New Report from WOIPFG: Overseas Chinese Student Groups Actively Spying for the Chinese Consulate

NEW YORK (June 29, 2007)—The World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong (WOIPFG) released an investigative report today, providing strong evidence that the Chinese Student and Scholar Associations (CSSAs) in many overseas schools are directly controlled by Chinese consulates to suppress independent groups and extend communist control overseas.

The report, titled Investigation into the Chinese Embassy and Consulates in the U.S. Controlling CSSAs to Export the Communist Party’s Policy of Human Rights Violation, lists specific cases showing where these student groups received their funding and how they were controlled by Chinese consulates.

A recent case happened at New York University, where the Chinese Culture Club (NYUCCC, which is also called NYU Chinese Student and Scholar Association in Chinese) began a campaign in early June by posting a letter on their website, aiming to halt New Tang Dynasty Television’s (NTDTV’s) International Chinese Classical Dance Competition, to be held July 6-8 at NYU.

"The NYUCCC's public letter is about the same as a document issued by the Department of Propaganda of the Chinese Communist Party,” cited Chen Yonglin, the former First Secretary at the Chinese Consulate in Sydney Australia who now advises governments on Chinese espionage. The WOIPFG report further points out that, “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) again has spared no effort to suppress an NTDTV event.”

According to the report, there are at least 109 CSSAs in the U.S.  In nearly all the CSSAs that have been investigated across the country, they are found to have ties to the CCP. Examples in the report include the CSSA at Columbia University (CUCSSA), whose Advisory Board includes two officials from the Chinese Consulate General in New York. Chinese consulates also provide direct funding to CSSAs. For instance: The Year 2005 Financial Statement of CSSA at the University of Tennessee stated the following: Three quarters of the budget came from funds disbursed by the Chinese consulate; the other 25% came from excess funds carried over from 2004.  

According to Chen Yonglin, "Such groups are in fact controlled by the Chinese mission and are an extension of the Chinese communist regime overseas." Chen explains,"Often, it is not convenient for the Chinese mission to do certain things. So to use student organizations, with a neutral name, is more effective."

For a copy of the full report, please visit: http://www.upholdjustice.org
Press Inquiry: (347) 920-0131 (Howard Wang)

About WOIPFG
WOIPFG was established to investigate the criminal conduct of all institutions, organizations, and individuals involved in the persecution of Falun Gong  This organization openly invites and seeks support from individuals and institutions of global social conscience, and plays a coordinating role in the effort to investigate - broadly, thoroughly, and systematically - all instances of criminal conduct on the part of individuals, institutions, and organizations involved in the persecution of Falun Gong.

World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong

Tel：1-347-448-5790；Fax：1-347-402-1444；
Mail Address：P.O. Box 84， New york, NY 10116
Website： http://www.upholdjustice.org/, http://www.zhuichaguoji.org/