1) The IRBDC has published or publicly available information on
this subject. Please see section 4) for related information
regarding Chinese students in other countries.
2) A 10 June 1989 report mentions the existence of the Union of
Chinese Students in the Federal Republic of Germany (
Associated
Press, 10 June 1989). The IRBDC has no additional published or
publicly available information on the subject of Chinese student
groups in Germany.
3) Please see attachments. See also section 4) for related
information on the activities and attitude of Chinese embassies in
other countries in relation to overseas Chinese students.
4) The IRBDC has no published and publicly available information
on the treatment by the Chinese government of Chinese students
returning from Germany. There are a number of reports, however,
which provide information on the Chinese government's policy vis a
vis Chinese students who have participated in pro-democracy
movements in other countries.
A June 1989 report from
The Globe and Mail indicates that
Chinese diplomats in Canada were compiling "lists of Chinese
students in Canada who have supported the democracy movement."
(
The Globe and Mail, 27 June 1989). In March 1990, Asia
Watch reported that the Chinese embassy in the United States was
denying passport extensions to people who had participated in
pro-democracy demonstrations (Asia Watch, March 1990, pp.
57-61).
Leaked Chinese government documents which became public in May
1990 indicated that the government would be lenient with some
returning students but was planning to punish those whom it
considered "reactionary core elements" behind "anti-government"
activities abroad." This latter category would include those who
had sought asylum, the documents indicated (
The Globe and
Mail, 2 June 1990;
Far Eastern Economic Review, 5 July
1990).
One month later,
Xinhua reported that, "China will not
investigate or hold responsible Chinese students abroad who made
rash statements or engaged in rash activities connected with the
turmoil in Beijing," and that those who joined "reactionary
organizations will be allowed to return as well, but only so long
as they sow repentance, break away from those organizations and end
activities designed to oppose and subvert the People's Republic of
China." (FBIS-CHI-90-116, 15 June 1990, p. 8; FBIS-CHI-90-139, 19
July 1990, p. 19).
Also in June 1990, two statements by Chinese diplomats indicated
that the government would punish those who were still participating
in pro-democracy movements abroad. A Chinese student secretly taped
a conversation with an embassy official in Tokyo, who stated that,
"If students continue [in pro-democracy movements], we will not
forgive them...The Chinese Government...will decide how to penalize
the unmanageable students" (FBIS-CHI-90-107, 4 June 1990, p. 13).
Speaking on the record, a Chinese diplomat in Canada said that "the
majority of [returning] students shouldn't worry....For those ones
who are still doing it [anti-government protest], it is different."
(
The Globe and Mail, 2 June 1990).
According the U.S. Department of State
Country Reports
1990, "at least 21,000 students and scholars have returned to
China temporarily or permanently since June 1989...and none have
been punished or refused permission to leave the country again."
At the same time, the
Country Reports 1990 indicates that,
"Chinese students and scholars in the United States have asserted
that they or their families have been subject to threats of
reprisals by Chinese officials if they do not cease political
activities" (
Country Reports 1990, p. 859).
The
Country Reports 1990 does not mention the case of a
Chinese graduate student studying in the United States, who
returned to China in December 1990 to plead for a fair trial for
one of his friends but left the country within nine days "amid
fears for his safety" (
United Press International, 17
January 1991). U.S. embassy officials in Beijing were reportedly
using this case as "a test of Beijing's vow that it would not hold
returned students responsible for their participation in
pro-democracy protests outside China last year." (
United Press
International, 15 December 1990).
In June 1991, CBC news reported that a Chinese couple may have
been executed after their forcible return to China from Hong Kong.
In an application for asylum to Hong Kong officials, the couple had
claimed to have participated in demonstrations against the Chinese
government in Hong Kong. At the time, there was no confirmation of
the fate of the couple (CBC/CBO News, 10 June 1991).
BibliographyAsia Watch. March 1990. Punishment
season: Human Rights in China After Martial Law.
Associated Press. 10 June 1989.
Abrams, Jim. "400 Arrested in Beijing, China Criticizes U.S. Radio
Broadcast."
CBC/CBO News. 10 June 1991, 21:00 hrs.
"Hong Kong Asks China For Information." Media Tapes and Transcripts
Ltd., Toronto.
Far Eastern Economic Review. 5
July 1990. Delfs, Robert. "China 2: Long-arm Tactics."
FBIS-CHI-90-139. 19 July 1990. "He
Dongchang Reaffirms Foreign Study Policy," Xinhua [Beijing,
in English], 18 July 1990.
FBIS-CHI-90-116. 15 June 1990. "Students
Abroad Connected With Turmoil Pardoned," Xinhua [Beijing, in
English], 14 June 1990.
FBIS-CHI-90-107. 4 June 1990.
"Fukushima, Mutsuo. "Students in Japan Warned on Democracy
Movement," Kyodo [Tokyo, in English June 1990.
The Globe and Mail. 2 June 1990.
Montgomery, Charlotte. Students in Canada Buff Beijing's
Offer."
The Globe and Mail. 27 June 1989.
"Students in a Vise."
U.S. Department of State. 1991. Country
Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1990. Washington: U.S.
Government Printing Office 1991
United Press International. 17
January 1991. Parker, Jeffrey K.. "Overseas Chinese Demand Fair
Trials for Tiananmen
Dissidents."
United Press International. 15
December 1990. Parker, Jeffrey K.. "U.S. Concerned Over Returned
Chinese Student's Rights."
Attachments
BBC Summary of World Broadcasts. 28 July
1989. "Chinese Embassy in FRG Denies Spying on Students," Renmin
Ribao [Beijing], 25 July 1989.
Xinhua. 24 July 1989. "Chinese
Embassy in Bonn Denies Charges of Spying on Students."