************************************************************** IFCSS Headquarters News Release No. 5002 July 9, 1993 ************************************************************** Independent Federation of Chinese Students and Scholars (IFCSS) 733 15th Street, N.W., Suite 440, Washington, D.C.20005 Tel. (202)347-0017 Fax: (202)347-0018 Email: ifcss@wam.umd.edu For Immediate Release 07/09/93 Contact:Xiaozhu Liu (202)347-0017 Press Release The IFCSS Statement on the Handling of 659 Chinese ================================================== On July 9, 1993, the U.S. government decided to keep the Chinese boat people or immigration seekers off the U.S. waters, and at the same time asked the government of Mexico to accept the 659 before they could go through the due legal process in this country. As the only nation-wide Chinese student organization in the United States, we strongly condemn the crime rings that organized the illegal immigration activities. Their criminal behavior has not only resulted in tremendous sufferings of our fellow countrymen, but also created a serious problem for the American society. Resolute measures must be taken to stop this barbarous business of making money out of human lives. At the same time, however, we are aware that the overwhelming majority of these boat people are victims of the organized crimes. Like millions of immigrants in the American history, these people are coming to the United States to seek freedom and happiness. No matter how they ended up on these ships, they should be allowed to go through due legal processes and be given an explanation why they cannot stay in the U.S.. They have been drifting on the sea for months; consequently, keeping them to international waters or sending them to a third country only aggravates their conditions. We urge the U.S. government to recognize the plight of these innocent people and incorporate humanitarianism into any solution it may develop to this issue. ********************************************************************* * IFCSS Headquarters Office * *-------------------------------------------------------------------* * President: Lin Changsheng Vice President: Shi Heping * *-------------------------------------------------------------------* * PBS-L is IFCSS's news distribution list for individuals. To sign * * on or off from the list, please send email to listserv@ifcss.org * * leave the subject line open and put in the mail body: * * (For signing on) sub PBS-L last name first name * * (For signing off) unsub PBS-L last name first name * * For more information about IFCSS, write to ifcss-info@ifcss.org * *********************************************************************