Subject: CND-US, December 29, 1991

From: [email-masked]
Date: Sat, 28 Dec 1991 02:40:08 -0500

+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+   C h i n a   N e w s   D i g e s t  +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

                               (US Regional)

                         Sunday, December 29, 1991

                   This Issue of The China News Digest
       Is Dedicated to Our Dear Friend and Fellow CND Volunteer
                               Mr. Lite Lin
                                                   Members of the CND Group

Table of Contents                                                # of Lines

1. News Brief (Three Items)............................................. 22
2. PRC F-1 Student Off-Campus Employment Procedures Change ............. 78
3. News Analysis: Deadline Looms in US-China Trade Talks ............... 65

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1. News Brief (Three Items)............................................. 22
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[soc.culture.china]  Over 530 have joined SUMCC as of 1:30 PM CST, Dec. 27,
1991.   (From Dong-Ping DENG   <[email-masked]>  of National Committee of
Support Unconditional MFN for China Campaign)
___ ___ ___ ___

Although the Chinese Professionals Club is still at the preparatory  stage,
we  already have a group of professionals specialized in 14 different areas
to provide free services to CPC members. All the services will be  of  pro-
fessional  level  and  are  provided  by  helpful volunteers.  The services
available so far include tax-return service,  consulting  Immigration  Laws
and  Procedures,  etc., as well as some of pure professional interest which
may not be as popular as others. But for those who want to  engage  in  hi-
tech business, you might find these services precious and handy. If you are
interested in getting or providing Univ. any services,  please contact Gao,
Haibin <[email-masked]> 310-391-0983;or Wang, Daxin <[email-masked]>
919-967-6822; or Zhao, Hongcheng <[email-masked]> 714-788-9865.   (From
Kuai, Wenming,  <[email-masked]>)
___ ___ ___ ___

The 2nd University of Maryland Open GO Tournament will be held on  Jan. 18-
19, 1992 at Stamp Student Union, Room 1143, U Maryland.  Interested readers
please contact Chen Gang (301)209-0057 or Liu Yadong (301)345-0412 for more
information. (Yadong Liu <[email-masked]>)

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2. PRC F-1 Student Off-Campus Employment Procedures Change ............. 78
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Source: NAFSA Update No. 162, 12/20/1991
From: Amy Yenkin, Lisa Jacobson Treacy, NAFSA Central Office via Bo Xiong

1. PRC OFF-CAMPUS EMPLOYMENT PROCEDURES CHANGE IN LIEU OF IMMACT 90

As you know, one of the benefits of the April 11, 1990 Presidential  Execu-
tive  Order  for national of the PRC was that F-1 students would be able to
obtain off-campus employment without having to demonstrate  economic  hard-
ship.  A  May 7, 1990 cable from the Immigration and Naturalization Service
(INS) stated: "All PRC nationals and their dependents who were  present  in
the  United  States on or after June 5, 1989, up to and including April 11,
1990, or would have been present but for  a  brief,  casual,  and  innocent
departure,  are  eligible  for employment authorization...In the case of F-
1... students, the evidence of employment authorization will  be  noted  in
the  students' I-20 ID copy." Off-campus employment could be part-time dur-
ing school and full-time during vacations and  could  be  authorized  until
January 1, 1994.

Earlier this week, NAFSA received reports that regional INS offices are  no
longer  accepting applications for off-campus employment from PRC nationals
in F-1 status who are beneficiaries of the executive order. Applicants have
been  told that PRC nationals in F-1 status who fall under the terms of the
Presidential executive order would now have to comply with new  regulations
governing F-1 off-campus employment.

Representatives from INS headquarters in  Washington  have  confirmed  this
policy  change.  INS  states  that  the new statutory language for F-1 off-
campus employment included in the Immigration Act of  1990  supercedes  the
Presidential  executive order. The Immigration Act of 1990 created a three-
year pilot off-campus program for F-1 students. To be  eligible,  the  1990
Act  states  that  students  must  be  in good academic standing and in F-1
status for one academic year before they can obtain  employment  authoriza-
tion. In addition, the 1990 Act requires employers of F-1 student to file a
labor  attestation  with  the  labor  Department  stating  that  they  have
recruited  domestic  workers  for at least 60 days and will pay the student
the prevailing wage or the actual wage (whichever is higher) for the  posi-
tion.

Language from the May 7, 1990 cable from INS states: "The  Executive  Order
on  PRC  nationals  is implemented administratively within the framework of
the existing regulations. Except where special exemptions have been  insti-
tuted,  nonimmigrant PRC nationals [including F-1 students] are still bound
by the regulations governing their respective classifications."  Therefore,
the  new  statutory  language  for F-1 off-campus employment, combined with
INS's elimination of need based employment, has eliminated the  possibility
of  INS  extending this benefit to PRC nationals in F-1 status. Note: Since
the language in the Immigration Act of 1990 dealt only with  F-1  students,
benefits for PRC nationals in other nonimmigrant classes remain unchanged.

Therefore, any PRC national in F-1 status  who  is  a  beneficiary  of  the
Presidential  executive  order  and who wants to either 1) begin off-campus
employment or 2) extend  a  previously  granted  authorization  which  will
expire  before  January  1, 1994 will have to apply for authorization under
the new F-1 regulations. These regulations were published by INS on October
29,  1991 and by the Labor Department on November 6, 1991. More information
on these regulations can be found in the Fall, 1991 issue of the Government
Affairs  Bulletin.  Off-campus  employment  granted to PRC nationals before
October 29, 1991 will remain valid until it expires.

NAFSA is already working  to  clarify  Congressional  intent  to  determine
whether  INS misinterpreted the creation of the pilot off-campus employment
program as replacing  employment  based  on  economic  necessity  and  pre-
completion  practical  training.  NAFSA  will also urge Congress to clarify
whether it intended to eliminate PRC nationals in  F-1  status  as  benefi-
ciaries  of  the  executive order. NAFSA will continue to push for Congres-
sional action in these areas and will update members of any changes through
Bitnet  and  the  Government  Affairs  Bulletin. If you have any questions,
please contact your  Government  Regulations  Advisory  Committee  regional
representative, or the government relations staff at NAFSA.

2. FOREIGN MEDICAL GRADUATES IN H-1B STATUS

Recent statutory changes to the H-1B category specify certain  requirements
for  foreign medical graduates coming to the U.S. to perform direct patient
care. In the preamble to the December 2, 1991 H, L, O & P  INS  rule,  how-
ever,  a  different  set  of  requirements is specified. Although statutory
changes supercede the regulations, NAFSAns may want to contact their  local
INS office before filing. NAFSA is working to clarify this as well as other
issues relating to foreign medical graduates and will alert members as more
information becomes available.

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3. News Analysis: Deadline Looms in US-China Trade Talks ............... 65
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Source: Christian Science Monitor, Dec 27, 1991, by Ann Scott Tyson
From: Joe Huang, Dec 27

The US and China are expected to avert a  trade  war  by  hammering  out  a
last-minute  resolution  to  a dispute over intellectual property rights in
talks next month, US analysts say.

Negotiators have agreed to meet for a final round of talks  just  one  week
before  the  Jan.  16 deadline set by Washington for resolving the dispute.
The fifth round of talks ended in an impasse in Beijing Dec. 22.

Without an agreement, the US will impose punitive tariffs up to 100 percent
on  a  wide range of Chinese exports worth as much as $1.5 billion. Beijing
has vowed to retaliate with unspecified "corresponding measures."

The result to sanctions would worsen prospects for resolving a more  impor-
tant  trade  dispute: the upcoming battle aver US access to China's market.
Washington has demanded that Beijing open its markets to more US  goods  by
next October to reduce China's estimated $13 billion trade surplus with the
US.  China claims to buy more than it sells to the US.

Despite a current deadlock in the talks, US analysts say China is likely to
move  closer  to  meeting US demands that it act to halt the pirating of an
estimated $400 million worth of US copyrighted and patented materials  each
year.

"The Chinese negotiating style is to wait until the 12th hour to make  con-
cessions,"  says Warren Williams, president of the American Chamber of Com-
merce in Hong Kong.

A Chinese trade ministry spokesman hinted in  an  official  Statement  this
week that Beijing would be flexible, saying the talks could succeed through
"mutual accommodation and discussion".

US Assistant Trade Representative Joseph Massey  says  Chinese  negotiators
during  the talks retracted concessions proposed earlier. Calling China the
world's largest "pirate" of US  copyrighted  and  patented  materials,  Mr.
Massey  says  Beijing  is  under heavy pressure to protect the interests of
those who gain from sales of intellectual property.

The US wants China to modify its 1984 patent law and 1991 copyright law  to
offer  greater  protection  for  intellectual  property  such  as  computer
software, pharmaceuticals, and chemicals, and to adopt  laws  that  require
compliance, instead of relying on "administrative guidance". "The focus for
these negotiations is getting the laws as a first step," says  a  US  offi-
cial. "With these in place, the Chinese can be held accountable."

But Beijing argues that US demands are "excessive" and go  beyond  interna-
tional  norms.  It  notes, for example, that China has bowed to US pressure
and agreed to join the Berne Convention on copyrights. South  Korea,  which
has  refused  to  join  the convention, has not faced similar US criticism,
Beijing says.

US analysts acknowledge that Washington's demands are rigorous  and  criti-
cize  what  they  call its combative posture.  "Trying to publicly pressure
the Chinese to do something doesn't get you very far," says a US  business-
man in Hong Kong.

"The US could be a little less legalistic. The Chinese don't  operate  that
way," says Frank Martin, executive director of the American Chamber of Com-
merce in Hong Kong.

Nevertheless, China's trade status would benefit in the long term from com-
plying  with  the US demands to protect intellectual property, the analysts
add.

The US has published a 20-page list of Chinese products it may  target  for
punitive  tariffs after Jan. 6. Officials say a final list will be drawn up
after public hearings end next month.

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