Prior to the Tiananmen Square Massacre in 1989, nearly all Chinese Students and Scholars Associations (CSSA) were the extensions of the Chinese embassies or consulates. They monitored, controlled, and managed overseas Chinese students and scholars. In fact, many Chinese students and scholars considered the embassies or consulates to be the real leaders of the CSSA.
I tried to change the manipulative nature of the CSSA while I was the chairman of the CSSA at the University of Arizona in 1987. However, the Chinese embassies and consulates not only financed the CSSA, but also monitored and manipulated the CSSA through its members. Therefore, I had to capitulate under such control and pressure. For instance, certain students had requested the CSSA to issue a statement supporting Hu Yaobang, the former pro-democratic Communist leader. As the Chairman, I decided to abstain from voting or signing the statement.
'The FBI Interviewed Me Several Times.'
Whilst I was the chairman of the CSSA, I was interviewed several times by the FBI. Perhaps they wanted to find out if I worked for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Obviously, the FBI is well aware of the clandestine tactics of the CCP, manipulating the overseas CSSA, even though I was ignorant of the situation.
Chinese Embassies Financially Control the CSSA
After I graduated with a Master's degree from Berkeley University in 1986, I went to the University of Arizona at Tucson for my doctoral studies. The CSSA at Tucson consisted of both students and scholars. A chairman was elected from the students, and the vice-chairman was elected from the scholars. At that time, the chairman was not very active, and the vice chairman, Dr. Wang, was in charge of the majority of the activities and budget. Dr. Wang had been in the position for many years.
After I was elected as the chairman in 1987, I began to uncover certain matters about the CSSA.
First of all, the Chinese embassy and consulate provide full coverage of all CSSA activities. There's no membership or any other resources for the CSSA. Apart from the annual budget, the CSSA could also apply for specific financial support for any particular project. The embassy's educational office consul at San Francisco, Zhao Zhenlan, and consul Chen Huimin from the embassy at Tucson have both revealed this to me.
The CSSA often plays movies obtained from the consulate. The consulate would mail the films. Dr. Wang would be reimbursed for the postage after sending the films back to the consulate.
Secondly, the CSSA budget would normally be in a mess. Misappropriation of the budget was very serious. The CSSA actually paid for Dr. Wang's personal telephone bills.
Third, Dr. Wang mentioned that his father was a high ranking cadre. Because of his connection to the Chinese embassy in San Francisco, anything can be communicated to the embassy through him.
My Attempt to Rectify the CSSA
My purpose of becoming a chairman of the CSSA was really to serve, such as hosting the Chinese New Year program, scheduling parties, arranging transportation and apartments for the new students etc. I was quite disappointed that the CSSA was still under the control of the CCP just like in China. There seems to be no hope for freedom of assembly. Corruption still shadows us. I tried to correct the situation. At least while I was the chairman, I tried to keep myself out of the corruption. I proceeded with two initiatives.
Firstly, I sorted out the budget and publicized the account balances. Then I published a news item to communicate the CSSA's operation and define the CSSA at Tucson as a "spontaneous organization consisting of Chinese students and scholars." Each issue detailed the account balances. The students welcome these two changes. However, there were also some people against the idea even though there was nothing they could do about it.
But, I could not change the nature of the CSSA. I did not want to offend the embassy, since I was holding a J1 visa which required me to return to China after graduating.
Public Statement to Support Hu Yaobang Failed
There was another decision that I made against my heart when I was the chairman of the CSSA. On January 16, 1987, the former pro-democratic communist leader Hu Yaobang was forced to resign because of Chinese students' campus movement for democracy and freedom. During my holiday in China, I witnessed these events. At that time, some Chinese foreign students in Tucson, who supported the democratic and freedom movement, requested the CSSA to publish an open letter to support Hu Yaobang. They wanted all CSSA members to vote in favour of the decision. I was also aware that students in other parts of the U.S. also brought up this request to their local CSSA.
Regarding this issue, several CSSA leaders, including the vice chairman Dr Wang, told me, "If this letter is signed, we will consider establishing a new association. There will be no funds or movies from the consulate. You will need to think about your political future when you return."
As the Chairman, I felt strong political pressure from the Chinese Consulate. Since I was holding a J1 visa at that time, I needed to return to China after my graduation. Thus, I made a decision against my will - no vote and no open letter. I believe if the voting was allowed, we would probably have published the open letter.
Since then, the FBI has met with me on several occasions. I guess they were checking whether I was on the communist regime's side.
Education Consul Organizes Student Performance
After 1990, I moved to the bay area, and I attended many meetings organized by the Consulate as the vice-chairman of the California Chinese Civil Engineering Association (CCCEA), including meetings about the Chinese New Years celebrations.
On the surface, these activities are organized by the CSSA and local Chinese communities, but in reality, the education consul (Wang Shengshui at that time) from the Chinese Consulate does all the work, from planning, finance, coordination and management. They do not care about the cost of the large performance, all expenses can be reimbursed, the tickets for CSSA etc. are all free. How the education consul hosts the performance is just like a party chief hosting a meeting inside mainland China.
I Was Not Aware of Foreign Agents Registration Act
At that time, I was not aware of the "Foreign Agents Registration Act" in the U.S., which requires persons or organizations acting as agents of foreign government to register with the United States Department of Justice. One is also required to make periodic public disclosures of their relationship with the foreign principal, as well as activities, receipts and disbursements in support of those activities; these persons or organizations must identify themselves as the agent when dealing with the U.S. government, officials or members of parliament. The Department of Justice is also required to provide annual reports to congress regarding these agents.
According to the Act, the CSSA I was in charge of in Tuscan was one of the organizations financed by a foreign government (Chinese Consulate), and operated by its agent. Therefore, it should be registered with the Department of Justice.
During the Tiananmen Democratic Movement period, almost all the CSSAs in the U.S. condemned the regime's killing. Many CSSAs got rid of the regime's control and formed an Independent Federation of Chinese Students and Scholars. But later, the regime again brought over people or directly sent spies inside the federation. Many of them are under the regime's control, becoming the regime's overseas spy agencies once again.
Ma Youzhi is a former Chair of the Chinese Students and Scholars Association, University of Arizona
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