WASHINGTON—As Hu Jintao and his entourage go over the final steps for the General Secretary’s tightly scripted visit on Tuesday, Chinese Student and Scholar Associations (CSSAs) and other front groups of the Chinese Communist Party in the DC area are being mobilized to give him a big welcome.
The welcoming groups are a crucial part of a publicity war courtesy of the Chinese Embassy. Hundreds and possibly thousands of Chinese students will set up shop outside the Blair House and the White House. On site they will wave Chinese and American flags, hold up banners, chant patriotic slogans, and sing patriotic songs. If Hu Jintao’s motorcade passes by, they will cheer.
They will work in shifts, be shuttled to and from the site, and be provided with meals and beverages. Some student participants will receive cash payments of up to $80 for the trouble.
The message is getting out to students mostly through emails and bulletin boards at universities in the greater DC area and beyond. In the messages the CSSAs offer to foot the bill, but the money doesn’t come from the students.
The Epoch Times verified, through telephone calls to the George Mason University (GMU) CSSA and the Virginia Tech CSSA, that the Chinese Embassy in DC was behind the arrangements to welcome Hu.
A reporter posing as a student called an officer with the GMU CSSA and asked how he could participate in the activities to welcome Hu. In the course of a 10-minute-long discussion, the GMU student provided a picture of how the activities were centrally coordinated by the Chinese Embassy.
The Chinese Embassy in Washington is in “tight control” of the entire process, the GMU student told the reporter.
First the embassy in Washington notified all CSSAs in the DC area that they needed to mobilize for the welcoming. They were told when and where to arrive, and then sent out emails to encourage members to participate. Some referred to a cash payment, and often included a link to a Google spreadsheet for signing up.
Upon arrival at the welcoming site, staff from the Chinese Embassy will count the number of students, verify their identities, and apportion money to CSSA leaders based on the headcount.
Another phone call by a different reporter was made to an officer with the Virginia Tech CSSA, who corroborated many of the details. “This is what the Embassy set,” he said about why it was a $50 payment and not some other amount. And the money would not be available right away, because “it takes some time for the embassy to issue money.”
The fact of the Embassy’s role in organizing the welcoming groups is further confirmed by a notice sent out by the Virginia Tech CSSA, which was then posted by the CSSA on a Chinese-language electronic bulletin board: “To express a warm welcome for Chairman Hu’s U.S. visit, the Education Section of the Chinese Embassy in the United States specially organizes Chinese university students to go to DC to participate in the welcome ceremony.”
While the University of Maryland CSSA advertised a $55 payment, other CSSAs propose cash payments of between $20 and $80, while some say nothing about compensation. All provide free buses, food, and ample red banners.
Chinese officials do not want the welcoming ceremonies for Hu Jintao to appear like top-down directives, according to Boxun, a Chinese website based outside China. An official from the education division from the Chinese Consulate in Chicago told students at a recent meeting, according to Boxun: “If you run into journalists trying to interview you, just say you came spontaneously to do the welcome, and paid for all your own costs.”
The welcoming groups are a crucial part of a publicity war courtesy of the Chinese Embassy. Hundreds and possibly thousands of Chinese students will set up shop outside the Blair House and the White House. On site they will wave Chinese and American flags, hold up banners, chant patriotic slogans, and sing patriotic songs. If Hu Jintao’s motorcade passes by, they will cheer.
They will work in shifts, be shuttled to and from the site, and be provided with meals and beverages. Some student participants will receive cash payments of up to $80 for the trouble.
The message is getting out to students mostly through emails and bulletin boards at universities in the greater DC area and beyond. In the messages the CSSAs offer to foot the bill, but the money doesn’t come from the students.
Tightly Controlled ‘Welcome’
The Epoch Times verified, through telephone calls to the George Mason University (GMU) CSSA and the Virginia Tech CSSA, that the Chinese Embassy in DC was behind the arrangements to welcome Hu.
A reporter posing as a student called an officer with the GMU CSSA and asked how he could participate in the activities to welcome Hu. In the course of a 10-minute-long discussion, the GMU student provided a picture of how the activities were centrally coordinated by the Chinese Embassy.
The Chinese Embassy in Washington is in “tight control” of the entire process, the GMU student told the reporter.
First the embassy in Washington notified all CSSAs in the DC area that they needed to mobilize for the welcoming. They were told when and where to arrive, and then sent out emails to encourage members to participate. Some referred to a cash payment, and often included a link to a Google spreadsheet for signing up.
Upon arrival at the welcoming site, staff from the Chinese Embassy will count the number of students, verify their identities, and apportion money to CSSA leaders based on the headcount.
Another phone call by a different reporter was made to an officer with the Virginia Tech CSSA, who corroborated many of the details. “This is what the Embassy set,” he said about why it was a $50 payment and not some other amount. And the money would not be available right away, because “it takes some time for the embassy to issue money.”
The fact of the Embassy’s role in organizing the welcoming groups is further confirmed by a notice sent out by the Virginia Tech CSSA, which was then posted by the CSSA on a Chinese-language electronic bulletin board: “To express a warm welcome for Chairman Hu’s U.S. visit, the Education Section of the Chinese Embassy in the United States specially organizes Chinese university students to go to DC to participate in the welcome ceremony.”
While the University of Maryland CSSA advertised a $55 payment, other CSSAs propose cash payments of between $20 and $80, while some say nothing about compensation. All provide free buses, food, and ample red banners.
‘Do Not Talk About It’
Chinese officials do not want the welcoming ceremonies for Hu Jintao to appear like top-down directives, according to Boxun, a Chinese website based outside China. An official from the education division from the Chinese Consulate in Chicago told students at a recent meeting, according to Boxun: “If you run into journalists trying to interview you, just say you came spontaneously to do the welcome, and paid for all your own costs.”
