NGO, "Non-Governmental Organization", a term introduced to the United Nations in 1945.

In the broadest definition, all organizational entities that are not directly affiliated with the government and do not aim to directly produce profits can be called NGOs. But this coverage is too broad and can be subdivided into: non-profit organizations (NPO), volunteer organizations (VO), self-help groups (SHO), social movement organizations (SMO), there are many types. However, in the current Chinese Internet context, NGOs generally refer to various non-governmental organizations that are inextricably linked to the governments of Western countries and international capital.

In 1983, under the auspices of the White House and with funding from the U.S. Congress, the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) was formally established. It has established several institutions under its umbrella, including the International Democratic Institute (NDI) and the International Research Institute of Political Science and Research (IRI). Oh, that's right, "democracy" and "reconciliation" are the responsibility of the two parties in the United States respectively. Their main work is to provide funding and training to hundreds of NGO organizations around the world. At this point, you may already be familiar with these institutions. In the situation in Hong Kong in the past few years, these institutions are also familiar faces.

The first committee member of the institute was U.S. Army Major General and intelligence officer Edward B. Atkeson. Then the institute successively received funding from the U.S. Department of Defense, the U.S. Institute of Peace, NED, and the Open Society Foundations (OSF).