2023-12-31-accounts

Trustees’ Annual Report for the period from 10/02/2023 to 31/12/2023

Charity name: UK-China Transparency

Charity registration number: 1201902

Objectives and Activities

	SORP reference
Summary of the purposes of the charity as set out in its governing document	Para 1.17	1.FOR THE PUBLIC BENEFIT THE ADVANCEMENT OF EDUCATION, TRAINING AND RESEARCH IN THE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN CHINA AND THE UK IN EDUCATION, BUSINESS AND CULTURE AND IN GOOD GOVERNANCE, ETHICS AND TRANSPARENCY IN SUCH RELATIONSHIPS; 2.THE PROMOTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS (AS SET OUT IN THE UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS AND SUBSEQUENT UNITED NATIONS CONVENTIONS AND DECLARATIONS) THROUGHOUT THE WORLD BY ALL OR ANY OF THE FOLLOWING MEANS: • RESEARCH INTO HUMAN RIGHTS ISSUES; • RAISING AWARENESS OF HUMAN RIGHTS ISSUES; • PROMOTING PUBLIC SUPPORT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS; • PROMOTING RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS AMONG INDIVIDUALS AND CORPORATIONS.
Summary of the main activities in relation to those purposes for the public benefit, in particular, the activities, projects or services identified in the accounts.	Para 1.17 and 1.19	The charity addresses its purpose by carrying out specific research projects and disseminating appropriate publications. It also organises events both for the purpose of fundraising and to disseminate the work that it has carried out.
Statement confirming whether the trustees have had regard to the guidance issued by the Charity Commission on public benefit	Para 1.18	The Trustees pay careful attention to the Charity Commission’s guidance. Before any project is undertaken it is reviewed both by the Trustees and also by appropriate members of the Advisory Board. Publications are reviewed independently by at least two of the Trustees to ensure that they fall within the charity’s objects and pass the test of public benefit.

	SORP reference
Contribution made by volunteers	Para 1.38	UKCT relies on the advice of a network of academics, technical experts, and community leaders. We also have a formal Advisory Board, appointed by the Trustees. Details of the Advisory Board are given on the Charity’s website. We are extremely grateful to the expert input that our Advisory Board and other advisors provide.

Achievements and Performance

	SORP reference
Summary of the main achievements of the charity, identifying the difference the charity’s work has made to the circumstances of its beneficiaries and any wider benefits to society as a whole.	Para 1.20	As part of the Charity’s setup phase, a detailed website was designed and launched and an initial advisory board was recruited. Research was carried out and reports published on 1. Confucius Institutes in British Universities 2. The Lau China Institute at King’s College London 3. Cambridge University’s collaboration with the Chinese military The research was based on open source material supplemented by appropriate Freedom of Information requests. Full details are published on the Charity’s website. In addition our website Digital Library published a large amount of data on UK universities’ financial ties to China and on the role of Chinese Students and Scholars Associations (CSSAs) on UK campuses. This is background data to research carried out by other charities (Civitas and the Henry Jackson Society). A launch event to publicise the Charity and its initial work was held at the House of Lords (kindly hosted by Lord Moore of Etchingham) in October 2023. The speakers were Chung Ching Kwong (Inter- Parliamentary Alliance on China) David Schlesinger (Former chairman, Thomson Reuters China) Howard Zhang (Former editor, BBC Chinese)

Achievements against objectives set	Para 1.41	Initial objectives were to set up the basic infrastructure (governance, advisory structure, website, etc.), and to set the direction of the charity by carrying out initial projects and beginning to populate the published library of documents. These objectives were clearly achieved.
Performance of fundraising activities against objectives set	Para 1.41	The objective was to raise sufficient funds to cover all set-up costs, as well as the costs of work carried out during the year, leaving enough over to set the charity on a solid foundation for its subsequent work. Thanks to the generosity of individual donors this was achieved.

Financial Review

Financial Review
Review of the charity’s financial position at the end of the period	Para 1.21	At the year end the balance at the bank was just over £7000. This was easily sufficient as a starting point for 2024.
Statement explaining the policy for holding reserves stating why they are held	Para 1.22	No specific reserves are held beyond the current account balance.
Amount of reserves held	Para 1.22	No specific reserves.
Reasons for holding zero reserves	Para 1.22	In the start up phase the policy is to ensure that no expenditure is incurred that cannot be covered by funds already raised, and there is no specific policy for reserves. This will be reviewed by the Trustees during 2024 as the Charity’s resources build up.
Details of fund materially in deficit	Para 1.24	None
Explanation of any uncertainties about the charity continuing as a going concern	Para 1.23	Because of the conservative approach taken to the charity’s activities, there is no material uncertainty.

Additional information (optional) You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:

The charity’s principal sources of funds (including any fundraising)	Para 1.47	Individual donations by supporters of the charity.
A description of the principal risks facing the charity	Para 1.46	Apart from the tight fiscal control used to avoid financial risk, care is taken over any risk (reputational or legal) of overstepping the Charity’s research and educational objectives. In particular any publications are carefully reviewed to ensure that all statements are evidence-based, with the evidence put into the public domain where possible.

Structure, Governance and Management

Type of governing document	Para 1.25	Constitution of a Charitable Incorporated Organisation whose onlyvotingmembers are its charitytrustees
How is the charity constituted?	Para 1.25	CIO
Trustee selection methods including details of any constitutional provisions e.g. election to post or name of any person or body entitled to appoint one or more trustees	Para 1.25	Apart from the first charity trustees, every trustee must be appointed for a term of three years by a resolution passed at a properly convened meeting of the charity trustees. In selecting individuals for appointment as charity trustees, the charity trustees must have regard to the skills, knowledge and experience needed for the effective administration of the CIO.

Reference and Administrative details

Charity name	UK-China Transparency
Other name the charity uses
Registered charity number	1201902
Charity’s principal address	101 Sotheby Road London N5 2UT

Names of the Charity Trustees who manage the Charity

Trustee name	Office
Martin Rowland Village	Chair
Samuel HarryWilliams-Dunning	Director
Sir Bernard Walter Silverman	Treasurer

Names of Advisers

Type of adviser	Name
Advisory Board Member	Dr David Tobin
Advisory Board Member	Simon Cheng
Advisory Board Member	Chris Hughes OBE
Advisory Board Member	Howard Zhang

Financial Statement

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UK-China Transparency Accounts 2023
Income Expenditure
Donations received £ 13,051.77
Interest £ 8.32
Bank charges £ 40.00
Office expenses (including printing and IT) £ 2,016.93
Events £ 2,051.50
Research and translation £ 883.70
Legal advice £ 1,000.00
Total £ 13,060.09 £ 5,992.13
Net surplus (at bank 31 Dec 2023) £ 7,067.96
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Declarations

The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above.

Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees

Signature(s) Full name(s) Position (eg Secretary, Chair, etc) Date	MARTIN VILLAGE	BERNARD SILVERMAN
	Martin Rowland Village	Bernard Walter Silverman
	Chair	Treasurer
	10 August 2024
	10 August 2024