The Independent Federation of Chinese Students and Scholars (IFCSS) was founded on August 1, 1989, when over 1000 Chinese student representatives from more than 200

Chinese Students and Scholars Association The Chinese Students and Scholars Association (CSSA) () 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 associati ...

in major U.S. universities held their First Congress of Chinese Students and Scholars in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

at the

University of Illinois at Chicago The University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) is a public research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its campus is in the Near West Side community area, adjacent to the Chicago Loop. The second campus established under the University of Illinois ...

. The mission of IFCSS was to promote democracy in China and to protect the interests of the Chinese students and scholars studying in the United States, as a response to

Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 The Tiananmen Square protests, known in Chinese as the June Fourth Incident (), were student-led demonstrations held in Tiananmen Square, Beijing during 1989. In what is known as the Tiananmen Square Massacre, or in Chinese the June Fourth ...

. Since its birth, IFCSS had become one of the most influential overseas Chinese students groups in history. It had lobbied successfully in

U.S. Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washin ...

for many bills including the Chinese Student Protection Act of 1992, organized the well-known "

Washington March for Chinese Democracy The Washington March for Democracy in China was sponsored by the Independent Federation of Chinese Students and Scholars on October 1, 1989, as a response to the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre. About 6000 people participated. The e ...

" in 1989, and united tens of thousands of Chinese students together for many years since 1989. However, its relevance and importance have been declining for years, even though some of its members continues to organize Memorials for the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 in Washington, D.C. The IFCSS was credited as to have started using the Internet for social mobilization and congressional lobby, for which a lot of research has been completed and resulted many published books and articles. Also, IFCSS is widely considered as a pioneer in utilizing modern technologies (electronic gadgets) like fax machines and emails to spread truth in totalitarian countries, and to coordinate social protests. In October 2018, IFCSS become a special topic again, as the

that IFCSS used to represent became a subject in vice president Mike Pence's Oct 2018 policy speech on China.

References

NY Times Report on IFCSS 1st CongressWashington Post Report on IFCSS's Forming 1989Chinese Students Unite for Democracy 1989Los Angeles Times Report on IFCSS's Congressional Lobby 1989Washington Post Report on IFCSS 1990Los Angeles Times Report on President Bush's Order for IFCSS 1990Los Angeles Times Report on IFCSS's workPolitics, control, and computer networks: the Chinese Student Lobby of 1989 by David Alan Grier ACM 1998

Subscribing to Democracy through the Internet by Fenghua Wang 1999Mediating a Polyarchal Public Sphere in China Mr Michael J. Barker 2008

Revolt of the Gadgets by Robert S. Eshelman 2012Chinese Activism of a Different Kind by Dr. Jia Gao 2013

References

Student societies in the United States Youth organizations based in Washington, D.C. Student organizations established in 1989 Chinese democracy movements {{youth-org-stub