************************************************************** IFCSS Headquarters News Release No. 5136 May 23,1994 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 IFCSS has already sent the following letter to CBS today. 05/23/94 Mr. Eric Ober President, CBS News 524 West 57th St. New York, NY 10019 Dear Mr. Ober: As president of the Independent Federation of Chinese Students and Scholars(IFCSS), I am writing you to express my deep concern over the CBS Evening News report on Chinese espionage, which was aired on May 19, 1994. The report, with Connie Chung as the anchorwoman, apparently aimed at warning American businesses of Chinese information espionage. However, it was structured in such a manner as might very well introduce a bias into American people's perception of ordinary Chinese citizens. The report began with these words: "Every day, planeloads of Chinese citizens arrive legally in the United States, ordinary people. But to the Chinese government, some of them may be future spies, who a few years down the road, will be activated to steal America's military and technological secrets, whether they want to or not." There are several inappropriate points in this paragraph alone. First, the number of people who might work as spies was greatly exaggerated. China may or may not has the biggest spy network in the United States in comparison with other countries, but the absolute number of spies vis-a-vis the whole Chinese population in the U.S. is very limited. By using words like "planeloads", the report greatly exaggerated the proportion of spies. Secondly, spies are not "ordinary people." The Chinese agency in charge of espionage would not choose ordinary people as spies; on the contrary, it relies on those who are most loyal to the Communist Party. Ordinary Chinese coming to the United States, just like ordinary Americans going to China, have impeccable business or personal purposes and are very friendly with the country they visit. Thirdly, Chinese people are not cowards, as was well demonstrated in the 1989 Democracy Movement, therefore they could not be forced to work as spies. Chung's statement "whether they want or not" is at best a distortion of the integrity of the Chinese people. It is well-known that despite repeated intimidation from the Chinese government, Chinese students in the U.S. are still carrying on the fight for democracy and freedom. On the same day of this report on Chinese espionage, five Chinese nationals embarked on a 360-hour hunger strike in front of the White House demanding improvement in China's human rights situation, which once again demonstrated the kind of courage witnessed by people all over the world in 1989. For ordinary Chinese students, America represents the land of freedom. It was the American dream of liberty and democracy which inspired thousands of young Chinese to lay down their lives on Beijing's streets five years ago. Because of China's human rights situation, many Chinese students are choosing to live in the United States for the time being. Instead of spying for the Chinese government, they are making great contributions to the American society with their knowledge of advanced science and technology and fostering a profound friendship between the two peoples. In the past three days, my organization has received hundreds of messages and phone calls from Chinese student nation-wide expressing their concern over the report. They are worried that the unrealistic picture painted by the CBS Evening News report could negatively affect their life in the U.S.. It is my sincere hope that CBS will take appropriate measures to mend the damages done and present a balanced, realistic view of Chinese nationals to the American public. Thank you for your attention. Sincerely, Shi Heping Vice President, Independent Federation of Chinese Students & Scholars