Date: Wed, 27 Oct 1993 00:46:58 CDT Reply-To: liu@cae.wisc.edu Sender: China-Net From: liu@cae.wisc.edu Subject: C h i n e s e C o m m u n i t y F o r u m 9310 (10/27/93) To: Multiple recipients of list CHINA-NT ==+==+==+== C h i n e s e C o m m u n i t y F o r u m ==+==+==+=== Wednesday, October 27, 1993 (Issue No. 9310) +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+= Chinese Community Forum (CCF) is a journal published on China-Net. CCF is dedicated to the discussion and debate on the issues related to our community. The opinions expressed here do not necessarily represent the views of the Editorial Board of CCF. Contributions to the discussions and suggestions of new topics are very much appreciated. +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+= Table of Contents Author | # of Lines ============================================================================ 1. Theme of the Issue: IFCSS and Local CSSA a. Talking about IFCSS, Five Years after June 4th ............ Echo Wang 85 b. Relation of the IFCSS and Her Members ...................... Yuhe Liu 40 c. Chinese Independent Union at UW-Madison .................... Enjia Li 36 2. China Watch: a. China's Runaway Economy: Can It Be Slowed Without Being Crashed? .................. The Economist (10/16/93) 77 b. China--Fear of Foreigners .................. The Economist (10/16/93) 59 c. Seasick in a Rising Tide ................................. Joe Klein 87 3. From Readers: The Commercial Ads in the Recent IFCSS NR and the IFCSS .................................. Bo Peng and XXXX XX 76 4. Information Exchange: After PR Granted under CSPA ........... Guan Zhu 26 ============================================================================ ===========***==========***==========**==========***==========***=========== From The Editor ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Most of us have witnessed the achievments made by IFCSS in both protecting the interests of CSS in the US and improving the human rights record in China in the last four years. IFCSS has shown with its practice that it has become an experienced and strong CSS organization representing the interests of most CSS in US. The big challenge IFCSS faces now is how to involve the newly arriving students to participate in the IFCSS activities. In this issue of CCF, we carry two articles from Echo Wang and Yuhe Liu to continue the discussion on the relation of IFCSS and local CSSAs. We hope the articles can broaden the scope of our thinking for a better IFCSS. At the end of this column, the article about CIU at UW-Madison will help you know more about local student organizations. Starting from this week, the Chinese Community Forum introduces a new column to our readers: China Watch. In this column, we are going to bring our readers China-related articles written by the people living in the west. This issue of CCF carries three articles on the current economic and social situation of China. There is no doubt in our mind that the experience of democracy and free market economy from western scholars, journalists, economists and statesmen will greatly benefit the process of democratization and economic reform of our motherland. By learning more on their way of looking at China, we can learn more of their experience and learn more about ourselves. We will be equally enthusiastic in expecting our readers to contribute to this column. We, the oversea CSS have a special perspective. We appreciate the concepts of human rights, democracy and free market economy while we treasure our national historical and cultural heritage. We will be able to examine the political and economic development in China from a unique position that few others will be able to do. This will definitely help the reform drive in our country and promote the mutual understanding between the peoples with different background. In the column of From Readers, one reader voices out his concerns on a commercial advertisement in recent IFCSS NR and one reader comments on structure of IFCSS. A short notice about CSPA at the end of this issue may be worthy for some readers. ===========***==========***==========**==========***==========***=========== 1a. Talking about IFCSS, Five Years after June 4th ............ Echo Wang 85 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Foreword: This is purely a fact-based report of live interviews with some CSS on one of the university campuses. The remarks and comments are directly from the interviewees, and doesn't necessarily represent the points of views of all the CSS in the States. Also the situation may only represent that one campus, not all the campuses in the States. One thing needs to be clarified here is for whatever reason, many people confuse the activities of other organizations with those of IFCSS. No corrections are made at those places in this article. So please keep cool if some parts of this article appear to be offending to you-- they do not mean it. __________ __________ __________ __________ TALKING ABOUT IFCSS --Five years after 6.4, today's IFCSS seems to be best known as Green Card obtainer over anything else it has been doing. CSS who have been in the States for a decade long or only a few months, no matter how much they know about various services IFCSS provides or how much they care about the political stand IFCSS takes, all of them more or less know that it is the IFCSS who worked out the Green Card Bill that took care of a huge number of Chinese in the U.S. If we call CSS who came to the U.S. before 4/11/90 as Early-Comers (EC) and after as Late-Comers (LC), it is not surprising to see quite some differences between the attitudes and level of awareness between these two groups. Most EC's, even those who said they have absolutely no interests in politics, know about and appreciate the various services that IFCSS provides even if they don't use them. And of course above all, they all sincerely appreciate the good job IFCSS has done in obtaining P.R. for this group which saved them a lot of expected troubles during a regular immigration process. With the handy Green Card, quite a few people have changed their previous plan of (unvolunteerily) staying in academic, taken the advantage of free traveling between the States and China, and planed to start some international business. On the other hand, enviness, even jealousy could be seen from the LC group. We know people have various attitudes, but there's no way to estimate the percentages of LC's who can take it easy from being excluded from getting "free" Green Cards, who get really mad or who are just a little bit unhappy. While some LC's strongly suggest that IFCSS is soly for the interest of EC's mainly because of the CSPA issue, most LC's are rational enough to think that IFCSS is not the one to blame. While some think IFCSS is politics oriented, some think it is service oriented and some think it is both. However, a large amount of CSS, especially those newly come, are not very clear of what kind of organization IFCSS is. They are not clear about what goals IFCSS has for the present and the future either. Many CSS like the e-mail news nets (CND, China-net, etc.) and somehow think they are operated by IFCSS, they give credit to IFCSS for doing a good job keeping CSS update :-). Newly come CSS are mostly swamped in adjusting to the new environment and struggling to make a living. What is going on in the world is definitely secondary to them compare to the bread and butter issues. They mostly admit having no time, no energy and no (handy) channel of knowing IFCSS. A local CSSA officer highly appraises what IFCSS has done both in politics and in service. He is always supportive to IFCSS's activities, and always tries to be update, but still he doesn't know about what the major issues IFCSS is working on and what its future goals are. He likes the trip IFCSS HQ staff made to the universities earlier this Fall, would like to be more informed and keep a closer relationship with the IFCSS. He also mentioned the position of local CSSA, somewhat complex for being in between of the IFCSS and the Consulate. He hopes that people could understand that for the interest of local CSS, there is no point of going against either party. When talking about some specific events related to IFCSS, the pride of Chinese comes out strongly. This is expressed in two ways. One way is feeling proud of having such a national organization that speaks for the interests of Chinese in occasions of racial discriminations, etc. The other way is blaming IFCSS for being blind in front of the improvements made in China and generally not in favor of any of IFCSS's actions against "China" (not Communist Party) which they believe "hurting the pride of Chinese." IFCSS's Statement for IOC's 2000 Olympic Decision is an example, while one of the most modest comments is: "They really don't have to voice out at all." Some suggest that if IFCSS would like to declare its stand in such occasions, it should conduct a survey to make sure it is representing the majority of CSS. Among other comments are IFCSS should not always be hostile to the Chinese government (consulates), should care more about its social influences (and less about money), and after all it may take some big issue for IFCSS to regain it's previous popularity :-). (From: 12-OCT-93) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1b. Relation of the IFCSS and Her Members ...................... Yuhe Liu 40 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dear CCF Editor: After the IFCSS 5th Congress, the election of the delegates from CGSA at University of Maryland at College Park caused a conflict within the CGSA. The former and current CGSA presidents were all elected as the IFCSS council member and SVC member, respectively. One of the opponent's arguements was that, as the president of an independent student organization, the best policy is to be independent. On the Later Comer net, I heard similar voice that the LC, as an independent organization, should stay away from the IFCSS. Then we may ask, what is the independence and what is the relationship between the IFCSS and its member CSS organizations. As defined in their constitution, the IFCSS and most of CSS organizations are supposed to be independent CSS organizations. The independence means that the organization operates and acts only based on its members' opinions, not on anybody else. In the IFCSS bylaws, the IFCSS is difined as a COORDINATOR of the CSS organizations in the US. Its members can be any CSS organizations in the US. The IFCSS holds an annual Congress meeting during which the delegates from local CSS organizations vote to determine its directions, policies, and leadership. After the annual congress, the IFCSS is run by its HQ and Council. On the other hands, the only specific responsibility for its members is the membership fee which, in fact, was never implemented. Therefore, member organizations have no other obligations to the IFCSS. Any individual member organization dose not have to follow the IFCSS's resolutions and can have its own opinions on any issues no matter how different from the IFCSS's which should be the majority opinions of its members. In this sense, the individual member organizations are independent from the IFCSS. Reverse should be also true. Since people always have different opinions, the different points of views on some issues between the IFCSS and its individual members should not be surprised. But the IFCSS should never have opinions different from its majority members. For local CSS organizations, the first thing to do to improve the IFCSS is to improve the quality of their delegates. Although the IFCSS is the largest nationwide CSS organization, the IFCSS dose not have the majority CSS organizations as its members. Therefore, it is best for the IFCSS to say it represents only its members (not all CSS), though the IFCSS can do things for the interests of all CSS and others may consider the IFCSS as the representative of the CSS in the US. Best wishes. Yuhe (From: 8-OCT-1993) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1c. Chinese Independent Union at UW-Madison .................... Enjia Li 36 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chinese Independent Union (CIU) is a student organization at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. It protects the interests of Chinese students and promotes democratic progress in China. CIU is run by Chinese, for Chinese. Any Chinese student or scholar can become member. Members at CIU promote and practice freedom of speech, and of the press, and the right of the people peaceably to assemble. We see these three elements as the keys to democracy in the future China. Four years have passed since its establishment. CIU has transformed itself from a politically oriented group to a service oriented organization. This is because we realized that a democratizing China constitutes many complex and enormous transformations. This process can't be hastened or simplified. A small organization such as ours must realize our limited ability. But acknowledging our limitation and the magnitude of the problem doesn't mean we are giving up. Instead of wasting time in being frustrated, we economized our limited resources to practical use. We constantly ask ourselves "what can I do now"? We tried our best to help Chinese students and scholars (CSS). We contracted a health plan to meet CSS's medical needs, and save them money. We organized numerous field trips, dance parties, and movies, to enrich CSS's entertainment. Info-Net, Chinese Discussion Net, CND distribution Net and other networks and discussion groups have been established to promote rapid exchange of information among CSS. We play an important part of Chinese culture at Madison. Basically, CIU is a student organization, and its major function right now is to serve CSS. Many people have asked why still call it "Chinese Independent Union?" We shall not forget the reason for establishing CIU. "Independent" is to signify our total separation from Chinese dictators and our support with our fellow students in China who have struggled for democracy in China. "Independent" is our declaration of human rights. It is our way of saying we are capable of making our own judgments. For generations, Chinese have been conditioned to be submissive, to follow orders mindlessly. Our eyes are opened. There is no turning back! (From: 25-OCT-1993) ===========***==========***==========**==========***==========***=========== 2a. China's Runaway Economy: Can It Be Slowed Without Being Crashed? .................. The Economist (10/16/93) 77 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- "MAXIMUM bullish" was the judgment of the chief strategist of a New York investment bank about China's economic prospects. A lot of American fund managers agree with Barton Biggs, of Morgan Stanley. In the fortnight since he gave his both-thumbs-up to China, a flood of money under American institutional management has poured into the Hong Kong stockmarket; the Hang Seng index rose by more than 10%, to yet another record close on October 13th. The movement of this money has little to do with Hong Kong itself. American investors have simply ignored the British colony's overheated property market (usually a sign of stockmarket troubles to come) and the increasingly tetchy row between Britain and China over Hong Kong's political future. The Americans' view is that, for economic and investment purposes, Hong Kong and China are now one and the same. That may well be true. What is untrue is the belief that China's cyclical economic crisis is over: maximum bullshit, is more like it. This is not because the policy aims of China's leaders are misguided. Ever since Deng Xiaoping began reforming the Chinese economy 15 years ago, it has endured sharp cycles of boom and bust. At the previous peak, in 1988, inflation hit 80% at an annualised rate, panic buying cleared the shelves, and the government--under the influence of both political conservatives and lack of economic sophistication cracked down without discrimination: first on credit, then on the demonstrators in Tiananmen Square, lastly on economic reform itself. This time matters are different in many ways excitingly so. China's economy began overheating towards the end of 1992, a year when the economy grew at a real rate of some 13%. The growth rate accelerated in the first half of this year, to more than 14% at an annualised rate; industrial output was 25% higher in the first half of this year than in the same period in 1992, fixed asset investment a scary 70% higher. Price rises and money-supply increases were accelerating. The stabilisation programme introduced in July by Zhu Rongji, a Deng protege who has been made China's economic supremo, offered far more ground for hope than fear. First, although it was late, it came sooner in the cycle than the heavy-handed intervention of 1988-89. Second, this inflation has been driven by excessive investment, particularly in construction, not by too much consumer demand; so it ought to be easier to rein in, and without causing social unrest. Third, and most important, the slowdown this time is firmly in the hands of ardent reformers, not of the enemies of reform. Mr. Zhu and his team have made it clear that their intention is in fact to combine the imposition of macroeconomic discipline with a sharp acceleration of changes to the financial system (Mr. Zhu himself took charge of the central bank and instantly installed tough reformers as his deputies), to the fiscal system and to state-owned industry. This is an attempt to break the last barrier to a true market economy in China. The programme has shown early promise. The biggest accomplishment is to have cooled property speculation to the extent that prices in many places have actually fallen steeply. Industrial output has declined for three consecutive months (though the year- on-year increase last month was still 19%). The growth rate of broad money is down to around 25% at an annualised rate, compared with more than 30% in the first half. Yet other alarms are still ringing. Since the yuan was stabilised after a precipitous mid-summer fall, it has merely been steady; in the austerity of 1989 it appreciated significantly. The government is predicting a trade deficit of $10 billion this year, compared with a surplus of $4 billion in 1992. The sensible aim of redirecting credit to infrastructure investment is in jeopardy as banks, under orders to recall speculative loans that mostly cannot be recalled because most have been squandered, are instead reducing credit to industrial firms. The big trouble is that political rivalries are inserting themselves into what would in any event be a hard economic act to perform: some in the top leadership are going public with statements suggesting that all is now well and unbridled growth can resume. Mr. Zhu may yet pull off his daring feat; and, in the long run, even if he does not enjoy full success, another round or two of stop-go is not going to dim China's promise (Japan, for one, developed in a similar way in the 1950s and 1960s). Meanwhile, however, restoring economic stability without trashing growth is going to take patience, skill and a lot more than three months- worth of half measures. This is no time for China, its friends or investors to declare victory. (Forwarded by: 16-OCT-1993) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2b. China--Fear of Foreigners .................. The Economist (10/16/93) 59 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- While workmen in Beijing have been busy painting over or dismantling the hoardings promising "A More Open China Awaits 2000 Olympics", their political leaders have been doing much the same thing. Two-thirds of the Standing Committee of the Politburo, including Jiang Zemin, the party chief, and Li Peng, the prime minister, turned up to a five-day conference last week on state security. The message of the conference seemed to be that China's leaders are feeling decidedly insecure. The conference was told that, despite a relaxation in international tensions, there was no peace under heaven, and instability was on the increase. Because China had been at peace for a long time, some Chinese did not understand the need for vigilance and turned a blind eye to spies and foreign enemies. A few even became traitors. The commentary in the People's Daily, a Communist Party mouthpiece, on October 11th explained to readers why they needed to worry: The hostile forces outside our country have never stopped endangering the safety of our country. They take advantage of our policies of reform and openness to get hold of our political, economic and scientific secrets through different channels and try all means to infiltrate, split and damage us. If we lose vigilance and let them succeed, the safety of our country will not be ensured. The People's Daily did not point fingers, but probably had America in mind. The American Congress has been accused of sabotaging China's Olympics bid by bringing up awkward human-rights issues, and more recently America has been complaining about a Chinese nuclear test. As for individuals, a Hong Kong journalist was arrested just last week, accused of buying banking secrets. Still, these incidents hardly seem to justify such an attack of nerves. Li Peng has meanwhile been busy trying to stamp out a far more pervasive threat to the Communist Party's monopoly on information. New regulations were published on October 8th, banning the sale of the satellite dishes that have been bringing into the homes of so many Chinese the subversive broadcasts of CNN and the BBC, not to mention MTV. Receiving foreign satellite broadcasts has been forbidden since 1990, but the authorities neglected to ban the sale of dishes. People bought them in droves, and dishes adorn buildings even in poorer provinces. In many blocks of flats, families have pooled their money to buy a dish. Checking on the occupants' viewing habits has been beyond even the watchful eyes of the Communist Party. In the improbable event that these regulations are rigorously enforced, unlike so many others in China, they will condemn the Chinese once more to stultifying evenings of China Central Television. They will also present numberless people with the problem of what to do about an embarrassingly large lump of illegal metal on their balconies or rooftops. The regulations do not make clear what will happen to existing dishes, nor to the many prosperous dish salesmen. Those entrepreneurs were hoping for the removal of the 1990 ban on receiving foreign broadcasts, and were unprepared for this new act of censorship. The authorities do not call it censorship. One official told China Daily that "the dishes are detrimental to the environment". The People's Daily, more frankly, said the ban was intended "to further the construction of socialist spiritual civilisation". (Forwarded by: 16-OCT-1993) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2c. Seasick in a Rising Tide ................................. Joe Klein 87 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ON THE AFTERNOON the Chinese set off their recent nuclear device, I met a not-very-high-ranking official in Beijing who had just returned after several years overseas. "I can't believe it. The whole language has changed," he said. There were all sorts of new words, most having to do with getting rich and the appurtenances of wealth. He seemed tickled and befuddled, chuckling over the new terms for cellular phone and beeper ("big brother" and "little brother"), then worrying that the country had changed so much it would be hard for him to keep up. As he spoke, he seemed to grow more nervous, more agitated. Finally, he blurted: "I must find a way to get rich!" But how? He was looking around, he said. It wasn't easy; everyone was in the hunt. Indeed, all China--at least, urban China--seems in the midst of a great economic hyperventilation. The continuing boom (a 13 percent annual growth rate; much higher in the coastal provinces) is, at once, exhilarating and nerve-racking. The rising tide is a tsunami. Boats are not merely lifted: some are rocketed. Others drift, are swamped or sunk. "It is as if a dam burst," says an engineer who suddenly has become wealthy in construction. "Very exciting, very troubling. I don't know what to think. One moment I'm so proud of my country. The next, I think we're losing our sense of values, especially the young." Stories of quick killings abound. An English teacher in Shanghai tells of a friend who made millions on the stock market--in two weeks. A lawyer in Beijing tells of a friend, a former professor of Marxist philosophy, who has made 800 million yuan ($100 million, at least) in real estate in the past year. There is a frenzy of commerce. Even the pricier stores, selling furs and leather and electronic equipment, are filled with shoppers. Cartier has just opened in Shanghai. "There is a lot of spiritual pressure," says the Beijing lawyer. "People say, 'Why can't I be wealthy like this?' They were not prepared for these changes. Some don't know how to make money unless they steal or cheat." They do what they can. Many work two and three jobs. A doctor cleans house for Westerners. A population-control expert--worried that inflation will wipe out her pension--offers to baby-sit ($2 per hour) then asks, suddenly: "Do you want to start a business?" Everyone is a consultant. A young Chinese businessman, hoping to become a financial consultant, is doing research and needs a book at the library. The librarian refuses: he has to pay her consulting group a book-fetching fee. There is a pervasive belief the system is rigged, that success is impossible without connections (guanxi). The sons and daughters of high-ranking party officials (the Chinese call them taizidang or princelings) have the strongest guanxi imaginable. The frustrations are the same as in 1989--there have even been occasional riots in the countryside--but few expect another Tiananmen." In 1989, when you were unhappy, you blamed the government." says a young scholar. "Now, when you're unhappy, you blame yourself." STOKING THE BOOM: It's not that the government is held blameless. It's just that there aren't any illusions. The Chinese Communist Party has become a truly bizarre institution. There is no longer a pretense of social responsibility; the national systems of health, education and welfare are in tatters. Who's responsible. I ask a Labor Department bureaucrat, when a worker travels from the interior to the coast--as millions have--to do construction work and is injured on the job? The bureaucrat isn't sure. "Maybe his fellow workers can help him out." he says. Then: "You know, in China families take a lot of responsibility." Then: "This is a serious problem. We are working on it." Not very hard. The government seems to exist, primarily. to provide the appearance of stability, to stoke the boom and to prosper. The People's Liberation Army, perhaps the most powerful institution in the country, has become a conglomerate. It operates as many as 20,000 businesses, according to the Far Eastern Economic Review--not just defense related but also pharmaceuticals, luxury hotels, an airline. A TV station in Canton has the PLA stage war games before live audiences who bet on the outcome. Anything goes. There is evidence that some of China's more controversial arms sales may not be, well, authorized--that companies run by princelings. beyond the reach of the law, may be freelancing. "We don't know how to deal with this," says a concerned academic who advises the government. "The leadership has to deal with this. If this erupts, it will not be good." Many of the people usually most concerned with matters of public policy (and morality)--the intellectuals have been bought off. They are the latest wave of entrepreneurs. 'They are celebrating in karaoke bars rather than thinking about the future." says a disgusted Tiananmen veteran, now living in the United States. Another 1989 veteran, jailed for a time but now growing wealthy as an investment consultant. admits: "There has been a compromise between the government and the Chinese people. They're concentrating on the economy and we're minding our own business. If something unexpected happens, that will change." No one has a clue what will happen when Deng Xiaoping dies. Perhaps something unexpected. Those who speculate about the future are regarded as foolish. The country is so large, so complicated and growing so fast that speculation about the present is difficult enough. "I have a feeling it's coming unglued," says a Western diplomat. "But I couldn't tell you how." Perhaps booms feel this way--fevered, chaotic, giddy. China doesn't want to know how a bust would feel. (Forwarded by: from Newsweek (10/25/93)) ===========***==========***==========**==========***==========***=========== 3. From Readers: The Commercial Ads in the Recent IFCSS NR and the IFCSS .................................. Bo Peng and XXXX XX 76 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- I've been away from the netland for more than a month. So pardon me if I sound a little outdated here and there. Not that I want to pick on IFCSS -- it's been under heavy scrutiny, and quite a bit of which is unfair, too. But the news release is the first msg I saw from china-nt and I can't help bitching a little about it... What is this? IFCSS endorsing a business? Isn't it somewhat out of line? IFCSS carried phone services and insurance stuff. That's fine, and welcomed. It's well understood that IFCSS acts as sales rep there. So advertising is taken as what it is. Now this time it's a news release, and it doesn't look like IFCSS is playing sales rep here, neither stated nor implied. There're many (dozens or even hundreds?) businesses set up by CSS, especially now that many are green. Why WisChina? If it were meant to cheer on the booming phenomenon of CSS going into business, then a passing mentioning of any particular one after the pretence of, for example, "for example," may get away without a scratch. In the news release, however, it's the opposite weighing scheme: the general situation got a passing mentioning while WisChina was clearly the focus. I can bear with ads, taking it as a necessary minor nuisance of life. But ads pretending to be news turn me off. Ads pretending to be news from an independent organization, which I happen to like, totally piss me off. (From: Bo Peng 16-OCT-1993) ___________ __________ __________ __________ I have read the article on the China Forum. So I would like to add a few words about IFCSS. IFCSS is a great orginization. The CSPA program benefited at least 100,000 chinese people, including my wife and me. The anonymous FTP site of IFCSS.ORG and the extensive electronic network set up by IFCSS are on the cutting edge of technology and facilitate the communication among Chinese students and scholars. However, no matter how great it is, the IFCSS is still a pseudodemocratic organization. The local representives of Chinese Student Scholor Association are often selt-appointed without the truely democratic election. If the first level representives are not truly elected, how can we expect IFCSS officials truly represent the needs of Chinese students and scholars. The complex and perfect bylaws of IFCSS can not inject democracy to it without implementing one man one vote principle. IFCSS always laments that grassroot level involement is so low. First, people have no say in its policy, second, poeple can not choose their leaders and third, people can not see the orginization truly understand what they need, how can they actively involed in it. The success of CSPA program tells us that if IFCSS can realy work for Chinese students and understand their needs and work for them, they will become involved in IFCSS. The president and vice president of IFCSS and their representives should get on the network and actively contact with people on the network. It will save a lot of time and money and reach for more people than merely travel around. The transition to true democracy namely grassroot voting system should be done soon. IFCSS is an organization of mailanders. It just showed its power by involved in American politics. In the future, it should increase its role in American politics and represent Chinese students and deal with Congress and executive branch of U.S. On the other hand, it should depoliticalize in its dealing with Chinese Government. We still have to press the human right issue and at same time without openly denying the legitimacy of Chinese government. Basic human rights such as free speech is none exist in China. We not only have to fight for rights of polical prisoners, everyone should have the right of freespeech without worrying the government will hold it against you. I actually do not know whether this article will end up at Chinese government file. The fear is real, and they practice these very often unless we stop them. We have to use our power to press Chinese government to stop this practice although they will not admit it. The financial survival of IFCSS is also very important. I bet they are considering collect membership due to support IFCSS. It is not a bad idea. However, you first have to give them voting power and the power to monitor how the money was spent and let them have a say in setting the policy, poor Chinese students may let go some of their hard earned dollars. Otherwise, just forget it. I think IFCSS have not done very good in those aspects. (From: 16-OCT-1993) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4. Information Exchange: After PR Granted under CSPA ........... Guan Zhu 26 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- The following message is from 'News & Views' edited by the International Services & Programs, the University of Georgia, which tells you WHAT TO DO after you got your PR under CSPA. This file may be considered MORE officially than our own thought. (As information only) ********** ********** ********** If your application for permanent residency under the CSPA is approved by the INS, then you may have received, or you should soon be receiving an approval notice from INS with regard to your new status as a PR. You are likely to receive the approval notice several months before a "Green Card" is granted. During the current interim, if you need to travel outside the U.S. you may take the approval notice and your passport to the INS office in Atlanta to have your status as a permanent resident indicated by a stamp inside the passport. After receiving your approval notice, you will need to notify several U. of Georgia offices with regard to your status as a PR. Please bring a copy of your approval notice to the ISP office for safe keeping with your file. The Registrar's office should also be notified in order to prevent insurance flag that will block your future registration, and to help begin establishing your eligibility to pay tuition as a resident of GA. If you are employed, either on or off compus, your employer should know that you are a permanent resident. This will allow Social Security taxes to be deducted from your paycheck on a regular basis. Failing to notify the employer of your status as a PR will result in a later on-lump sum deduction of the amount owed, and possible legal action against you. (From: 13-OCT-1993) +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=++ + Executive Editor: Zhendong Liu Executive Moderator: Shusheng Luan + +--------------------------------------------------------------------------+ + For subscription: mail "SUB CHINA-NT Your-First-Name Your-Last-Name" + + to LISTSERV@UGA (bitnet) or listserv@uga.cc.uga.edu (internet) + + For back issues of CCF: + + anonymous ftp to cnd.org[132.249.229.100]:pub/community/CCF + + For contribution and inquiry: mail to ccf-editor@ifcss.org + +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=++