While presenting a work plan for the year at a national seminar in January, an official from the Provincial HIV/AIDS Prevention Committee of Gansu said they planned to find partners at the community level to promote education to prevent HIV/AIDS.

"Why don't you plan to work with grass-roots NGOs non-governmental organizations?" demanded an expert from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention in appraising the work plan.

"You know ours is still a province of low-occurrence with only 300 reported cases of HIV/AIDS in a population of 26.2 million," replied the Gansu official. "The grass-roots NGOs there, if any, are not as visible as those in the coastal areas in the east or in areas hit harder by the epidemic. We are still looking for them."

She added that the local government was aware of the importance of NGO partnerships in HIV/AIDS control, saying, "We do plan to help catalyze the birth of NGOs this year."

While other participants, mostly officials, seemingly took the remark for granted, I was struck by the acceptance and appreciation of NGOs.

Here is an official from a government department and she was talking about "catalyzing the birth of NGOs" to collaborate with their AIDS prevention work.

In contrast, only 10 years ago, many government officials in this country looked at grass-roots NGOs suspiciously, regarding them as more hostile than cooperative. They would only recognize the so-called GONGOs - governmental non-governmental organizations like the trade unions, women's federations and Youth League committees.

One may sense utilitarianism in this change of attitude. As in HIV/AIDS control, officials have found the governmental power limited in reaching out to certain groups, such as prostitutes, injection drug users and homosexuals. NGOs have an advantage in conducting peer education among these hard-to-reach groups.

Behind this pragmatism is a change in the official mindset toward NGOs. Years ago many Chinese officials would be scared at the very mention of NGO, assuming it was simply anti-government. Even when they learned NGOs are an important part of modern society, many officials still shunned them, probably not sure whether the NGOs would be destructive or constructive.

Now we see an official and I'm sure she is not alone eager to be associated with grass-roots NGOs. This indicates a greater official recognition of the essential role NGOs play in HIV/AIDS control, public health promotion, environmental protection, poverty alleviation and other services. Such recognition, though just starting, is significant.

Indeed, NGOs often prove complementary to government work.

For instance, a couple of weeks ago, 21 environmental NGOs from across China sent a petition to consumers nationwide to boycott products from companies causing pollution.

Based on information released by the government, the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs that masterminded the "Green Choice" campaign produced a list of polluters and their products to help consumers.

"This is a brilliant boost to the enforcement of environmental laws," remarked Mou Guangfeng, an official with the State Environmental Protection Administration. Such activities put the data released by the government to good use. Putting social pressure on polluters will benefit the public.

Government departments have no reason to reject such NGOs. Without their efforts, many good ideas might not go beyond official documents.

The change in the official attitude toward grass-roots NGOs may explain the increasing number of NGOs in China despite some oppositions that still exists to the registering of NGOs. According to the Ministry of Civil Affairs, registered NGOs numbered 346,000 by the end of 2006, up 8 percent from the previous year.

It is certain that individual NGOs come and go, and in general they have to experience a lot of growing pains before a true civil society takes shape. But China's NGOs have already demonstrated their viability not only as a complement to government work. They also provide a channel for public participation in decisions concerning their welfare.

That is in conformity with the government's commitment to democratize the decision-making process and build a harmonious society.

The author is a council member of the China Society for Human Rights Studies

(China Daily 04/13/2007 page10)