Chinese Students and Scholars Association
The Chinese Students and Scholars Association (CSSA) (Chinese: 中国学生学者联合(谊)会; pinyin: zhōngguó xuéshēng xuézhě liánhé (liányí) huì) is the official organization for overseas Chinese students and scholars registered in most colleges, universities, and institutions outside of the People's Republic of China. The associations in different institutions share a same name. The primary function of CSSA is mostly responsible for helping away-from-home Chinese in their life, study, work, and other issues, to bring Chinese students together on campus. CSSA also serves as a bridge between the Chinese and other communities, spreading Chinese culture. The groups typically host events such as annual Chinese New Year galas, holiday celebrations, and academic forums.[1][2]
The CSSA started in late 1970s when China started sending students to study overseas. In August 1989, representatives from over 200 CSSAs gathered in the University of Illinois at Chicago for the First Congress of Chinese Students and Scholars, established their national association as the Independent Federation of Chinese Students and Scholars (IFCSS) as a response to the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests. IFCSS' stated goal was to promote democracy in China and advance the interests of Chinese students abroad. After IFCSS, no national association exists to represent all CSSAs.
CSSAs became a subject in vice president Mike Pence's October 2018 policy speech on China.[3]
Control and funding[edit]
A 2018 report by the United States-China Economic and Security Review Commission stated, "[d]espite the useful social services CSSAs provide for their members, they receive guidance from the CCP through Chinese embassies and consulates — governmental ties CSSAs frequently attempt to conceal — and are active in carrying out overseas Chinese work consistent with Beijing’s United Front strategy."[4]
The CSSAs are collectively overseen by the Chinese Communist Party's United Front Work Department.[4] Individual CSSAs are sponsored and monitored by Chinese embassy and consular officials, as the Chinese government has a consistent policy toward Chinese students and scholars since 1990.[5][6][7] Documents and emails obtained by Foreign Policy in 2018 showed that the Georgetown University CSSA accepted funding from the Chinese Embassy in Washington, D.C., which amounted to roughly half its total annual budget.[2] A former CSSA-Pittsburgh chairman said on Sina-Weibo that their chapter received a US$6,000 yearly budget from the Chinese consulate.[8] The organization has been criticized for trying to control and monitor the speech of Chinese students and professors in Western countries, and for involvement in espionage in various countries including Canada, Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Germany, and the United Kingdom.[9][10][11][12]
Reactions[edit]
In 2011, Cambridge University disbanded their CSSA chapter after the society's president, Chang Feifan (常非凡), announced that she would enter a second term without election, and refused to provide the university a copy of the society's constitution. Some students and staff alleged that the CSSA was controlled by the Chinese embassy, and that the embassy had advised the CSSA president to continue her reign without holding an election.[13]
In 2015, Columbia University disbanded their CSSA chapter after violations of multiple financial and student organizational policies.[14]
In 2016, President of the Australian National University CSSA chapter Tao Binru publicly confronted the university pharmacy for stocking The Epoch Times, a newspaper known for its opposition to the Chinese Communist Party. The pharmacist claimed to be intimidated by Tao's body language and allowed him to throw out the newspapers. The previous year, Tao had told Chinese media that, "‘What [Chinese students] day and night long for is the ‘China Dream’ that General Secretary Xi Jinping speaks of – serving the rejuvenation of the nation and the people with unremitting efforts. Even though our bodies are overseas, our hearts are tied to the Motherland’."[15][16]
In a 2017 New York Times article, chapters of CSSA were described as having "worked in tandem with Beijing to promote a pro-Chinese agenda and tamp down anti-Chinese speech on Western campuses."[10] The University of California, San Diego chapter is protesting against the university's decision to invite the 14th Dalai Lama to speak at its 2017 commencement.[17]
In 2017, the CSSA chapter at the University of Maryland attacked a commencement speech delivered by a Chinese student, which praised freedom of speech, following similar criticism of the speech by Chinese state media.[18]
In 2019, Human Rights Watch called for closer monitoring of CSSAs in response to threats to academic freedom.[19]
In 2019, the CSSA chapter at McMaster University accused a local Uighur-Canadian activist of fomenting "separatism" after her speech drawing attention to human rights violations in Xinjiang.[20][21] The CSSA chapter subsequently had its status as a student organization revoked since its coordination with the PRC consulate was deemed a violation of student club rules.[22][23]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ "CSSAs in USA". The Office of Educational Affairs of the Embassy of P.R.China in USA. Archived from the original on September 18, 2015. Retrieved October 9, 2015.
- ^ a b Allen Ebrahimian, Bethany (February 14, 2018). "Chinese Government Gave Money to Georgetown Chinese Student Group". Foreign Policy. Retrieved February 16, 2018.
- ^ "Remarks by Vice President Pence on the Administration's Policy Toward China". October 4, 2018.
- ^ a b Bowe, Alexander (August 24, 2018). "China's Overseas United Front Work: Background and Implications for the United States" (PDF). United States-China Economic and Security Review Commission. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 9, 2018. Retrieved May 12, 2019.
- ^ Allen-Ebrahimian, Bethany (March 7, 2018). "China's Long Arm Reaches Into American Campuses". Foreign Policy. Retrieved June 8, 2019.
- ^ "Directive on Policy Toward Chinese Students and Scholars in the United States and Canada, March 1990", in Nicholas Eftimiades, Chinese Intelligence Operations, (Annapolis MD: Naval Institute Press 1994): 117-39.
- ^ Christodoulou, Mario; Rubinsztein-Dunlop, Sean; Koloff, Sashka; Day, Lauren; Bali, Meghna (October 13, 2019). "Chinese student group's deep links to Beijing revealed". ABC News. Retrieved October 14, 2019.
- ^ "Sina-Weibo backup via Weibo Kankan". Wayback Machine. Archived from the original on June 6, 2017. Retrieved June 6, 2017.CS1 maint: BOT: original-url status unknown (link)
- ^ Corr, Anders (June 4, 2017). "Ban Official Chinese Student Organizations Abroad". Forbes.
- ^ a b Saul, Stephanie (May 4, 2017). "On Campuses Far From China, Still Under Beijing's Watchful Eye". The New York Times.
- ^ Luard, Tim (July 22, 2005). "China's spies come out from the cold". BBC News.
- ^ "Li-Li Whuang poursuit sa thèse". Le Parisien. September 4, 2008.
- ^ "Chinese Students & Scholars Association disaffiliated from University". Varsity. December 3, 2011.
- ^ "Columbia University Closes CSSA".
- ^ "WoroniIncident at University Pharmacy Highlights a Divided Chinese Community". Woroni. Retrieved August 19, 2019.
- ^ Wen, Alexander Joske and Philip (October 7, 2016). "The 'patriotic education' of Chinese students at Australian universities". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved August 19, 2019.
- ^ Horwitz, Josh (September 19, 2017). "China is retaliating against a US university for inviting the Dalai Lama to speak at graduation". Quartz.
- ^ Denyer, Simon; Zhang, Congcong (May 23, 2017). "A Chinese student praised the 'fresh air of free speech' at a U.S. college. Then came the backlash". The Washington Post.
- ^ "China: Government Threats to Academic Freedom Abroad". Human Rights Watch. March 21, 2019. Retrieved November 9, 2019.
- ^ Chan, Holmes (March 3, 2019). "Exclusive: How Uighur activist Rukiye Turdush felt the long arm of the Chinese Communist party, in Canada". Hong Kong Free Press. Retrieved July 5, 2019.
- ^ Shih, Gerry; Rauhala, Emily (February 14, 2019). "Angry over campus speech by Uighur activist, Chinese students in Canada contact their consulate, film presentation". Washington Post. Retrieved July 5, 2019.
- ^ Churchill, Owen (September 26, 2019). "Chinese students' association loses status at Canadian university after protest of Uygur activist's talk was allegedly coordinated with Chinese consulate". South China Morning Post. Retrieved October 5, 2019.
- ^ Churchill, Owen (November 5, 2019). "Chinese student association at McMaster University loses appeal, remains decertified after report of on-campus talk to consulate". South China Morning Post. Retrieved November 5, 2019.