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              ]]]    ]]]   ]]] ]]]   ]]] ]]]   ]]]    ]]]       No. 94018
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CSS Today Editorial Board                             csstoday@iastate.edu
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In This Issue


Heritage Education


By LUO Ning

A new wave of Chinese community development has risen from the horizon, and risen quickly, that is the establishment and growth of the Chinese schools in towns and cities all over the country by those who came from China not long ago. The significance of this development is still far from fully unfolded.

The first form of community organization encountered by the Chinese students and scholars came to the United States after China opened its door in 1978 was the Chinese student and scholar association (CSSA), or Lian Yi Hui, on campus. Even today, CSSA is still the center of Chinese community in many small college towns. The association beyond the local level appeared gradually in the 1980's, in the forms of alumni association and academic societies.

The year of 1989 was a great turning point in the history of Chinese community development. The spiritual resonance and solidarity between the overseas Chinese and the peoples around the globe reached a high point never achieved before. The image and self-image of Chinese people have changed forever since then. After "6.4", the general awareness and social bonding formed at levels beyond campus led to the founding of the first national organization which was not afraid of being openly critical of the Chinese government --- IFCSS, and the mushrooming of associations in the first years of 1990s, many driven by the vast business opportunities in China.

The rise of Chinese schools in recent years symbolizes another new stage in the development of Chinese community. We are not only expanding in spatial scope and variety, but also in depth of time, reaching to the education of our children. Education of the young is probably the closest thing to religion that most Chinese have. No matter how harsh is the life, Ahinese parents would always devote their most precious resources and hopes to the betterment of their children through good education.

Many Chinese parents have tried in the past few decades to find happiness for their kids by teaching them to forget their heritage and "live like everybody else". The question is whether or not can one ever be truly proud of being himself or herself if his or her parents are ashamed of their own ethnic identity. Ironically, it can also be questioned if this "being like everybody else" mentality is actually a syndrome inherited from our own traditional human relationship guidelines in our own early experiences back in China.

The success of Jewish community development has been envied by many ethnic group. Chinese and Jews have a lot in common: Long history, emphasis on education, strong family tie, etc.. The disparities in the success of these two ethnic communities are, however, out of proportion. There have been talked of a great number of reasons, but one of the most important reasons is the differences in attitudes towards one's own ethnic heritage. To build a strong Chinese community, we must rebuild the pride in our own heritage, and Chinese schools are a base to begin such an endeavor.

In a not so distant future, many Chinese schools will acquire their own estate and evolve into Chinese community centers, where there are not only classrooms for teaching Chinese language and cultural heritage, but also library, gym, swimming pool, conference rooms, auditorium, fitness facilities, playing ground, athletic field, etc., etc.. People of all ages can come together to share and learn. With such community centers as the nucleation cores of our community, with the identity, confidence and self- esteem built upon our heritage, the integration into the main society will no longer be an agonizing process, but a joyful experience which will enrich both ourselves and the society. The pioneers of such endeavor deserve our high respect and full support.


Chinese School Association in the US Established ........................ 36
By PU Dai/CSS Today

Chinese School Association in the United States (CSAUS), a new organization aimed at coordinating educational activities of Chinese schools cross the country, was formed Recently. School principals or coordinators from 16 independent Chinese schools of 14 different states in the United States have passed the bylaw of the new organization and elected Toni Ni (The Hope Chinese School, MD) as the first president and HONG Zao-Hui (The Sino-US Chinese School, GA) the vice-president. The governing body of the Association, the CSAUS Board of Directors, consists of the president and the vice-president and three other elected board members: CHIEN Yongwei (The Chinese School of Oriental Cultural Center, UT), CHEN Xin (The Great Wall Chinese School, TX), and HE Zhen-yu (Chicago Xilin Chinese School, IL).

Currently, most existing Chinese schools in the US are still teaching the traditional Chinese characters (Fan-Ti-Zi) with traditional phonetics (Zhu-Yin). That has created difficulties and confusion for children from China or born to parents from China wo are used to simplified Chinese characters (Jian-Ti-Zi) and Pin-Yin. That has become an increasingly serious concern as more and more people are coming to and settling down in this country. Teaching Chinese to their children and maintaining their cultural heritage is a top priority for all the Chinese parents.

To the increasing demand for Chinese schools teaching simplified characters and Pin-Yin, a new type of Chinese schools and classes, most founded by volunteer scholars from China, have been booming all over the US in the past three years. In order to promote information exchange among these schools and help develop educational programs for Chinese kids, Toni Ni, HONG Zao-Hui, CHIEN Yongwei, CHEN Xin, and HUANG Rui-He jointly proposed the establishment of a coordinating organization last June. As a result, CSAUS, as is called, was formed after six month's preparation.

CSAUS is going to hold its annual conference in the coming year, according to the newly elected CSAUS president Toni Ni. CSAUS is also planning several other projects, including the publication of CSAUS newsletter and a membership directory, teacher training program, coordination of textbook selection, and some social activities. Reader interested in joining CSAUS or for more information could contact The Liaison Office, CSAUS, 4349 S. Fortuna Way, Salt Lake City, UT 84124. Phone: (801)278-3643.


The Hope Chinese School in


By Toni Ni

It is a successful year for the Hope Chinese Language School in Washington DC area. The school established a year ago now has more than 120 students and 15 teachers with 7 grade Chinese language classes and 6 art classes, such as drawing, dancing, GO, Chinese martial. It also publishes a newsletter --STARS OF HOPE each semester.

The school has a board consisting of 9 directors who are volunteers except the school principal. All directors are from student parents and teachers and also elected in annual student parents meeting.

The school has succeeded in its financial independence. The tuition is the lowest in Washington DC area where there are about 28 Chinese Schools. The Hope Chinese School is only one teaching "Pin1 Yin1" and simplified Chinese and run by mainland Chinese community. The tuition is about $2.25 per hour, an amount less than hiring a baby sitter for many parents.

Mainland Chinese schools are growing very fast in the United States. It has become an important part of life in the Chinese Community. Every Saturday or Sunday, no matter what kind of weather, parents or grand parents send their kids to the school on time, and they themselves participate in some in- or out-classroom activities.


Reflection on


By LAO Jiang

Nowadays, if one gets to-gethering of Chinese students and scholars anywhere in the U.S., nine out of ten times the topic of practicing Qi-Gong will turn up. Frequently, an otherwise calm and objective will passionately expound the virtue of his branch of Qi-Gong, gratefully enumerate the physical and spiritual benefits he reaped from its practice and fervently praise the prowess and lofty kindness of his teacher (more often than not, Master YAN Xin). The healthy appearance, the serene demeanor and the eagerness to spread the word of the Qi-Gong practitioners never fail to impress the multitudes, be it an informed audience or a casual observer.

I have the good fortune to be acquainted with a few committed Qi-Gong practitioners. About a year ago, I attended a lecture on YAN Xin Qi-Gong by an acquaintance of mine. Showing up in the lecture hall, I was completely taken aback by the radiant face and alert manner of the lecturer. After a few months of practicing Qi-Gong, he was thoroughly rejuvenated. He told us he has been fasting for over a month and he had never felt better. He also cited several extraordinary exploits of Master YAN Xin, such as curing serious illness by his mere appearance, sustaining a life of a girl without food for several years, and making rainfall to put out a major forest fire. How could one describe these deeds by anything but miracles? When I talked to my Qi-Gong friends, I got the feeling that they had the mind set of pioneers of a grand and noble mission. They want to do you good, and their admiration toward their Grand Masters is just this side of idolatry.

It always strikes me as odd why the phenomenon of Qi-Gong has taken so strong a hold among Chinese intelligentsia abroad. More and more it appears to me that the Qi-Gong serves as a surrogate religion among Chinese scholar.

Looking back to our long and intricate history, it is intriguing to note that China has never had a strong religious heritage. We, as a people, can be philosophical but not religious. This is a most singular thing among all the great cultures in the world, past and present. One is compelled to ask: but how can we forgot so great an aspect of human behavior as religion? The answer is bound to be that we have had our surrogate.

In Jin Dynasty (about 300AD), the spiritual outlet for literates was to sit down and have endless discourse (Qing1 Tan2) and to meditate. To attain the inner happiness or to simply forget the unpleasant reality (that was a turbulent period and not a few scholars got mixed up in palace intrigues and had their heads chopped off), some indulged in drinking binges. YUAN Ji was reputed to be drunk for months on end, sometime for pleasure and sometime for expediency. TAO Yuan-Ming took a different route by communing with nature and by meditating. The period poems and writings reflected the distinct flavor of this "out-of-the-world" mentality. After that, for all these 1600 years, the absolute power of the successive rulers stifled the inventiveness and creativity of the people and another renaissance was never affected.

We Chinese have too much individualism in our blood, and for so many years have had too much collectivism forced upon us, to feel comfortable to worship an Universal Being. Instead, we always try to attain enlightenment through a personal and individualistic approach. There is nothing better suited for this purpose than Qi-Gong. It emphasizes on individual efforts and never forces doctrine of any kind.

The phenomenon is long time in the coming. And may it flourish in the fertile minds of descendents of the noble scholars of the bygone years.


IFCSS Should Seek Dialogue and Exchange With China


By Wendy Shen

Since CSS Today reported that Mr. YANG Jie of IFCSS was invited to attend a reception party in Chinese Embassy as a member of CSSA in University of Maryland at College Park, there have been hot debate on whether IFCSS should explore the possibility of dialogue and exchange with China. I believe believe that dialogue and exchange between IFCSS and China will not only benefit ordinary CSS here, but also will help to promote democratization and modernization in China. Thus I hope IFCSS explore all the possibility to engage in direct dialogue with China and culture exchange with all level of people in China.

While all of us will never forget the June 4th massacre of 1989 in Beijing, we should work in our capacity to prevent this kind of tragedy from happening again. Having been convinced that isolation and confrontation will not help our country in its struggle for democracy, freedom and better living standard, I firmly believe that through direct dialogue and culture exchange with the outside world, China will have a better chance to improve its human right record, and Chinese people will have a better chance to be exposed to western's advanced science and technology as well as democracy. By working on these fundamentals, oversea CSS will be able to contribute to the development of our country.

Through the years, we have witnessed that the world has shifted from hostile confrontation to peaceful cooperation. While Bosnia's war-fire has made hundreds of thousands of innocent people suffered, the Arab-Israel peace process will benefit a new generation. This is the time that commands all of us to be more open-mind, to be more cooperative and to be more accommodating, just for the benefit of Chinese people. Our country has changed a lot in the past few years, and the only way to help keeping this change is to make our voice (no matter it is harsh criticism, strong protest or constructive suggestion) heard by the Chinese government and engage ourselves with various exchanges.

IFCSS has the tradition and responsibility to seek dialogue with Chinese government for the interest of itself and the general CSS population. And in fact, IFCSS has been actively engaged in this mission in the past. However, due to various reasons, this term's IFCSS has been very passive in promoting dialogue and culture exchange with China. While last term we had seen the IFCSS president Mr. LIN Changsheng went to Beijing to explore the possibility of cooperation, We have not seen any substantial action this term IFCSS have taken to continue this effort; while we had also witnessed that last term's IFCSS had been aggressively contacting Chinese officials (during the APEC summit) to explore the possibility of establishing seats for oversea CSS in National People's Congress, we have not seen any moves by this term's IFCSS officials to explore any possibility in the dialogue and exchange with China. I hereby call upon IFCSS Council to play an active role in exploring any possibility of dialogue and exchange with China.

There have been lot of oversea Chinese organization aiming at promoting democracy and freedom in China. However, this author believe that shouting big slogans outside China won't help. IFCSS should take the lead in seeking dialogue with Chinese government and engaging culture exchange with people in our country.


XIN Ku's Letters to LUO Ning


(1)

Date: Mon, 12 Dec 1994 From: XIN Ku xku@SUNED.ZOO.CS.YALE.EDU To: hq@ifcss.org LUO Ning Subject: Memo to LUO Ning

Can Mr. LUO Ning, as the President of IFCSS confirm the following news?

On Nov. 4, IFCSS HQ officer YANG Jie attended a reception in PRC embassy in honor of vice premier Li, Lanqing who comes to the US for an official visit.

(2)

Date: Mon, 12 Dec 1994 From: XIN Ku xku@SUNED.ZOO.CS.YALE.EDU To: hq@ifcss.org LUO Ning Subject: Memo to LUO Ning#2

LUO Ning, as the President of IFCSS, can you confirm the following news? Please be specific, i.e. did you authorize YANG Jie, an IFCSS HQ officer, represent IFCSS went to such an reception in PRC embassy "in honor" of Li, Lanqing? I also demand YANG Jie to report his purpose and nature of his action regarding this matter to council.

My last requestion to whoever claim to represent IFCSS, are you going to go to a reception "in honor" of LI Peng as well? If so, you are my enemy and all "June 4" victims' enemy!


LUO Ning's Reply to XIN Ku


To: Mr. XIN Ku, Council Member representing the Northeast Region From: LUO Ning, President, IFCSS Date: December 16, 1994 Re: Two memos inquiring Mr. YANG Jie's visit to Chinese Embassy

Dear Mr. XIN Ku:

Thank you for your two memos (attached at the end of this message) which concern about the operation and position of IFCSS in dealing with the Chinese government.

Mr. YANG Jie was invited as one of the representatives of the CSSA at University of Maryland, College Park, to the reception in the Embassy of the People's Republic of China at Washington, DC, on November 4, 1994, for the visiting Vice Premier LI Lanqing. I had been informed about this meeting by Mr. YANG Jie before he attended the meeting.

It has been a policy of IFCSS since its early years that IFCSS should explore and make effort to establish channels through which IFCSS could engage a direct dialogue with the Chinese government. To promote exchanges between the Chinese student and scholar community in the US and all sectors of society of China was adopted by all the presidential candidate and potential candidates at the Fifth Annual Convention of IFCSS in July of 1993 in Lexington, Kentucky, as one of their major agendas. It is because of the inability of the Chinese government officials so far in dealing with any independent organizations formed by the PRC citizens that no direct channel has been established between IFCSS and the Chinese government.

It is stated as one of the principles of IFCSS that this organization promote liberty, democracy, human rights and rule of law in China. Little can be achieve to carry out this mission if we are afraid of even making contact with Chinese government officials.

I have always been firmly supporting the effort to open up China and promote free dialogues and exchanges between China and other parts of the world, because my generation has witnessed that what kind of catastrophe could isolation bring to China. I will continue to explore all the opportunities of establishing contact and dialogue with Chinese government, as well as other sectors of Chinese society, which was one of the major objectives stated in my election campaign platform and supported by the majority of the delegates to the Sixth Annual Convention of IFCSS last July in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

Sincerely,

LUO Ning (signed)


Three Items .......................................................... 39 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- By WANG Yang o o o o Eric Drache, a high-roller professional gambler, is currently ranked as the 6th best poker player in the world. But Drache has been consistently losing money on poker tables. According to the authoritative magazine Gambler Times, Drache's problem is that "he only wants to play the world's top five poker players." o o o o When Willy Brandt, the mayor of West Berlin, visited Tel Aviv, his Israeli host invited him to see the magnificent new Mann auditorium. Brandt expressed surprise and appreciation that Israel had named the auditorium after the great German writer Thomas Mann. His host corrected him. The hall was actually named for Frederick Mann of Philadelphia. "Oh," said Brandt, "what did he write?" "A check," his host replied. o o o o [Puzzle] The Triangular Duel Zhang Three, Li Four and Wang Five agree to fight a pistol duel under the following unusual conditions. After a random draw determine who fires first, second and third, they take their places at the corners of an equilateral triangle. It is agreed that they will fire single shots in turn and continue in the same cyclic order until two of them are dead. At each turn the man who is firing may aim wherever he pleases. All three duelists know that Zhang Three always hits his target, Li Four is 80 percent accurate and Wang Five is 50 percent accurate. Assuming that all three adopt the best strategy, and that no one is killed by a wild shot not intended for him, who has the best chance to survive? A more difficult question: What are the exact survival probabilities of the three men? Please email your answer to wang@math.gatech.edu, or send fax at (404)-853-9112. ====================<<<<< Between Readers & Editors >>>>>=================== Are We Fighting for Justice ? ......................................... 16 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- From Alex Du Dear Members of CSS Today Board, As of Prof. YANG Xiao-feng's case, I do not think we're doing the right things in the name of "fight for justice in China". For the best, we're just doing somebody a favor. There is few disagreement that justice in a society roots in that the legal system operates INDEPENDENTLY from other interests. What we are doing now, however, is to try to influence the legal judgement by influencing some key persons, who are officers in the GOVERNMENT and POLITICAL PARTY, but may have decisive impact on a legal issue. Are we fighting for justice, or just taking advantage of the UNJUSTICE part of the legal system? It's not wrong that we do somebody a favor. But name it as it is. Otherwise, it hurts. ############################################################################ | Editor of this issue: WU Yegang Deputy Coordinator: YUAN Wei | | - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - | | CSS Today is a publication of the CSS Today Editorial Board devoted to | | the CSS community for your right to know. What CSS Today carries does | | not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editors. | | ________________________________________________________________________ | | | | CSS Today welcomes contributions, comments, questions, criticisms and | | anything concerning a healthy establishment of the CSS community. For | | question, please inquire to: | | | | csstoday@iastate.edu | ############################################################################