Proposed laws in China could restrict academic partnerships

American institution managers are raising concerns, but indicate that they are willing to wait to see what the impact will be of proposed new laws in China. The laws would require foreign NGOs to register their activities with Chinese police authorities. The questions being raised relate to how broadly registration, and possible intervention by police authorities, will go and the fear is that the mere requirement to register activities will have a chilling impact on educational programs. Another fear is that the laws prohibit foreign NGOs from challenging state powers and security. The directors of NYU's U.S.-Asia Law Institute warn that the non-intervention restriction could even apply to activities outside China - meaning that action taken in the U.S.A. could jeopardize the ability to have a program in China or could result in prosecution of U.S.A. faculty, administration, and students who are in China for actions undertaken outside China.