Dear Fellow Chinese Students: IFCSS HQ sent out News Release # 5120 yesterday. There is a mistake in its first paragraph. It should be " The special discount program for the travelling on China Eastern Airlines effective Mar. 01 through Mar. 30, 1994." Sorry for the inconvenience. HQ staff ************************************************************** IFCSS Headquarters News Release No. 5121 March 11, 1994 ************************************************************** 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 Urgent Call for Support!!! ============================= IFCSS HQ Note: On Monday the HQ sent out a news release asking for signatures on a letter to President Clinton. The purpose of the letter (below) is to ask the President to consider offering a two-year visa extension to Chinese students who do not fall under the CSPA because they arrived after the cut-off date. As of Friday, March 11th, HQ has only received signatures from nine schools. Without the support of a great many more students, this letter will not carry the force needed to bring about a positive outcome. The HQ (and the law firm of Arent Fox who was instrumental in the original CSPA action) believe that the U.S. political climate at this time is suitable to bring up this issue. Because of the constant changes in the political scene, this window of opportunity may not last long, and may not reappear in the near future. If students do not come forward and support this effort, then no action can be taken. Those who wish to support this effort should talk with their local student leaders. We need your support! The following schools have signed the letter: University of Minnesota Brandeis University University of Wisconsin (Madison) University of Utah University of Kentucky University of Oregon Vanderbilt University Oregon State University North Christian College Lane County Community College Thank you for your support! Please reply to IFCSS HQ: 1-202-347-0017 1-202-347-0018 (fax) e-mail: ifcss@wam.umd.edu Please include organization's name, contact person, address and phone #. ================================================================= The Honorable William J. Clinton President of the United States 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Washington, DC Dear Mr. President: We, the undersigned Chinese student organizations in the United States, are writing to request that protection be provided for Chinese students and scholars who would face possible persecution and reprisal upon return to China. Last week, the Chinese government detained Wei Jingsheng and about ten other dissidents. This morning, The Washington Post and New York Times reported that a 1989 Democracy Movement student leader, was taken away by the police. Another student leader, Ma Shaofang, has disappeared. The fact that such detentions took place while Assistant Secretary John Shattuck was still in China and Secretary Christopher is due to visit China once again demonstrates the unpredictability of the fate of those Chinese who dare to express their disagreement with the Chinese Communist Party. During the prodemocracy movement in 1989, most of us participated in the peaceful demonstrations in Beijing and other Chinese cities. Later on, many of us were imprisoned or persecuted and almost all of us were forced to express approval for the massacre and the subsequent crackdown. For many of us, it was only after undergoing many difficulties that permission was granted for us to leave the country. The Chinese Student Protection Act of 1992 granted Chinese students who came to the U.S. before April 1, 1990 the option to adjust their status to permanent residency on the grounds that because their participation in the prodemocracy demonstrations in the U.S. in 1989, they might be subjected to persecution or reprisal upon return to China. While we appreciate such protection pro vided for our fellow students, we feel that as individuals who have already been subjected to persecution or reprisal and who are more likely to face the same inhumane treatment, we need protection as much as our fellow students who came to the U.S. before the above-mentioned cutoff date. Some of us have graduated and many are due to graduate soon. As we look at the current human rights situation in China, we cannot but feel fear for what might happen to us when we go back. Because of our "counter-revolutionary" records and our continued efforts in the U.S. to promote democracy and freedom for China, we have every reason to believe that what is happening to Wei Jingsheng and others today will happen to us tomorrow. Therefore, we ask that a two-year extension be granted to us upon expiration of our valid visa status and that such an extension be renewable depending on human rights situation in China. We thank you for your commitment to improvement of human rights in China. (signatures) ********************************************************************* * IFCSS Headquarters Office * *-------------------------------------------------------------------* * President: Lin Changsheng Vice President: Shi Heping * * Exec. Director: Liu Xiaozhu Chief of Staff: Huang Songyun * *-------------------------------------------------------------------* * PBS-L is IFCSS's news distribution list for individuals. 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