1995 NED Regional Grants in Asia

According to the NED Annual Report for 1995, the following are details of US Government funds, allocated by the US Congress and dispersed by the NED:

Center for International Private Enterprise $52,022
To enable the Asian Institute of Management to convene a regional conference in Manila for participants from the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and Cambodia, designed to make government, business, and the media aware of the importance of a free flow of economic information and the value of an objective and independent media.

Free Trade Union Institute $799,966
To enable the Asian American Free Labor Institute to conduct a multi-faceted regional effort, including technical training for labor unions and other community organizations in Thailand, and programs to increase women's civil participation through sponsorship of services that promote greater community involvement; to help the exiled Burmese labor movement to intensify its democracy-education and organizing efforts inside Burma; to support union field offices in Thailand and India; to publish the English-language magazine Dawn, which covers democracy, labor and human rights, and politics in Burma; and to train democracy-education trainers.

Free Trade Union Institute $286,006
To enable the Asian American Free Labor Institute to build support for international child-labor standards, to promote implementation and enforcement of national legislation regulating or curtailing the use of child labor, and to facilitate research and promote public awareness of the issue in Asia.

Free Trade Union Institute $286,002 To enable the Asian American Free Labor Institute to promote the rule of law; to strengthen linkages between unions and other nongovernment organizations in Asia and the Near East; to provide direct assistance to dissidents and nascent worker and human rights organizations; to promote coalition building; and to gather and disseminate information throughout the region. Free Trade Union Institute $80,294 To enable the Asian American Free Labor Institute to conduct its union-to-union program in which AFL-CIO affiliates directly assist their counterparts in Bangladesh, South Korea, and Malaysia.

National Democratic Institute for International Affairs $104,431
To operate a regional program, in cooperation with the Manila-based National Citizen's Movement for Free Elections (NAMFREL); and to support Asian civic organizations that monitor elections and governmental performance. 

National Democratic Institute for International Affairs $105,824
To support the participation of members of parliament and party leaders from Bangladesh, Cambodia, and Pakistan in National Democratic Institute for International Affairs' programs in other regions of the world.

1995 NED Grants in Vietnam

According to the NED Annual Report for 1995, the following are details of US Government funds, allocated by the US Congress and dispersed by the NED:

Association of Vietnamese Overseas $84,000
To distribute Quê Me magazine, which is published six times a year and brings uncensored news and discussion of democratic ideas into Vietnam; to issue mini-bulletins on urgent human rights concerns in Vietnam; and, through its International Buddhist Information Bureau, to focus international attention on Vietnam's widespread repression of Buddhists who call for religious freedom.

Center for International Private Enterprise $134,553
To enable Dalat University in Vietnam, in conjunction with Georgetown University Center for Intercultural Education Development, to continue its efforts to improve its business education curriculum; to train Vietnamese business teachers in modern management, finance, accounting, and business ethics; and to develop indigenous business case studies for use in establishing similar programs in other Vietnamese universities. 

Institute for Democracy in Vietnam $100,000
To support a series of mini-courses on law and human rights conducted in Vietnam.

1995 NED Grants in Tibet

According to the NED Annual Report for 1995, the following are details of US Government funds, allocated by the US Congress and dispersed by the NED:

International Campaign for Tibet $25,000
To enhance Chinese knowledge of Tibet by contributing articles about Tibet to newspapers and magazines within China and abroad; to arrange meetings among key opinion makers; and to translate books about Tibet into Chinese. 

The Tibet Fund $38,950
To support its "Tibet Voice" project, which disseminates news and information about democracy inside Tibet and among the exile community of Tibetans in India and Nepal through audio cassettes, videotapes, and booklets.

1995 NED Grant in Thailand

According to the NED Annual Report for 1995, the following are details of US Government funds, allocated by the US Congress and dispersed by the NED: 

International Republican Institute $98,235
To work with the Thai Women in Politics Institute to foster political and leadership development for women through a series of political training seminars.

1995 NED Grants in Sri Lanka

According to the NED Annual Report for 1995, the following are details of US Government funds, allocated by the US Congress and dispersed by the NED:

Free Trade Union Institute $114,075
To enable the Asian American Free Labor Institute to promote trade union initiatives that have an impact on the lives of women, migrants, and young workers--initiatives that foster a commitment in trade unions to become active participants in civil society. 

International Republican Institute $51,083
To help Sri Lanka's political parties develop effective national campaign strategies and an institutionalized system of conducting nationwide public opinion research.

1995 NED Grants in Philippines

According to the NED Annual Report for 1995, the following are details of US Government funds, allocated by the US Congress and dispersed by the NED:

Center for International Private Enterprise $92,299
To enable the Center for Research and Communication to strengthen business organizations in three medium-sized municipalities and help them undertake locally-based advocacy activities.

Free Trade Union Institute $87,440

To enable the Asian American Free Labor Institute to work with the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines to develop training and work programs designed to create stronger trade unions and more effective ways of involving workers in public-policy forums.

1995 NED Grants in Nepal

According to the NED Annual Report for 1995, the following are details of US Government funds, allocated by the US Congress and dispersed by the NED:

Free Trade Union Institute $95,525
To enable the Asian American Free Labor Institute to work with the Nepal Trade Union Congress to conduct labor education programs, assist workers in structuring enterprise-level units, and register its enterprise-level unions with the Ministry of Labor; and to organize programs with Nepali labor lawyers to develop education materials. 

National Democratic Institute for International Affairs $115,339
To conduct a multi-faceted program to strengthen the parliament as a democratic decision-making institution.

1995 NED Grant in Mongolia

According to the NED Annual Report for 1995, the following are details of US Government funds, allocated by the US Congress and dispersed by the NED: 

League of Democratic Mongolian Women $15,050
To support the expansion of its activities supporting democratic development and respect for human rights, individual freedom, and pluralism, particularly through promotion of public awareness of the role of NGOs and the involvement of women in political life.

1995 NED Grant in Indonesia

According to the NED Annual Report for 1995, the following are details of US Government funds, allocated by the US Congress and dispersed by the NED: 

Center for International Private Enterprise $99,618
To enable the Press Foundation of Asia and the private Indonesian news agency, KNI, to educate and sharpen the reporting skills of economic journalists, particularly those employed by provincial newspapers.

1995 NED Grants in Hong Kong

According to the NED Annual Report for 1995, the following are details of US Government funds, allocated by the US Congress and dispersed by the NED:

Hong Kong Human Rights Monitor $30,000
To focus local and international public attention on areas of Hong Kong law and practice that do not safeguard human rights. 

International Republican Institute $25,000
To conduct an assessment of the 17 September 1995 legislative elections in Hong Kong.

1995 NED Grants in China

According to the NED Annual Report for 1995, the following are details of US Government funds, allocated by the US Congress and dispersed by the NED:

Center for International Private Enterprise $116,138
To enable the China Center for Economic Research to organize a lecture series and conference on reform analyzing the progress of China's transition to a market-based economy and new developments in economic reform.

Center for International Private Enterprise $67,971
To enable the Chinese Economists Society to organize a symposium highlighting the problems faced by state-run industries and offering ideas on market-based reforms.

Center for International Private Enterprise $16,198
To enable the Unirule Institute of Economics to organize biweekly symposia bringing together private entrepreneurs, academics, government officials, and journalists to discuss issues related to China's transition to a market economy, including reform of state-owned enterprises, economic and political globalization, and the development of civil society.

Center for Modern China $100,000
To support the publication of Modern China Studies, a bimonthly Chinese-language periodical; five Chinese-language books in the Center's series on the rule of law for publication and distribution within China; and the Journal of Contemporary China, an English-language journal.

The China Strategic Institute $30,000
To produce a series of studies and policy papers on solving pressing contemporary problems for circulation to selected policy makers in China.

Democratic China Magazine $65,000
To support continued publication and worldwide distribution of this Chinese-language bimonthly, which provides a forum for the uncensored views of Chinese democrats in exile and in China.

Free Trade Union Institute $435,753
To enable the Asian American Free Labor Institute to support the work of leading labor activists both inside China and in exile, including the monthly publication of the Chinese-language China Labour Bulletin; to cooperate with Hong Kong-based groups to document Chinese labor rights abuses, especially in the region around Hong Kong; to develop informational materials for workers in that area; and to strengthen the Confederation of Trade Unions, a key component of Hong Kong's democracy movement, by helping it upgrade its communications and research capabilities.

Human Rights in China $140,000
To support its human rights program, which involves a number of integrated activities: producing and distributing in China educational materials (including a twice-monthly radio program) about human rights concepts and practices, providing direct advice and support for victims of human rights abuses who seek redress under the legal system, distributing financial assistance to prisoners' families, gathering information directly from families in China, and releasing timely reports; and to work with international NGOs, the media, governments, and intergovernmental bodies in pressuring the Chinese government to improve its human rights record.

Human Rights in China $25,000
To support its Women's Rights Assessment Project, which provided an objective overview of women's human rights in China and was available at the UN-sponsored NGO Forum and World Conference on Women held in Beijing in September 1995.

Independent Federation of Chinese Students and Scholars $24,000
To support continued publication of its newsletter, which is distributed to its campus chapters and other student associations and sent out over the Internet.

International Republican Institute $538,506
To continue to promote electoral and legislative reform in China through local election training programs in Shandong province (the third most populous province in China, with 80 million voters) and through programs encouraging the reform of China's legislative process, the decentralization of legislative authority to the provinces, and the strengthening of independent policy institutes and of the national and provincial congresses.

Laogai Research Foundation $89,000
To continue its investigations into the laogai system of forced labor, incorporating information into a comprehensive Chinese-English database, publishing the annual Laogai Handbook, and broadly disseminating information through special reports, speeches, and information provided to the mass media.

Press Freedom Guardian $40,000
To support continued publication of this Chinese-language biweekly newspaper, which provides a forum for the free exchange of ideas about democratization.

Princeton China Initiative $55,000
To support its Chinese-language monthly publication, The Road; its English-language monthly publication, China Focus; and its program of information collection and analysis.

Tendency Quarterly $20,000
To support publication and distribution costs of this journal containing poetry, prose, social criticism, and political commentary not publishable in government-controlled outlets. 

Today Literary Magazine $20,000
To continue to publish uncensored fiction and literary criticism.

1995 NED Grants in Cambodia

According to the NED Annual Report for 1995, the following are details of US Government funds, allocated by the US Congress and dispersed by the NED:

American Assistance for Cambodia $25,000
To train Cambodian students and practicing journalists in reporting, writing, editing, exercising news judgment, and libel; and to improve newspaper and newsletter production techniques using desktop-publishing software.

Cambodian Institute of Human Rights $59,000
To produce "Public Opinion," a series of weekly television and radio programs that address human rights and democracy issues, and a twice-weekly newspaper column answering questions about the democratic process.

Center for International Private Enterprise $65,151
To sponsor a strategic-planning workshop in Phnom Penh for Cambodian business leaders and experts from Asia and the West to explore the role of business organizations in promoting democratization and economic development in Cambodia.

Human Rights Vigilance of Cambodia $42,320
To conduct human rights training for provincial police forces in Cambodia.

International Human Rights Law Group $5,700
To allow Kem Sokha, one of Cambodia's most outspoken human rights advocates, to travel to the United States for one month.

International Human Rights Law Group $90,000
To support the Human Rights Task Force on Cambodia, which carries out on-the-job training and advises human rights organizations on how to do effective monitoring and investigation, with special emphasis on developing and improving the institutional capacity of women's NGOs.

International Republican Institute $309,303
To carry out a program of political party development focusing on provincial leadership training, intra-party communication, training of non-elected parties, party office consultations, and women's political leadership training.

Khmer Institute of Democracy $45,000
To support its integrated program of civic education, targeting both the general public and government officials and administrators.

Khmer Students Association $30,000
To continue its multi-faceted program to increase students' exposure to democratic principles, express their views, and take a more active role in their schools and communities.

National Democratic Institute for International Affairs $94,089
To conduct a multi-phase program to help develop the organizational capacity of Cambodia's three major political parties during a critical period in the country's troubled democratic transition. 

National Democratic Institute for International Affairs $169,612
To conduct a six-month program to develop and strengthen Cambodia's political parties in preparation for possible local elections in 1997 and for national elections in 1998.

1995 NED Grants in Burma

According to the NED Annual Report for 1995, the following are details of US Government funds, allocated by the US Congress and dispersed by the NED:

Associates to Develop Democratic Burma $30,000
To continue to publish and distribute Burma Alert, a monthly international newsletter about the democracy movement; and to maintain a Burma archive/data center to assist the Burmese democracy movement.

Human Rights for the People of Burma $115,000
To support the daily broadcast of the "Democratic Voice of Burma" radio program, which is taped in Bangkok and the border areas of Burma and broadcast over shortwave from Oslo, Norway.

International Republican Institute $110,000
To provide assistance to the Burmese prodemocracy movement in its efforts to pressure the military junta, the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC), to restore democracy in Burma, including support for the Political Defiance Committee, an umbrella organization of 12 ethnic and prodemocracy groups devoted to training Burmese in promoting democratization through nonviolent political action, and for the National League for Democracy/Liberated Areas--Thailand border and western border.

National Coalition for Democracy $50,000
To enable the exiled Burmese elected representatives, the National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma (NCGUB), to increase pressure on the SLORC to respond to Aung San Suu Kyi's offer of a political dialogue; to advocate measures to strengthen the mandate of the UN Special Rapporteur for Human Rights for Burma; and to support the National Council of the Union of Burma (NCUB), a coalition of Burma's prodemocracy political parties and ethnic groups, in its efforts to promote solidarity in the liberated and cease-fire areas along Burma's borders.  

The New Era Journal $20,000 To support continued publication of this bimonthly Burmese-language newspaper that provides an alternative source of printed news and information to Burmese living under the SLORC military junta. Nonviolence International $50,000 To conduct an intensive training program on the India-Burma border to promote the theory of nonviolent political action and to train activists how to enlist support for the democratic cause while operating under difficult conditions; and to provide support for the ongoing activities of the newly established western border component of the Political Defiance Committee.

NED 1995 Annual Report – Programs in Asia

"Quê Me's network of democratic activists in Viet Nam has enabled us to provide swift and reliable information to the international community on the status of human rights violations in Viet Nam, and urge governments and international organizations to pressure the Vietnamese government to make reforms."

--Vo Van Ai, President, Vietnam Committee on Human Rights

"Today, China's greatest challenge is dealing with problems of workers as the country restructures its economy. We believe that if workers can begin to responsibly consult with management that China will have a chance to move peacefully towards a more democratic society."

--Han Dongfang, Editor, China Labor Bulletin

NED's multi-faceted program in China includes support for human rights monitoring and education, publications that provide a forum for the uncensored views of Chinese democrats, work with reformers at the provincial level on electoral reform, symposia on market reform issues, and promotion of international labor rights standards. Recipients of funding include Chinese dissidents and their support groups in the West, among them Harry Wu and the Laogai Research Foundation, Wang Juntao and the China Strategic Institute, and the Hong Kong-based labor activist Han Dongfang. Upon his return to the United States following incarceration in China in the summer of 1995, Harry Wu stated, "Without NED's support, my colleagues and I simply could not continue to document and report the truth about China's gulag and how it stands in the way of the development of democracy." In my humble opinion, the money for NED "puts the American people squarely behind those struggling for the cause that America has always represented to others around the world--'the cause of freedom'."

The Hong Kong-based Labour Education and Information Center, which is supported by NED through the Asian American Free Labor Institute, published two reports in its China Labour Bulletin that effectively challenged Chinese government propaganda about the role of women in China during the period leading up to the UN Conference on Women held in Beijing. These reports discussed the plight of women workers in various industrial sectors, efforts of government-controlled groups to prevent independent unions, and suggestions for reform. The publications, which received widespread media coverage outside China, were confiscated by security personnel as an attempt was made to distribute them during the Beijing conference.

NED also supported a multi-faceted program in Burma, where the unexpected release of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi brought a glimmer of hope for democratic progress. NED funding (through the National Coalition for Democracy) for the efforts of the National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma (NCGUB) to heighten international awareness of the situation in Burma helped increase pressure for improvements in the human rights situation and for Suu Kyi's release. The International Republican Institute (IRI) provided financial and technical support to the National League for Democracy/Liberated Areas. Despite the pressures imposed by Burma's pervasive internal security, IRI worked with elements of the prodemocracy movement located on the border areas and within Burma to support the exiled democratically-elected government. Through the Asian American Free Labor Institute, vital assistance is being provided to the Federation of Trade Unions of Burma to develop trade union materials, train educators and organizers, and publish a newsletter for workers inside the country and along the

Thai-Burmese border. With NED funding, a twice-daily short-wave radio program known as the "Democratic Voice of Burma" became a dependable source of information throughout Burma and was a major source of news and information for Suu Kyi during her years of house arrest. NED support also helped to double the circulation of The New Era, a bimonthly Burmese language newspaper covering current conditions in the country and the activities of the prodemocracy movement. Both the "Democratic Voice of Burma" and The New Era have become integral parts of the democratic leadership's strategic plan to rally support for a democratic transition. Dr. Sein Win, the elected prime minister of the NCGUB, has recognized NED for its support, noting the critical role the Endowment has played in helping Burma's democratic forces continue their struggle to restore democracy.

IRI has also been active in Mongolia, the one country in Asia that has moved from communism to democracy, helping two democratic parties prepare for the country's second round of parliamentary elections, to be held in 1996. To compete effectively against a ruling parliamentary party that has vastly superior resources, these parties were encouraged to develop national party platforms and a means of communicating them to rural dwellers who make up 80 percent of the population. At a training session held in September for the national leadership and party leaders from each of the 18 provinces and three municipalities, IRI trainers emphasized the need to develop a strategic plan for the ten months prior to the election.