Donor Intent at Risk

We have written of the risks that the intent of donors will be derailed once universities get a hold of the cash. That is a particularly acute concern when the donors are American taxpayers. “Under President Bush, the United States began a program to support democracy, human rights, and the rule of law in China by quietly providing grants to NGOs, universities, and others who partnered with reform-minded organizations in China on specific projects,” Amy E. Gadsden related in a recent report to the Foreign Policy Research Institute. “This program has operated with little fanfare in the belief that more and better work could be done without a spotlight.”

“The program provided approximately $100 million from 2002-2008 and supported some of the most cutting-edge reform issues in China, such as access to justice, civil society building, and expanding public participation in governance.” Gadsden does not discuss the oversight, if any, that accompanied this largesse, on either side of the Pacific.

“By comparison, the State Department’s Middle East Partnership Initiative has contributed five times the amount to support civil society and development in that region,” Gadsden reports. An associate dean at the University of Pennsylvania’s law school, Gadsden is committed to democracy and human rights in China.

Malcolm A. Kline is the executive director of Accuracy in Academia.