Subject: CSS Today #96001, January 17, 1996

From: CSSToday Editors <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 17 Jan 1996 22:55:57 -0500

############################################################\\   \\#########
   T h e   E l e c t r o n i c    N e w s l e t t e r    o f \\   \\C S S
%=%=%=%=%=%=%=%=%=%=%=%=%=%=%=%=%=%=%=%=%=%=%=%=%=%=%=%=%=%=%=\\ C \\=%=%=%=
          ____________       ____________       _____________  \\ C \\
        /   _____     ))   /    _________))   /    __________)) \\ F \\
       /   //    )____))  {    ((________    {    ((_________    \\ | \\
      {   ||     _____     \_________    ))   \__________    ))   \\ C \\
       \   \\____)    ))   __________)   ))   ___________)   ))    \\ S \\
        \____________//   (_____________//   (______________//      \\ S \\
                                                                     \\ T \\
         ]]]]]]]]]  ]]]]]]]  ]]]]]]]]   ]]]]]]]  ]]]   ]]]            \\   \
            ]]]    ]]]   ]]] ]]]   ]]] ]]]   ]]]  ]]   ]]              \\
            ]]]    ]]]   ]]] ]]]   ]]] ]]]]]]]]]   ]] ]]    ==========
            ]]]    ]]]   ]]] ]]]   ]]] ]]]   ]]]    ]]]     No.  96001
            ]]]     ]]]]]]]  ]]]]]]]]  ]]]   ]]]    ]]]    _1996.01.17_

%=%=%=%=%=%=%=%=%=%=%=%=%=%=%=%=%=%=%=%=%=%=%=%=%=%=%=%=%=%=%=%=%=%=%=%=%=%=
CCF/CSST Editorial Board                           <[email-masked]>
%=%=%=%=%=%=%=%=%=%=%=%=%=%=%=%=%=%=%=%=%=%=%=%=%=%=%=%=%=%=%=%=%=%=%=%=%=%=

                =======****** Special Notice ******=======

CCF (Chinese Community Forum) and CSST (Chinese Students and Scholars Today) 
editorial boards have decided to merge into one joint board, which is for 
now called CCF/CSST Editorial Board.  Our publications, CCF and CSST, will 
continue their traditional focuses.  The external communication addresses 
for both journals will remain the same as before.  Contributions to both 
CSST and CCF are warmly welcome.

                =======****** ++++++++++++++ ******=======

		     I N    T H I S   I S S U E                 No. of Lines
============================================================================
Parenting -----------------------------
    o  Do I Really Have to Learn Chinese? ............................... 72

Open Forum ----------------------------
    o  YANG Xiaohong Case Update ....................................... 110
    o  Questions on Chinese History ..................................... 46
    o  Question About Tibet ............................................. 20

New Dimension -------------------------
    o  New Computer-Port in the Future .................................. 48

For Your Information ------------------
    o  Seeking Education Liaisons ....................................... 22
    o  ICS Health Insurance Program ..................................... 72

=============================<<<< Parenting >>>>============================
Do I Really Have to Learn Chinese? ...................................... 72
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
DING Yuzhong                                                      CSST 96001

"Do I really have to go to the Chinese school, Dad?" my son asked.

"Yes!" replied I without any hesitance. "Of course," I added.

"Why?" he followed up immediately. Obviously he is not so excited to go.
It is not that the school is not interesting for him to go. He just did
not want to break comfortable sleep in Sunday mornings. 

"Why?" I paused. "Because we are Chinese," I started to answer the
question without much thinking. And indeed that was the first thing that
came to my mind at the point. It seems to be so obvious a reason, but does
it really? I asked myself while driving to the Chinese school in the
suburb 30 miles away. 

"Why do we Chinese have to learn those characters?" my son was equally
unsatisfied with my simple logic that Chinese need to learn Chinese. 

"Well," the pressure is getting higher on me, and I found myself often
beening questioned by the 7-year-old mind. "since both mom and dad speak
Chinese and you won't be able to understand and communicate with us if you
don't try to learn the language." 

"But we speak English, you and mom speak almost perfect English." I began
to notice that we ARE speaking English all the way. "And I can still SPEAK
Chinese even without going to the Chinese school," he changed to Chinese. 

"Then what about grandma?" I asked. That seemed to give me much stronger a
position about learning Chinese. I know my son has strong emotional ties
with her grandparents, having stayed with them for four years in China.
"You won't be able to read their letters if you don't learn Chinese
characters." 

"I can talk to them on phone," he smiled with a quick answer. "By the way,
do you really think learning 4 or 6 characters a week will help much,
dad?" 

"Better than nothing," I murmured. 

Indeed, does sending kids to Chinese schools in the weekend to pick up a
couple of words really help anything practically? If I am not cornered by
my child, I will answer a firm "yes" without any hesitation. But if you
think seriously, you start to doubt it. Open a textbook and look at those
characters yourself. He2 (crop), Zhou1 (boat), Gong1 (bow), etc. All are
simple words to us Chinese-educated adults, yet all are so remote and
strange to kids living in the States. "Why don't we say Zuo4 Zhou1 instead
of Zuo4 Chuan2 if Zhou1 is Chuan2?" my son once asked when he learned the
word Zhou1. As a matter of fact, we rarely use words like Zhou1, He2,
Gong1 and so on in our daily communications. However, those simple words
are very fundamental because they serve as "radicals" in many other more
commonly used words, like Zhou in Chuan2, Hang2, Duo4, etc; He2 in Dao4;
Gong1 in Zhang1, and so and forth. These simple characters are also
present in a lot of commonly used proverbs like Zhou1 in Mu4Yi2Cheng2Zhou
(wood become boat). 

However, for these kids learning Chinese in weekends, it will be another
four to five years when they get to the stage of learning proverbs or the
concept of radicals, considering the speed of four or five characters per
week. That means for a long time to come, what they learn from the text
will remain to be something remote and unrelated Chinese. The problem is
the textbook we are using here are all from back home. While they make
sense for Chinese kids back in China, they may not make much sense for
kids overseas, considering the huge difference in the environment they are
living in. 

Well, that is actually another question. I guess the first question is
whether to learn and the second is how to. 

Before I sorted out the questions, I was waken up by the ring and my son's
class was over. 

"Do I really have to send my kid to the Sunday school every week, to spend
half day waiting outside the classroom for him to learn five characters?"
I kept asking myself on the way home. 

============================<<<< Open Forum >>>>============================
YANG Xiaohong Case Update .............................................. 110
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
YANG X. F.                                                        CSST 96001

Dear Chinese fellows:

Since my brother, Yang, XiaoHong, was brutally beaten to death by Chinese
police in GuiYang City, on November 9, 1994, many of you have joined my
family fighting for justice for my brother. However, most of you have not
been updated the development of this incident due to termination of the
original network we used for news release. I strongly feel it is my
obligation to inform as many of you as possible the development of this
incident. The best way to do this, I believe, is to provide you a
chronology of this incident. Meanwhile, I would also like to take this
opportunity to thank you, deeply from my heart, for all your support in
various forms. 

Chronology of the tragic incident
=================================

10 pm, November 9, 1994, X-H Yang and a cab driver had a dispute, they
then looked for police to settle the dispute. 

11 pm, November 9, 1994, X-H Yang was handcuffed by police when he and a
cab driver came to a police station to ask police settling the dispute. 

12 pm, November 9, 1994.   Yang was beaten to near death and sent by
police to a hospital, where he was registered as a nameless criminal by
police.

6 am, November 10, 1994. Yang died in hospital while being watched by 3
policemen. 

2 pm, November 10, 1994. Yang's body was found by his wife, who cried to
unconsciousness.

3 pm, November 10, 1994. Yang's body was sent by police to crematory to be
burnt but rescued by relatives. 

November 14, 1994. Yang's tragedy was reported in the computer network to
international Chinese community.  A Yang X-H incident committee was
formed.  News was released by the committee frequently to the
international Chinese community. 

November-December 1994. Numerous phone calls, fax, and letters were sent
by concerned overseas Chinese from all over the world to relevant Chinese
authorities requesting a fair investigation. 

December 1994. An autopsy was conducted by Gui-Yan Jian-Cha-Yuan
(Prosecution office). The autopsy report shows that Mr. Yang suffered
multiple injuries, from head to chest, abdomen, private part, and inner
legs.  However, the authority simply explained that Mr. Yang died of
falling from a fifth floor. No wrong doing on the police part. 

February 1995.  Feeling desperate, Yang's widow went to public, protesting
the police brutality and the indifference of the Chinese authority to
police brutality. 

February, 1995. Police visited Yang's widow warning her that her action
was illegal. 

February 19, 1994. X-H Yang's widow, the widows mother, and 9 other women,
staged a sit-in protest in the annual Peoples Congress of Gui-Zhou
province. The widow and her mother were carried away by armed police from
the site and were detained. 

March, 1995. Yang's widow and Yang's father went to Beijing intending to
stage a protest in front of the Fourteenth People's Congress of China, but
failed to approach the congress due to the heavy security within several
hundred yards around the People's Congress Hall. 

August 1995. The police cremated Yangs body in spite of the relatives'
strong request for preserving the body for further investigation, and the
strong pressure from the international community. The relatives were not
even informed before or afterwards. 

The feeling of one year after loosing his dear brother
=======================================================

The tragic story of Mr. X-H Yang, and his young widow, Mrs. Q-C Li, is
only one of the numerous happened in today's communist China. For shear
bad luck, Mr. Yang became one of the many victims of the brutal Chinese
police. He was wrongly taken into custody and beaten to death before his
name was even asked by the Chinese police. After his body was discovered
by his wife, the police immediately sent the body to the crematory to
destroy evidence. Despite the continueing appeal from Mr. Yang's widowed
wife, relatives, and many concerned overseas Chinese for more than one
year, the Chinese authority has not bothered to give a written report on
what had happened to Mr. Yang; despite the relatives' repeated request for
preserving the body for further investigation, the police authority
cremated Mr. Yang's body and did not bother to inform the relatives,
before or afterwards, and his widowed wife still does not know the
whereabout of Mr. Yang's ashes. 

Mr. X-H Yang is only one of the many victims of the brutal Chinese police.
Although his tragic story has been widely reported in the news media,
including Central Daily (Taiwen), Voice of America, China Spring, Beijing
Spring and various Computer Network News, the Chinese authority has paid
no attention at all. When they are pressed to conduct a fair investigation
on Mr. Yang's death by the world news media, they simply cremated Mr.
Yang's body, destroying the evidence of their crime. 

This is a loud slap on the face of the international community! 

Is today's Communist China really so powerful that it can afford ignoring
the international community?  So powerful that it can kill its innocent
people without any fear at all? 

Prof. X.F. Yang
Auburn University
Alabama

============================<<<< Open Forum >>>>============================
Question About Tibet .................................................... 20
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kevin Faulkner                                                    CSST 96001

Dear Editor:
 
I have asked the Chinese community questions of interest in the past about
such issues as the "One Child Policy", but now I have another question.  I
am wondering how the Chinese community feels about Tibet. It would be
interesting to me to crystallize opinions about Tibet, because I hear so
many things about Tibet, and I think many Americans have some
misconseptions about Tibet. 
 
With all the talk of Wei Jingsheng, and his desire to see Tibet
independent, I am wondering how others feel.  Lately, I even see maps
drawn of China that exclude Tibet as part of China when I see articles in
the paper about China.  I also see the debate on the internet newsgroups
"asian-american" and "chinese" groups.  Is Tibet a part of "greater
China", or not?  A close friend, who is Chinese, has even told me that she
thinks that even if people in Tibet were given a democratic choice to be
independent or part of China, most Tibetians would choose to be part of
China. Is this really true? 
 
Anyway, I would be interested to have a consensus.  IS TIBET A PART OF
CHINA, OR NOT?  Should Tibet be allowed independence, complete or partial? 
 
Kevin Faulkner  [email-masked]

============================<<<< Open Forum >>>>============================
Questions on Chinese History ............................................ 46
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rob Toftnes                                                       CSST 96001

To whom it may concern,

I am a 14 year old high school student at Poudre High school located in
Fort Collins Colorado, USA.  In my history class we are working on a
project involving China.  This project also includes an interview with
someone well versed in Chinese history.  I have ten questions which I have
come up with that I would like to ask you. 

1.  Do you think that anything positive came out of imperialism in China? 
If so, what? 

2.  How do you think imperialism changed China?  What would be different
about China if the British hadn't forced their way into China? 

3.  China is a country with many traditions, do you think that any of them
were lost during imperial rule in China? 

4.  Do you think that imperialism occurs on a large scale anymore?  If so,
please give a few examples. 

5.  From what I have found imperialism occurs mainly when there is trade
involved, would you agree with this statement, why or why not? 

6.  The Americans played a small part in the "Opium Trade."  How involved 
were they in the imperialism in China?

7.  China has along history of imperial rule.  Do you think that there is
a reason for this?  Why or why not? 

8.  Is communism a form of imperialism?  Why or why not?

9.  Do you believe that the Opium Wars were a high point of imperialism in
China.  Why or why not?  What are some other major events of imperialism
in China? 

10.  Do you think the British look back at their imperialism in China as a
bad point in their history?  Why or why not? 

I thank you for your time and hope to hear from you. 

Sincerely,

Rob Toftnes  [email-masked]

============================<<<< New Dimension >>>>=========================
New Computer-Port in the Future ......................................... 48
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
CSST Correspondent                                                CSST 96001

In his new book, The Road Ahead, though the incompatibility of 
the attached CD with the Windows NT is a kind of embarrassment, Bill Gates
claimed that in the near future, everyone will carry a wallet-sized personal
computer, with probablly a Win 2000 or so.  But an informal and highly
respectable survey shows that Bill Gates' imagination is at the level of
kindergarden comparing with what are in the mind of those surveyed.
 
Many people fancifully hoped for inventions that could be wired directly
into their brains to make them as smart as Einstein in science, as Bill
Gates himself in marketing, and better than anyone who does not know what
the stock price is tomorrow.

Itiel Dror, a psychology professor at University of Miami, reported by the
New York Time, has taken this challenge seriously. "Extending your
brain-processing ability by adding microchips", he says, "For example,
adding memory, enhancing scientific ability such as a mathematical
processor, or implanting ready-made knowledge, or controlling various
devices directly from your brain." 

But how could anyone access this microchip?  Through a port in the side of
the head?

"That would be a chip of a totally new type," Dr. CHENG, a Ph.D in Liqid
Crystal with a number of papers in physics published on Nature and
Physical Review Letters, and now a senior computer engineer in Silicon
Valley, takes this question as a new opportunity.  With a couple of others
in the field of chips and bio-science, he is drafting a proposal to look
for venture capital for their start-up. 
  
"People already found similar functions as that of transistors and
diors in human's brain cell." Cheng says, "a chip made as such, will
accommodate with other part of natural brain, and finally become a part
of it as people put bones taken off animals into huamn's body."
 
"As a matter of fact", Dr. J.P. ShI, quoting the most recently progress in
Bio science, says, "Using DNA (0-1-2-3 instead of the 0-1 code currently
used in computers) one can solve complicate problems much faster. And we
have much much more DNA in brain and body already and some of them are
virtually not used to the maximum potential. We really do not need more
hardware, but just some software to program those idle DNA's to work as a
computer." 
   
No matter if Drs CHENG and ShI and their friends would be successful, or
how far they can go in this direction, it is for sure that people never
stop thinking about such practicalities for our future.

=======================<<<< For Your Information >>>>=======================
Seeking Education Liaisons .............................................. 22
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
The TransWorld Education Alliance of New York (TWEA) represents over forty
public and private colleges, universities and preparatory schools in the
United States for the purpose of international student recruitment.  We
are seeking independent representatives worldwide to help us market our
schools to students interested in studying in the USA.  Excellent income
potential/serious inquiries only. We also network with non-profit
organizations and NGOs. 

Under a separate program TransWorld offers opportunities for students 
ages 15-18 to live with host families in the United States.  We are 
interested in networking with schools/individuals/organizations to 
present this unique program to potential applicants.
 
PLEASE SEND FAX NUMBER WITH REPLY.  THANK YOU IN ADVANCE FOR YOUR 
INTEREST. 
TWEA
Kristin Stewart
International Program Director
fax/tel (516) 588-7885
E-Mail: [email-masked]

=======================<<<< For Your Information >>>>=======================
ICS Health Insurance Program ............................................ 72
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
CHEN Jienan                                                       CSST 96001

We would like to invite you to consider the ICS Health Insurance Program
(ICS plan) designed especially for international students/scholars from
Asia (Chinese and other nationals).  (see ELIGIBILITY section of the ICS
policy brochure for a list of countries/regions included).

INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY SERVICE (ICS) is a 501(c)(3) charitable (nonprofit
and nonpolitical) corporation, with a mission of promoting international
exchange/cooperation and providing related services to the international
students/scholars community. The ICS plan has been serving international
students/scholars at hundreds of colleges/universities across the USA.

You will find the ICS plan very competitive in terms of affordability as
well as coverage. After payment of a $50.00 Deductible Per Injury/Sickness
(the Deductible will be waived when treatment is first rendered at the
Student Health Center), the plan pays 100% of Covered Medical Expenses
until $5,000.00; then 80% of Covered Medical Expenses until $50,000.00;
then 100% of Covered Medical Expenses up to $250,000.00 (Maximum Lifetime
Benefit).

The Covered Medical Expenses include (please refer to "Medical Expense
Benefits Schedule" in the ICS policy brochure for OFFICIAL description):
Inpatient; Outpatient (including Prescription Drugs); Life Insurance
(Accidental Death and Dismemberment); Repatriation; Medical Evacuation;
Maternity (conception must occur after the Insured's effective date of
coverage); Child Coverage (including automatic 30-day Newborn child
coverage); Child Health Supervision Services; etc.  (Notice that certain
limitations and exclusions apply. Please read the ICS policy brochure
for details in entirety before you decide to enroll.)  

The monthly premium rates are: $29.00 for Students/Scholars (principals);
(for dependents) $72.00 for Spouse and $35.00 for Child. You may enroll
for any number of months from a MINIMUM of 3 months to a MAXIMUM of 12 
months at a time, and renew thereafter to maintain continuous coverage.

Students/Scholars are those with valid F-1, J-1, and H-1 visas, or
permanent resident status under CSPA, who are engaging in educational or
scientific activities at U.S. colleges (including community colleges),
universities, and scientific institutions. NO minimum credit hours are
required to be eligible. Students on practical training or temporary
vacation are also eligible. Independents who do not qualify under the
above eligibility definition may become eligible through a special
membership registration program directly administered by International
Community Service. So, those who are waiting for a job offer or have
left school may have their eligibility extended, thus avoiding coverage
disruption.

Individuals with F-2, J-2, H-4, or PR status, who are normally considered
dependents, may enroll independently as students/scholars (at the $29.00
monthly premium rate) if enrolled in legitimate classes at a U.S. college
or university for 6 or more credit hours in a semester or quarter.  

You may auto-retrieve an email copy of the ICS policy brochure (enrollment
forms included) by sending an email message to <[email-masked]> OR
<[email-masked]> with exactly the following words (please use lower-
case letters only) on your Subject line when prompted at Mail>

			get ics policy

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us via email
or call our insurance Administrator at 1-800-356-1235 (English) or via fax
1-305-772-0872 (English). If you wish to speak Chinese, you may contact
one of our ICS representatives at 1-352-371-0010 (Chinese, evening hours
preferred). 

Thank you for your attention.

Sincerely,

INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY SERVICE, INC.
P O Box 24845, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
[email-masked]                                                                                                              

############################################################################
| Editor of This Issue: DING Yungui    Associate Editor: YANG Changqing    |  
| - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -|
| CSS Today is a publication of the CCF/CSST Editorial Board devoted to    |
| the CSS community. What CSS Today carries does not necessarily reflect   |
| the opinion of the editors.                                              |
| ________________________________________________________________________ |
|                                                                          |
|  For back issues of CSS Today, please use one of following:              |
|  (1) ftp to <cnd.org>  and search in folder:  /pub/e-pubs/CSS-Today      |
|  (2) gopher to <cnd.org>:                                                |
|             English-Menu -> Other Electronic Publications  -> CSS-TODAY  |
|     (For WWW:  gopher://cnd.cnd.org:70/11/English-Menu/e-pubs/CSS-TODAY) |
|  (3) ftp to <ftp.ifcss.org>  and search in folder: /pub/org/csst/        | 
|     (For www tools, use  ftp://ftp.ifcss.org/pub/org/csst/ )             |
|  (4) http://www.ifcss.org/www/pub/org/csst/index.html                    |
|                                                                          |
|  CSS Today welcomes contributions, comments, questions, criticisms and   |
|  anything concerning a healthy establishment of the CSS community. For   |
|  question, please inquire to:                                            |
|                                                                          |
| - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -|
|                       <[email-masked]>                          |
############################################################################