In recent years, there has been a proliferation of nonpolitical talk radio shows and tabloid magazines. The market-driven press is allowed to report on inefficient government agencies, environmental damages, official corruption, and other issues that dovetail with Beijing's interests. Authorities use a complex process to weed out any groups that could potentially oppose the government. Independent labor organizations or other NGOs cannot serve a function ostensibly served by an existing government-sponsored organization. Each NGO must report to a specific government department and must receive official approval to receive foreign funding.
Freedom of assembly is limited.
In recent years, authorities have tolerated some public protests on labor, housing, and local government issues, while forcibly ending others. The government tightly controls organized religious practice. Officials pressure Roman Catholic and Protestant churches to register with either the official Catholic Patriotic Association or its Protestant counterpart. Official Roman Catholic churches cannot maintain loyalty to the Vatican. While many unregistered Protestant churches and openly pro-Vatican Roman Catholic groups are able to function, scores of churches have been raided, closed, or demolished.