Subject: CSS Today #9414, November 24, 1994

From: "Yungui G. Ding" <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 24 Nov 1994 23:43:31 -0600

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Press Desk <[email-masked]>        November 24, 1994                  #9414
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IN THIS ISSUE:                                                   No of Lines
============================================================================
             *****_____ A Special Issue on CSS Today _____***** 
1. Press Desk Commentary: Press Freedom Faces Challenge ................. 57
2. Statistics: What CSS Today Has Done .................................. 35
3. Open Letter to Council Members ....................................... 43
4. Mr. XIN Ku Created This Resolution From Nothing ..................... 144
5. Pending Resolution on CSS Today and Newly Created Official Positions . 21
============================================================================

============================================================================
1. Press Desk Commentary: Press Freedom Faces Challenge ................. 57
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
By: PressDesk, 11/24/94

We come a long way here to this Continent, not only to learn sciences and
technology, but also to enjoy the democracy and freedom. Chinese have been
so pitiful to live in an oppressive regime and have been denied the democracy
and freedom for so many years. Being in this free country gives us the 
chance to experience democracy and freedom, to learn how the democracy and
freedom are to be implemented. Being in the organization of IFCSS even gives
some of us CSS a chance to exercise the implementation of democracy and
freedom.

However, since we have been living in the oppressive regime for such a long
time, it is inevitable that even in this free country and in a democratic
organization like IFCSS, some of us are still accustomed to the dictatorial
way, failing to adapt to the democratic way. The recent IFCSS Council
proposed resolution to close CSS Today is a vivid example of how some of the
current council members have been consistently behaving in a dictatorial way,
infringing the Press Freedom.

CSS Today is supposed to be an official e-journal of IFCSS HQ, as a channel
to bridge IFCSS and the ordinary CSS. Ever since its advent in less than
two months ago, all the volunteers at the PressDesk have been working hard
to report current issues of concerns relating to the IFCSS and the CSS
community. Judging on the comprehensive responses from the general CSS
community (approval, disapproval), it has been proved that CSS Today is a
new platform for the IFCSS to open its door to the general public, thus
making IFCSS a true organization of the general CSS, instead of a closed
cult club. Thus it has been helping to strengthen IFCSS and make its
constituents better informed of the things happening around the IFCSS.

The proposed resolution of closing CSS Today came as a shock to all of us.

While we all know that press freedom is very much needed in a democratic
country, it can only be made possible when people of entrusted power can
behave in a democratic way. It is conceivable and understandable that the
World Economics Herald was forced to close down in 1989 when hundreds of
thousands of Chinese students and citizens struggling for democracy, it is
unbelievable that in the United States, in a democratic organization as
IFCSS, some well-educated MS and PhDs can wield the entrusted power to
suppress the press freedom. This can only show how immature and dictatorial
those people have inherited from our old oppressive regime.

Arguably, the reasons cited for the closing of CSS Today is that IFCSS HQ 
has not notified the council members of establishing this e-journal and
that CSS Today has brought  strong impact on IFCSS and its working
committee. While everyone of us is learning how to implement the democratic
procedure, we volunteers at PressDesk are fully aware that as a process of
learning to run this journal, we will inevitably make mistakes. We are
striving to improve ourselves and we hope the IFCSS Council and the general
CSS community can help us to improve.

However, CSS Today is not interested in becoming a People's Daily like
journal. CSS Today believes that even as an official journal for IFCSS,
it still has its freedom to carry its reports that are not necessarily the
official views of the IFCSS, as long as it helps to serve the general
public of IFCSS constituents and raise their awareness of the things
around IFCSS. 

It is up to the entrusted people (the IFCSS council members) to decide if
press freedom will be suppressed.

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2. Statistics: What CSS Today Has Done .................................. 35
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By: PressDesk, 11/23/94

      Columns                 % by Items     % by Lines     Rank by Lines
----------------------------  ----------     ----------     -------------
Electronic Press Conference     29.7            27.2             1  
Together We Can                 23.0            26.3             2 
Under the Sunshine               8.1            11.6             3
In the Community                10.8            11.4             4
Face to Face Dialog             14.9             9.0             5
Eye on China                     1.4             5.7             6
Readers' Comment                 4.1             4.8             7
Information Sharing              4.1             2.9             8
Quote of the Issue               2.7             0.7             9
PressDesk Commentary             1.4             0.4             10
800-line                         0               0              
Brainstorm                       0               0
Open Forum                       0               0

RESULT ANALYSIS: It is clear that most of the effort has been spent to
conveying the message from IFCSS to the public and promoting IFCSS programs
with Columns like E-Press Conference and Together We Can. That is not
surprising. In our design of columns, we intend to make CSS Today to be a
2-way channel in between IFCSS and CSS community. We are half way through
towards our goal. CSS Today has been effective and efficient to help IFCSS
more open to the public. 

Notably, the "In the Community" column has been also quite active in the past
period, which ranks on the 4th position in the above table. That reflects
the effort of the editors to bring community issues into IFCSS operation.

However, in the direction of channeling more comments, ideas, and issues
from the CSS into IFCSS stage, we have a long way to go. The picture from
the above statistics on this aspect isn't rosy at all. That on the one hand
side requires us volunteers at PressDesk to work hard to fulfill our goal,
it on the other hand side also indicates that we need more participation 
from our readers. We hope in the future, our readers will give us the 
opportunity to work closely with you to make CSS Today more successful
towards our goal, and in turn make IFCSS more truly an organization of the 
CSS community.  

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
3. Open Letter to Council Members ....................................... 43
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By: PressDesk, 11/24/94 

Dear Council Members,
	
This is a call for your support to uphold the spirit of Freedom of Press.
We volunteers at the IFCSS PressDesk urge you to vote NO to the resolution
of closing CSS Today.

We as volunteers for CSS Today have been working very hard to carry reports
that are of great concerns among the general CSS community. We not only
report positive views on IFCSS, but also carry reports of controversial
debates around IFCSS. We firmly believe that, in a democratic organization
like IFCSS, its constituents have the RIGHT to be informed of current
important issues concerning IFCSS, no matter it is WEI Jingsheng's Nobel
Prize Nomination or some council members' spy-hunting effort, the general
CSS constituents have their constitutional right to know the FACTS.

IFCSS should be an open organization that CSS can be kept well-informed
of important incidents--That is the very basic right some of us who
participated in 1989 Beijing Democracy Movement were asking from CCP, and
that is the very basic right that is undeniable for people in a democratic
country or organization. We believe, to protect such basic right is one
of IFCSS' important missions. 

Equally important is to gather the voices from the CSS general public 
on various issues that concern the Chinese community and issues related
to IFCSS. We view that as part of the mission of CSS Today. IFCSS' survival
and success solely depend on the support from the general CSS community.
Such support can be guaranteed only if IFCSS and its activists hear the
voices of the community, however diverse and different or even harshly
critical they may be, and properly represents them. We believe CSS Today has
been moving towards that right direction in the short period of the past
two months.

We hope you will share our vision and support CSS Today. We believe our
common goal is to bring about a better IFCSS. We hope that you cast your
sacred vote to prevent the infringement of the Freedom of Press.

Please vote NO to the resolution to close CSS Today. Thanks.

Sincerely,

IFCSS PressDesk      

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4. Mr. XIN Ku Created This Resolution From Nothing ..................... 144
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By: PressDesk, 11/23/94

Is this resolution to close CSS Today a liable, meaningful, and reasonable
thing? Many have asked this question after reading the Council Conference
agenda which includes Mr. Xin Ku and Mr. LI Jinghong's resolution to close
down CSS Today. To find the possible answer, we let Mr. Xin Ku's own words
say by themselves (see appendix). 

1) On November 7, 1994, in a memo to the Council:

   Mr. Xin Ku gave "The resolution on CSS Today" draft, which later
   became the resolution sponsored by Mr. XIN Ku and Mr. Li Jinghong.

   "The Council is unaware of any proposal" for the newsletter and its
   "negative impact on IFCSS and IFCSS working committee and strong
   reactions from many individuals" were/are cited as reasons. 

2) On November 8, 1994, in a mail to PressDesk, Mr. Xin Ku said:  

   "... I haven't read any of your previous comments about it (because I
   am not on that net and even not aware of what's going on there and have
   no clue what you have carried on that net about this issue." 

3) On November 9, 1994, in a mail to PressDesk:

   Mr. XIN Ku asked to be removed from IFCSS Newsletter distribution list.

>From the above we clearly see that Mr. XIN Ku did not even bother to read
any of the CSS Today publications before and after he drafted the resolution
regarding CSS Today. We have no idea how the honorable Council member made
his judgment on CSS Today. His own messages show that he created this
resolution from nothing. And we don't know why. At this point, we have no
way to check whether the other sponsor of the resolution, Mr. LI Jinghong,
did any better homework for this resolution. 

If that is the way Mr. XIN Ku works for the IFCSS Council, one has every
reason to be worried how harmful such arbitrary behavior could be to IFCSS.

In the final draft of the resolution, CSS Today is implicated "to promote
certain group's special interest within our organization" and "to create
confusion and/or distrust among fellow Chinese". For that and the previous
allegations against CSS Today, the sponsors of this resolution, Mr. XIN Ku
and Mr. LI Jinghong, owe CSS Today and its readers a full explanation. We
want to know what "special group" exists within IFCSS and what confusion and
distrust has been created among? 

We believe such allegations against CSS Today are groundless! Groundless
allegations are close to slandering. This resolution created from nothing
is ridiculous, if not nonsense. 

Appendix: Mr. XIN Ku's three messages:

                  - - - - -      - - - - -      - - - - - 

>From [email-masked] Mon Nov  7 19:59:20 1994
Date: Mon, 7 Nov 1994 20:02:15 -0600
From: Xin Ku <[email-masked]>
To: Multiple recipients of list <[email-masked]>
Subject: Resolution on Wei JS's Nobel Prize Nomination

Memo
To:    IFCSS Council
From:  Xin Ku, council member from northeast regin
Date:  November 7, 1994
Re:  Wei Jin-shen Nobel Peace Prize Nomination Resolution and two other
resolutions.

******
The resolution on CSS-today

Whereas the Council is un aware of any proposal from
the HQ to establish the Electronic Newsletter of IFCSS 
and the related nomination.   

Whereas the Council is aware of and concerns about the
negative impact on the IFCSS and IFCSS working committee
and strong reaction  from many individuals caused by the 
news carried by CSS-today 

Be it resolved,

That the HQ is required to  summit the proposal, nomination  for 
such electronic newsletter to the Council for approval
before taking any further activity.

Sincerely,

Xin Ku

                  - - - - -      - - - - -      - - - - - 

Date: Tue, 8 Nov 1994 17:20:37 -0500 (EST)
From: Xin Ku <[email-masked]>
To: [email-masked]
Cc: [email-masked], [email-masked]
Subject: Re: permission

Dear editors (forgive me not using names, because you didn't put your name
there):

Thank you for asking my permission to use part of my msgs. My answer is
"yes" only if you promis to carry a full explained context by me. I don't
like someone quate one sentence of mine without put it back into the
context. Most of all, you said "a balanced view" I haven't read any of
your previous comments about it (because I am not on that net and even not
aware of what's going on there and have no clue what you have carried on
that net about this issue.

So please tell me whether you want me to write something for your net on
this issue or you just want publish a piece of my e-mail to the VCnet.
I will response accordingly. 

> 
> ---------------------
> From: Xin Ku <[email-masked]>
> Source: [email-masked], [email-masked], 10/28/94 
> 
> Huang Lin:
> 
> No need to get so emotional, simply tell us a "YES" or "NO".
> Communist or not does not change your last name or first name.
> 
> XIN Ku
> 

                  - - - - -      - - - - -      - - - - - 

Date: Wed, 9 Nov 1994 10:40:31 -0500 (EST)
From: Xin Ku <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: CSS Today #9409, November 9, 1994
To: [email-masked]

To whom it may concern:

I did not request to be put on the CSS Today mailing list and I do not
intend to either, would you please drop my e-mail address from your
distribution list.

Thanks.  

Xin Ku

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5. Pending Resolution on CSS Today and Newly Created Official Positions . 21
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source: Council-l, 11/22/94 
By: Xin Ku / Li Jinghong 

Whereas the Council is unaware of any proposal from the president to
establish the Electronic Newsletter of IFCSS and the related nomination, as
well as several newly created official positions;   

Whereas the Council is aware of and concerns about the negative impact on
the IFCSS and IFCSS working committee and strong reaction  from many
individuals caused by the stories carried on CSS-today;

Whereas all IFCSS communication resources should be devoted to enhence the
strength of IFCSS, and provide objective and informative information to the
general public.  They should not and must not be used to promote certain
group's special interets within our organization, nor to be used to create
confusion and/or distrusts among fellow Chinese;

Be it resolved,

That the HQ is required to  summit all proposals, nominations for such
electronic newsletter and/or new positions to the Council for approval
before taking any further activity.  Hence, the unauthorized CSS-Today and
its computer accounts shall suspend their activity immediately; those
unauthorized new positions and their titles shall not be used in any form
upon the adoption of this resolution.    

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