees for some > of its more popular research, particularly on China-related projects that > require significant resources to produce and maintain, Cave said. “In an > ideal world, we want it to be free-for-all public good, but in this > situation, we don’t have much of a choice.” > > > > U.S. government grants have accounted for roughly 10% to 12% of ASPI’s > funding and financed roughly 70% of its China research since 2019, which > included studies on Chinese disinformation and data-harvesting operations, > according to the institute. In its latest annual report, ASPI said it > received nearly 3 million Australian dollars—about $1.9 million at current > rates—in U.S. State Department grants during the 2022-2023 financial year, > which supported work on issues including disinformation and protection > against intellectual property theft. > > > > “The U.S. government was the key funder of large grants on topics focused > on China,” Cave said. Other governments and supporters have tended to give > far smaller grants or actively avoid funding China-focused projects, for > fear of upsetting the Chinese government, even though they “eagerly read > and use the research once it’s published,” she said. > > > > “This work is data-intensive, expensive and there is no backup” to the > U.S. funding, Cave said. “Now other governments need to step up.” > > > -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Groups.io Links: You receive all messages sent to this group. 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