CBS Clarifies Chinese Spy Report After Protest October 23, 1994, New York Times, A36, National Section After months of protest from Asian-Americans over CBS News report about Chinese spies in the United States, the network broadcast an unusual "clarification" on its Friday evening newscast. "It was not our intention," said Connie Chung, co-anchor of the CBS Evening News, "to leave the impression that there were more than a small number of such individuals among the many tens of thousands of legitimate Chinese students, visitors, and immigrants who come to the U.S. every year. If we left an incorrect impression, we regret it." The original news report was shown on May 19. In it, Ms. Connie Chung examined the scope of Chinese intelligence operations in America. "Every day, planeloads of Chinese citizens arrive legally in the United States, ordinary people," Ms. Connie Chung said in the report. "But to the Chinese government, some of them may be future spies, who a few year down the road, will be activated to steal America's military and technological secrets, whether they want to or not." The broadcast angered many of the 350,000 recent Chinese immigrants, scholars and students in America. They said the report exaggerated the problem and caused them to be regarded with unwarranted suspicion. A group called the Independent Federation of Chinese Students and Scholars demanded an apology on the air and a retraction from CBS. "CBS News wrongly portrayed Chinese-Americans as untrustworthy in front of a television audience of over 12 million people," said Lin Huang, a member of the federation. Powerful Asian-American groups such as the Committee of 100, the Organization of Chinese Americans, and the Asian Pacific American Bar Association, quickly joined the protest. Only after four months of requests and a letter from the United States Commission on Civil Rights did officials of CBS News meet with the coalition. That was on Tuesday. In response to the statement broadcast by CBS on Friday, Ginny Gong, national president the Organization of Chinese Americans, commended the network but added, "we'll no longer be the silent minority when negative stereotypes continue to perpetuate the image of Asian-Americans as forever foreign." Several attempts to reach CBS News executives about the statement brought responses that they would not be available until Monday. ============================================================= Mi Mi Sr.'s comment: Not only the President Eric Ober of CBS News offered a full apology, but also Ms. Connie Chung made her "clarification" on the air, only came short to utter the previously drafted word "apologize." Now, the CBS Incident is put on the everlasting printed record, the New York Times national section. Whoever wants to make spy stories on Chinese, will definitely retrieve and read this story though computer database, and be warned with strong protest if there is any ill-intention. Also, all the news media will learn a lesson from this, that we Chinese are never silent again. In this country, protests are too common that news editors will not look at them. Corrections are less common, but still they will not be regarded as news. This time a news is made since a traditionally silent minority people hold on a protest against a giant media, and won. It serves a warning for any future ill- intended defamation. CBS Incident Committee is seriously evaluating the possibility of suing the author or anyone who let go this junk book. If we have enough funds and manpower, we will knock down this guy for good. That will be another big story. We need your support. %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% % Mr. Mi Mi, Sr., Coordinator of CBS Incident Committee % % Sign on/off at listserv@ifcss.org, with mailbody as: % % sub fcbs-l Firstname Lastname, or signoff fcbs-l % % Post: fcbs-l@ifcss.org ftp//ifcss.org/ifcss/Legal/cbs % $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ $ Please make contributions payable to $ $ IFCSS/CBS Incident Fund, and mail it to $ $ Mr. Frank Chen / CBSIC $ $ 361 Ogden Avenue $ $ Jersey City, NJ 07307 $ $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$