Subject: CSS Today #9408, November 7, 1994

From: Ifcss Hq <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 7 Nov 1994 10:29:05 -0500

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Press Desk <[email-masked]>         November 7, 1994                No.9408
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IN THIS ISSUE:                                                   No of Lines
============================================================================
              *** _____ Electronic Press Conference ____ ***
1. Letter from IFCSS president LUO Ning to President Clinton ............ 95
2. IFCSS Press Release: IFCSS Opposes the California "Proposition 187" ...44
     Appendix: Back Ground Information about "Proposition 187" ......... 155

              *** ____________ Face to Face _____________***
3. IFCSS Activists Appeal to SVC on Various Issues ...................... 93

              *** ___________ Together We Can __________ ***
4. FANG Lizhi's Open letter Calling for Support to Nominate
      WEI Jingsheng as The Nobel Peace Prize recepient .................. 51
============================================================================

================= <<<<< Electronic Press Conference >>>>> ==================
1. Letter from IFCSS president LUO Ning to President Clinton ............ 95
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: IFCSS HQ <[email-masked]> 11/4/94

The Honorable William J. Clinton
President of the United States of America
The White House
Washington, DC 20500

November 4, 1994

Dear Mr. President:

At the eve of your trip to the highly publicized Asian Pacific Economic
Cooperation summit meeting, we sincerely wish you success.  As you are
expected to meet with President Jiang Zemin of China, we, the Independent
Federation of Chinese Students and Scholars (IFCSS), a national organization
with over 200 local chapters, representing more than 60,000 mainland Chinese
students, scholars and professionals currently studying or working in the
United States, would like to call your attention to the recent development
of human rights situation in China and urge you to take this opportunity to
address this issue in ways you deem appropriate.

Since last May, your decision to renew China's MFN status without linking it
to China's human rights records has brought about substantial progress in
various fields of cooperation between the two nations.  Recently, we are
pleased to see frequent and high level official contacts between the two
governments.  We believe you had meant well when you made that historical
resolution on the MFN issue, as we knew that your decision on MFN would help
build closer economic ties between the business communities of the two
countries and promote friendship and understanding of the two peoples on both
sides of the Pacific.

However, your good-will gesture toward China has not prompted the Chinese
government to exercise tolerance and clemency toward political dissidents
and human rights activists, to the regret and disappointment of all who
had wished to see progress in this regard.  On the contrary, during the past
five months, we have witnessed a steady deterioration of human rights
situation in China.  Many ordinary citizens were harassed for various
"political" reasons; more human rights and labor activists were arrested;
more than a dozen instances of involuntary disappearances were reported; the
"prisoners of conscience" were dealt with harsher treatment, and arbitrary
detention was widely practiced.  In particular, the Chinese authorities have
used criminal charges more frequently than before against political dissidents
to avoid international scrutiny.  Furthermore, many June Fourth victims and
their families have been put under ever severer surveillance, so that they
could not go about their daily life in peace.  As citizens of the People's
Republic of China, they were deprived of the freedom of expression and
association, and other basic civil rights guaranteed by their constitution.

We hereby appeal to you to exert your moral influence as the leader of a
country that has inspired the world with the ideas of freedom and democracy
to press for positive changes in China's human rights situation.  We urge
you to take the opportunity of meeting President Jiang Zemin in Indonesia to
push the Chinese government to immediately stop exerting high pressures
towards human rights and labor activists and June Fourth victims and their
families.  In addition, we would like to bring to your attention several
particularly urgent cases which we hope you will mention during your meeting
with President Jiang.

First and foremost, we are deeply concerned about the unlawful detention of
Mr. Wei Jingsheng, the brutal torture of Mr. Qin Yongmin, and the severe
penalty imposed on Mr. Chen Lantao by the Chinese authorities.  We demand
the Chinese government to immediately clarify to the public and international
community the legal justification (if any) of its treatment of these three
well-respected human rights activists.

We are equally concerned that since Mr. Chen Ziming, a leading Chinese
dissident, was diagnosed with cancer, the Chinese government has prevented
him from receiving proper medical treatment and thus jeopardized his chances
of recovery. We appeal to the Chinese authorities to allow him to receive
proper medical treatment and stop harassing him and his family and
interfering with his recovering process.

We are also concerned about the continuous harassment and severe surveillance
that Ms. Ding Zilin, one of the surviving June Fourth victims, has
experienced.  For the past five years Ms. Ding has tirelessly and courageously
collected the names and addresses of June Fourth victims and their families
so that we could extend humanitarian and moral support to them.  For her and
many others like her, we appeal to the Chinese government to provide
institutional support, through the Red Cross or other governmental or non-
governmental agencies in China, to compensate the June Fourth victims and
their families, and at the same time not to interfere with or obstruct the
purely humanitarian assistance that the overseas Chinese community is trying
to procure for them.  We believe that, before the suppression of the pro-
democracy movement of 1989 is officially redressed, such humanitarian
measures, if adopted by the Chinese government, would help facilitate a
peaceful transition to the era after Deng.

We would appreciate your willingness to consider these concerns and
recommendations, and hope that your meeting with President Jiang Zemin will
be productive and constructive.

Respectful yours,

LUO Ning (Signed)
President,
Independent Federation of Chinese Students and Scholars (IFCSS)

================= <<<<< Electronic Press Conference >>>>> ==================
2. IFCSS Press Release: IFCSS Opposes the California "Proposition 187" ...44
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: IFCSS HQ <[email-masked]> 11/7/94

    Independent Federation of Chinese Students and Scholars (IFCSS)

                             PRESS RELEASE

                            November 7, 1994
                             Washington, DC

IFCSS strongly opposes the California Proposition 187.  Although Proposition
187 seems a referendum aimed only at the illegal immigrants in California,
its nationwide implications on all legal immigrants and Asian-American
community cannot be overlooked.  We are against Proposition 187 because:

(1) To deny some people of public education or health service based on their
immigration status is unconstitutional.

(2) The enforcement of Proposition 187 involves, as proposed by the
initiators of Proposition 187, the establishment of some identification card
system, and the requirement of reporting of suspected illegal immigrants by
hospitals, schools or social services.  This is the first step toward the
establishment of a police state, which is totally contrary to the founding
principles of this country.

(3) Asian Americans would have to take, if Proposition 187 becomes law,
extra burden to prove the legal status due to their distinct ethnic
characteristics.

(4) To scapegoating immigrants for the difficult economic times in
California was instrumental for the Congress to adopt Chinese Exclusion Act
of 1882, the detrimental effects of it can still be felt by the Chinese
American community today, more than a century later.  We can never allow the
history to repeat itself again.

IFCSS is a national organization of Chinese students and scholars consisting
of over 200 local chapters representing over 60,000 members, with more than
20 local organizations in California.  IFCSS is dedicated to promote the
interests of community of Chinese students and scholars, among them many are
new legal immigrants, and to promote the human rights, social justice and
economic prosperity of China.

LUO Ning, Ph.D.
President, IFCSS

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Appendix: Back Ground Information about "Proposition 187" .............. 155
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Editor's Note:  What is Proposition 187?
                What are the arguments for/against it?
                -- Here are some materials obtained from the office of Pete
                Wilson, the Governor of California, who is betting on
                supporting P187 to win his re-election.

   _______________( From Pete Wilson's office )_____________________

-> Proposition 187: Illegal aliens.  Ineligibility for public
-> services.  Verification and reporting.
->
-> An initiative, nicknamed the "Save Our State" initiative, that
-> seeks to deny public social, educational and health services to
-> aliens who are in California illegally.
->
-> BACKGROUND
->
-> As certain as the seasons, issues surrounding illegal immigrants
-> and their rights in society come around again and again.  As
-> humanity speeds toward the turn of a new century, a look back
-> offers glimpses of a conflict that has surrounded immigration in
-> this state since California joined the union.  In early 1900, for
-> example, the Legislature fervently debated for seven straight
-> sessions the issue of "alien land laws," as though its were the
-> annual state budget.  The 1913 Legislature made no apologies when
-> it ultimately passed a law designed to prevent Asian immigrants
-> from owning and leasing agricultural land despite its clear
-> intent to suppress undocumented residents.  The law was signed by
-> Progressive Governor Hiram Johnson over the objection of
-> President Woodrow Wilson.
->
-> Today, one of the cornerstone issues of the 1994 governor's race
-> involves illegal immigrations.  A major issue in all boarder
-> states, illegal immigration appears to be a puzzle government and
-> society alike have been unable to solve.  But even in California,
-> where the US Immigration Nationalization Service reports an
-> estimated 1.6 million undocumented immigrants live, voters
-> recently polled ranked 13 other issues as more pressing for the
-> state.  Nonetheless, immigration reform is on the table and an
-> initiative has qualified for the ballot that would exclude
-> immigrants unable to prove their legal residence status from
-> public education, non-emergency health care and public social
-> services like welfare.  Recent polls show the measure is
-> favorably received by 60 percent of voters surveyed [Note: The
-> latest survey indicates that the lead margin is diminishing].
->
-> The constitutionality of the measure is already being questioned.
-> The Senate Office of Research warns that in many instances, the
-> initiative conflicts with state and federal laws.  Currently, no
-> child is denied public education based on legal residence status;
-> the Supreme Court ruled in 1982 in Plyler v. Doe that
-> undocumented children are entitled to an public education.  a
-> measure similar to Proposition 187 failed on the street during
-> the signature-gathering phase when it did not obtain the
-> signatures to back it.  The abandoned measure did not contain the
-> education ban, which its backers had feared would raise the
-> cockles of the influential California Teachers Association (CTA).
-> It did;  the CTA opposes Proposition 187.  The education
-> exclusion doesn't apply to publicly funded higher education;
-> however, University of California and California Community
-> Colleges generally requires students who are illegal immigrants
-> to pay the higher, non-resident tuition.  California State
-> University does not charge higher fees based on legal residence
-> of the students.  Also, any child living in Californian may
-> receive welfare or foster care benefits under Aid to Families
-> with Dependent Children (AFDC).
->
-> A rather tricky provision in the initiative calls for verification
-> of legal residence and the reporting of "suspected" illegal
-> immigrants to officials.  Currently, no mechanism exists to verify
-> residence, outside of the "green card," and the Legislative
-> Analyst's office estimates it would cost $100 million in the first
-> year alone to create a system to comply with the law.
->
-> In April, a federal lawsuit was filed by Governor Pet Wilson to try
-> to recoup money he said the state spent providing public services
-> to illegal immigrants.  Although it was immediately labeled by
-> democrats as election-year politics, it linked Wilson's name with
-> the issue and the initiative, which he has endorsed.  His
-> Democratic challenger, Kathleen Brown, opposes it.  While the
-> legislative analyst reports that annual savings would be roughly
-> $200 million to the state and local governments, opponents point
-> out that the measure jeopardizes needed federal money, to the tune
-> of $15 billion.
->
-> PROPOSAL:
->
-> Proposition 187 bans illegal immigrants from public social
-> services, non-emergency health care and public education. Various
-> state and local agencies would be required to report anyone
-> suspected of being an illegal immigrant to the state attorney
-> general and U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS).  The
-> attorney general would be required to maintain records and transmit
-> reports to INS Manufacturing, distributing or selling false
-> citizenship or residence documents-- illegal under existing state
-> law -- would become a felony.  The proposal's fiscal impact would
-> be felt three ways, the legislative analyst estimates.  State and
-> local governments would realize savings from denying certain
-> benefits and services to persons who cannot document their
-> citizenship or legal immigration status, and this could amount to
-> $200 million annually, based on INS estimates.  However, the state,
-> local governments and schools would incur significant costs to
-> verify citizenship or immigration status of students, parents,
-> persons seeking health care services or social services, and
-> persons who are arrested.  This could total tens of millions of
-> dollars annually, with first-year cost considerably higher,
-> potentially in excess of $100 million.  Finally, there would be a
-> potential loss of federal funds -- up to $15 billion annually in
-> federal money for education health and welfare programs due to
-> conflicts with federal requirements.
->
-> ARGUMENTS FOR:
->
-> Mainly backed and funded by Republican interests, the primary
-> proponent is Assemblyman Dick Mountjoy (R-Monrovla).  The measure
-> was written by Alan Nelson, a former federal immigration
-> commissioner under President Ronald Reagan, an Harold Ezell,
-> western region commissioner of INS during same period.  They claim
-> Proposition 187 will end the "illegal alien invasion" and
-> ultimately "save our state." Because welfare, medical and
-> educational benefits are the "magnets" that draw illegal immigrants
-> to the state, proponents claim, access to such services should be
-> cut off.  They also claim that opposition to the measure is funded
-> by special interests which reap the benefits of providing services
-> to illegal immigrants, such as pubic unions and medical clinics.
-> Proponents state that government has been derelict in controlling
-> the borders, so it falls upon the state to "send a strong message
-> that California will no longer tolerate the dereliction of the duty
-> by our politicians."
->
-> ARGUMENTS AGAINST:
->
-> Los Angeles County Sheriff Sherman Block, CTA President D.A. "Del"
-> Weber, and California Medical Association President Ralph R. Ocampo
-> say that Proposition 187 is closer to the bull's tail than the
-> bull's eye.  The question of how to deal with illegal immigration
-> is not, they claim, whether or not to provide public services to
-> illegal immigrants but rather what should be done to "beef up
-> enforcement at the border.j"  While opponents concur that illegal
-> immigration is a real problem, they say that 187 is not the
-> solution.  Border enforcement and cracking down on employers who
-> hire illegal immigrants are part of the answer opponents say is not
-> addressed in the initiative.  Financially, they argue that
-> combining new costs that would be incurred to enforce the
-> verification requirement with billions of dollars in federal monies
-> would place at risk $15 billion.  Opponents say this is the
-> equivalent of risking $150 for every dollar saved.  They also point
-> out the public health risk of denying illegal immigrants basic
-> services such as immunizations, which help control communicable
-> diseases.  Among other groups opposed to Proposition 187 are the
-> California Association of Hospitals and Health Systems, the League
-> of Women Voters and the Congress of California Seniors.
->
-> --Nancy H. Martis

====================== <<<<< Together We Can >>>>> =========================
3. IFCSS Activists Appeal to SVC on Various Issues ...................... 93
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
[PressDesk's Note: Mr. LIU Yuhe's appeal and Mr. CHEN Dong's appeal have
                   been accepted by the IFCSS SVC. Investigations are in
                   process. We will report it when the SVC draws its
                   conclusions.]

(1)  From: LIU Yuhe <[email-masked]> 11/10/94
     Source: [email-masked], [email-masked], [email-masked]

                                                Yuhe Liu
                                                University of Oklahoma
                                                [email-masked]
                                                Oct. 12, 1994
Mr. Li-Shi Luo
Coordinator
IFCSS Supervision Committee
[email-masked]

Dear Mr. Li-Shi Luo:

On the CSS TODAY published today by the Electronic Newsletter of IFCSS,
it was revealed that the former President Mr. Changsheng Lin issued
$16,434.00 checks during the IFCSS 6th Congress. From the news release,
those checks were not issued to the Congress delegates, nor those who
were blocked to participate in final voting due to not granting delegate
ID, nor Working Staff. There were other unclear data in the release as
well as in the HQ NR6011. This leaves the financial operation of the 6th
Congress unclear and also implys possible violations of the IFCSS
constitution and regulations. Therefore, I, a formal delegate to the
6th Congress, appeal to the IFCSS SVC to investigate the truth and
resolve the case. Specifically, I appeal that:

1. The IFCSS shall form an special task force to audit the financial
   operation of the 6th Congress;

2. The IFCSS Supervision Committee shall investigate whether there were
   violations of the IFCSS rules and abuses of the power and public fund;

3. If the investigation proves any violation of rules and misuse of the
   fund, the IFCSS shall take proper actions to correct the wrongdoing
   and seek the misused fund return to the IFCSS.

Thank you for your attention and I am looking forward to hearing from
you as soon as possible.

                                 Sincerely,
                                 LIU Yuhe ( Signed)
                                 Delegate to the IFCSS 6th Congress
                                 University of Oklahoma
Cc: IFCSS HQ
    IFCSS Council
    IFCSS V Club
           __  __  __  __     __  __  __  __     __  __  __  __

(2)  From: CHEN Dong <[email-masked]> 10/20/94
     Source: [email-masked], [email-masked], [email-masked]

              The Appeal to the IFCSS Supervisory Committee
                            1994.10.20

To the IFCSS SVC:

The 6th IFCSS Congress adopted Resolution 604 for The Establishment of
Chinese Students and Scholars Affair Committee and Resolution 606 for The
Establishment of the network between the IFCSS and the leaders of local
Chinese students and scholars orgnazitions.

Since then, the HQ has not taken any steps to implement these two important
resolutions and neither had such proposal in the working plan, although some
delegates raised this issue in the public repeatly for some time after the
Congress.

The importance of these two resolutions to the benifit of CSS in USA, to
strengthen the communication betwwen the IFCSS and grassroot, and the
delegates' concern on these issues can not and should not be ignored by any
IFCSS officers or working bodies.

The IFCSS President is required to implement the resolutions adopted by
the Congress and the Council, as defined by the IFCSS Regulation.

Based on the forenamed facts and Regulation, I,  6th IFCSS Congress
delegate, formaly appeal to the well respected IFCSS SVC to make necessery
investigation on the violation of the IFCSS Regulation at this matter, and
take necessery measure to ensure the implement of these two Resolutios in
proper way.  The result should be staed to the public.

Sincerely,

CHEN Dong (signed )

======================= <<<<< Together We Can >>>>> ========================
4. FANG Lizhi's Open letter Calling for Support to Nominate
      WEI Jingsheng as The Nobel Peace Prize recepient .................. 51
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
From:   [email-masked]
Source: [email-masked]

August 22, 1994

Dear Colleagues,

It is a great honor for me to call for your support for the nomination
of Wei Jingsheng for The Nobel Peace Prize.

Wei Jingsheng is China's most celebrated fighter for human rights.  He
and his colleagues initiated the "Beijing Spring" in the late 1970s, and
their calls for democracy and human rights coalesced into what became
known as the "Democracy Wall Movement." In a wall poster which became
known around the world, Wei bravely wrote that the "Four Modernizations"
of industry, science, defense and agriculture would not succeed without
a fifth: democratization.

For daring to say publicly what others only whispered in private, Wei
was arrested and thrown into prison in 1979 by the Chinese Communist
Authorities.  Released after serving fourteen and a half years of his
fifteen-year sentence, Wei Jingsheng had not weakened in the slightest
in his commitment to his principles.  His courage and spirit encouraged
a generation of activists in their struggle for basic rights and freedom
in China.

In today's world, such a commitment as Wei's is even more vital, and the
principles he sacrificed so much to defend are even more important.  As
economics increasingly becomes the first and even the only concern in
international affairs, human rights is being displaced as a basic
principle.  In particular, in relation to China, the "theory" that
economic modernization will lead inevitably to democracy is being widely
promoted, in what can only be considered as an irresponsible attempt at
self-deception.  History has taught us that a regime which combines
economic power with a blatant disregard for human rights will usually
result only in fascism.

For this reason, Wei Jingsheng's words are particularly apt today.  Now
is the time to repeat and repeat again what he said about the need for
democracy and basic rights; now is the time to recognize Wei's unique
historical contribution; and now is the time to give your support to
Wei, who has been in detention again since April 1 for continuing to
exercise his fundamental right to freedom of expression after his
release from prison.

Please join us in nominating for the Nobel Peace Prize one of the great
Chinese historical figures of this century, Wei Jingsheng!

Sincerely

Fang Lizhi

Professor of Physics
Department of Physics, The University of Arizona

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