Evidence is mounting up, proving the influence of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) on Chinese student associations at U.S. universities. The World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong (WOIPFG) released two investigative reports last Friday that prove the Chinese Student and Scholar Association (CSSA) at New York University (NYU) and many other schools are directly controlled by Chinese consulates. The report says their main purpose is to suppress independent groups and extend communist control overseas.
New York University's Chinese Culture Club (NYUCCC, which is also called the NYU Chinese Student and Scholar Association in Chinese) began a campaign this month to halt New Tang Dynasty Television's (NTDTV) International Chinese Classical Dance Competition, being held at NYU on July 6–8.
At first, many people at the university and in the community were puzzled by the aggressive action of the NYUCCC toward this traditional cultural event. The WOIPFG reports answer the riddle, however, with evidence that the NYUCCC is operating under the command of the Chinese consulate. "Due to the independent and outspoken nature of NTDTV, as well as its long-term focus on the human rights issue in China, including the persecution of Falun Gong, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has spared no effort to suppress an NTDTV event yet again," says one of the reports.
Other members of the Asian community are also sounding alarm bells over the issue. "It is a shame. It definitely hurts to learn about these things," said Min Ge, director of the Asian Community Service Center in Washington, D.C. "As Chinese we want to have a good image in the American society, but things like this and all the problems with contaminated food really hurt us," Ge added.
The reports, titled "Investigation Report on CSSA acting as CCP Overseas Agent" and "Investigation into the Chinese Embassy and Consulates in the U.S. Controlling CSSAs to Export the Communist Party's Policy of Human Rights Violations," list specific cases showing how these student groups are funded and directed by Chinese Consulates.
"The Chinese Student and Scholar Association is comprised of students and scholars from mainland China, who study and work in universities around the world," says information in the reports. "As early as year 2000, CSSA groups existed in at least 12 countries. In the U.S. alone, there are at least 109 such associations." The reports also give examples of how the network of associations is being used as a global extension of Chinese Consulates and Embassies.
"CSSA has become a powerful and well-organized overseas group under the leadership of CCP. Taking advantage of the student status, CSSA expresses the wishes of CCP, which the communist regime may not feel comfortable bringing up by itself; CSSA also helps to export the abusive human rights policies, to the extent of being unscrupulous," says WOIPFG.
For instance, the reports show that two-thirds of the advisory board of CSSA at Columbia University is comprised of officials from the Chinese Consulate General in New York, and that the nine articles defaming Falun Gong contained on their Web site all link to the Chinese Embassy's Web site in Washington, D.C.
The reports also say that on May 26, 2007, the education section of the Chinese Consulate General in Houston hosted a meeting for CSSA presidents from Texas and Louisiana during which they reported their achievements in "suppressing the moving space of enemy force."
Chinese Consulates also provide direct funding to CSSAs around the country. The 2005 financial statement of CSSA at the University of Tennessee showed that three-quarters of their budget came from funds disbursed by the Chinese Consulate; the other quarter came from excess funds carrying over from 2004.
Chen Yonglin, the former First Secretary at the Chinese Consulate in Sydney, Australia, who now advises governments on Chinese espionage, commented, "Such groups are in fact controlled by the Chinese mission and are an extension of the Chinese communist regime overseas."
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